It may be due to the sudden spell of soup weather, but I started thinking about crackers last week.
Before going GF I was a big supporter of saltine crackers. You could make one heck of a simple easy meal with a box of crispy, salty saltines! I remember when I was little and my dad would get home late from work, often he would make a meal out of tuna salad and saltines. When I was a teenager I figured out that you could melt shredded cheese over saltines for about 1 minute in the microwave and you had a quick easy snack! In my super thrifty days after college, soup and crackers was a hearty meal.
But lately, I hadn't really thought about crackers until I thought about oyster stew (will be posting this soon!), which is what my family always ate on Christmas Eve! And you can't have a big cheesy bowl of oyster stew without some crispy crackers to go with it!
I ran across a basic GF cracker recipe last weekend and decided to try it out. I made quite a few changes of course and eventually turned out a really tasty, crispy, cheesy cracker!
We shared the crackers with our neighbors Donna and James, who invited us over for a southwestern tortilla soup on Sunday afternoon. They really enjoyed the crackers as much as we did! It was a perfect accompaniment to the soup! (Donna, your soup rocks girl! We'll have to share that recipe soon!)
These crackers are very versatile. You could add more cheese and red pepper or cayenne pepper for spicy cheese straws. Or you can leave out the cheddar completely for a simple saltine. Try to roll the dough as thin as possible for a more crisp cracker.
Crispy Cheddar Crackers
- 2/3 cup rice flour
- 2/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/3 cup tapioca
- 1/3 cup ground flax seeds
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese
- 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Thoroughly mix all flours together with ground flax seeds, salt, baking soda, and cayenne pepper. Cut in butter (as if you were making a pie dough) until very fine. Add milk, egg, and cheese. Knead thoroughly and then separate the dough into three balls. Roll each ball very thin on parchment paper. Cut into squares, rounds, or use cookie cutters to make shapes. Prick the crackers with a fork and then bake for 10-12 minutes or until VERY lightly browned. (DO NOT OVERBAKE!!) Sprinkle crackers with additional kosher salt if desired.
For a printer friendly version of this recipe, click here.
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Check back later this week to learn how to make pomegranate molasses and some gluten free Christmas treats!
