Spending your hard-earned dollars on expensive crackers? Fueling a fixation on fancy Raincoast Crisps you can't resist buying at gourmet shops? Well, we've cracked the code and you can now make these special savoury nibbles yourself at home. Thanks to the enormous proliferation of food crazed bloggers, there are no secrets anymore. Your mother was right: it's good to share! I will now share my knowledge with you. Thanks to Julie Van Rosendaal's blog for this inspired copycat creation.
Just before we jump into the technical details, let me assure you that these crackers are FANTASTIC! My husband declared them the best crackers he has ever eaten. I was mildly concerned about how easily they would slice into pretty, thin, little things and, after a good chill in the freezer for a couple of hours, they sliced evenly and effortlessly. I followed the recipe exactly and would not change a thing. Except for when I want to change a thing. Then, I may sub in dried figs, dates, poppy seeds, sunflower seeds. Next time: half whole wheat flour and half white flour. Maybe a scoop of corn meal. Nothing too crazy as we don't want to mess up a great cracker, do we? Let the greatness begin:
Photo courtesy of www.dinnerwithjulie.com
Rosemary Raisin Pecan Crisps
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds (optional)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup flax seed, ground
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
Preheat oven to 350° F.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the buttermilk, brown sugar and honey and stir a few strokes. Add the raisins, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flax seed and rosemary and stir just until blended.
Pour the batter into two 8”x4” loaf pans that have been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake for about 35 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack.
The cooler the bread, the easier it is to slice really thin. You can leave it until the next day or pop it in the freezer. Slice the loaves as thin as you can and place the slices in a single layer on an ungreased cookie sheet. (I like to slice and bake one loaf and pop the other in the freezer for another day.) Reduce the oven heat to 300° F and bake them for about 15 minutes, then flip them over and bake for another 10 minutes, until crisp and deep golden. Try not to eat them all at once.
Makes about 8 dozen crackers.
What do YOU put on your Raincoast Crisps? There is always the old standard, brie and red pepper jelly. Aged cheddar and orange marmalade. Goat cheese and tapenade. Goose liver pate and a slice of gerkin is pretty darn good too. A dab of chicken salad topped with a sprig of dill makes a lovely little canape. Or a little slice of shaved roastbeef with a small dot of hot horseradish. Spread some natural peanut butter on a cracker with a slice of banana. I quite like cream cheese and smoked salmon on these too, with a sliver of red onion and a caper or two. Raincoast Crisps say PARTY to me, and with your own homemade batch, you can dazzle your guests with generosity that will not break the bank.
Crack the code to other savoury baked goodies with help from these books:
