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Whoever is hosting usually has a few snacks for the little ones, which I think is Meghan’s favorite part of play group. At one of our recent meet ups, the host had crackers for the kids. Meghan ate her share, and then politely asked for more. And again. And again. She nearly ate the whole bowl.
Hmmmm….somebody is not getting enough crackers at home. That was my cue to make homemade crackers again. It’s been a while since I have, and Meghan’s cracker binge reminded me why I should do it more often.
Meghan loves helping in the kitchen, and making homemade crackers is a great way to get your kids involved with you. While Luke napped, we put on some vintage aprons a family friend gave us and got to work. (If you are reading, thank you, Pam!)
She’s always so anxious to help me measure out the ingredients and pour them into the bowl.
This is the easiest cracker dough I’ve tried to date. It’s so easy to roll, and if you aren’t in a big hurry at the end like I was, then you’ll be able to get it thin without any trouble at all.
Even Meghan could easily roll it with her kid-sized rolling pin.
We made half of these like traditional wheat thins in a square (or maybe rectangle) shape:
I left the edges rustic rather than re-rolling the dough. The other half we made into elephant shapes using a cookie cutter:
Meghan was in charge of sprinkling the salt on the crackers before we baked them, so you can see some have a lot of salt and others have hardly any at all. It made for a nice variety.
This recipe is awesome because you can mix everything in the food processor, roll it out, and bake it. Could not be easier. If you don’t have a food processor, you can do it by hand (make sure you cut in the butter), but if you do it is beyond quick and easy.
Seriously, if Meghan and I can whip these out during Luke’s nap, and still get other things done, you can do it, too. I promise.
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Easy homemade wheat thin crackers
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 24 crackers 1x
Description
Delicious homemade crackers that taste like the popular boxed variety, but are much healthier!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Sucanat or organic sugar*
- 1/2 teaspoon salt+ more for sprinkling on top
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 4 tablespoons Earth Balance vegan butter**
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and paprika. Add the butter and pulse until you have a crumb-like mixture. Add the water and vanilla and process until a dough forms.
- Remove the dough onto a floured surface and roll it out as thin as you can without ripping it. The thinner you roll it, the crispier the crackers will be. My end pieces were the most thin and I wish I’d taken the time to make the entire dough that thin.
- If you are just going to cut these into squares, you can roll the dough directly on the parchment paper (flour it a little first) and then you can transfer the whole thing to the baking sheet without having to pick up each cracker. This is much quicker and easier. If you don’t have a little one who insists on elephant crackers, I recommend it.
- After you’ve rolled your dough, cut into into the shapes you prefer. Transfer either the parchment paper or the individual crackers to baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven for 5-10 minutes, until they are golden brown and a little crisp. They will crisp up more as they cool. Watch them closely as they can burn quickly!
- The crackers can be stored at room temperature in an air-tight container. Enjoy!
Notes
*These were made before I gave up sugar for Lent, in case you are wondering!
**Real butter is okay, too. I used this since I can’t have dairy.
Adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Snacks
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cracker
- Calories: 38
- Sugar: 0.1g
- Sodium: 47.5mg
- Fat: 2g
- Carbohydrates: 4.5g
- Protein: 0.8g
I love seeing a recipe where I don’t have to make substitutions! I sub sucanat for sugar in EVERYTHING! Pinning!
I’m the same way! 🙂 Thanks so much for pinning–I really appreciate it.
Will this work in a blender if I dont have a food processor?
I can’t say for sure because I haven’t tried it, but I assume that it would. Please let me know if you give it a try as I’m sure others would like to know, too!
Know who is chatting about bag and why you should be afraid.
I finally made these today and they are great!
Rolling them thin thin thin totally is the key to the best cracker, I agree. I’d say as thin as mm… aluminum foil is maybe? That is about right for the best crunch!
Glad you liked them! Yes, thin is definitely the key!
Love the idea of homemade crackers – do you think foil would work instead of parchment paper? I don’t have a natural parchment paper so I try to stay away from heating it. thanks 🙂
I keep seeing homemade crackers on everyone’s blogs!! I better bust out my own version soon!!! LOLOL
Thanks for the recipe. They are delicious and easy to make. I definitely will be making these again:-)
I have a great recipe for coconut crackers:
2 cups coconut – shredded but not sweetened kind
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup water
1/2 tsp. salt – more for sprinkling
Mix all ingredients (your arms will get a workout), roll out – thinner the better, bake at 350 for 20 minutes. May want to spray your bakeware – I have had these stick in the past.
Thanks, Connie! I’m planning on making another batch of crackers tomorrow, so I think I may try yours, too. They sound great and I have all the ingredients already.
I second that banana comment by Colleen. Holy moly!
I’ll be making these tomorrow I think 🙂 I’m excited!
Well those just look delicious!
my brother can eat a box of wheat thins in one sitting (he’s 17…) so making these would be a perfect healthier alternative!
I don’t know what I’m going to do when my baby boy turns into a teenager! I’m going to be doing a lot of baking, I think.
So cute that you let Meghan help out with cooking!
These crackers look great and I love the elephant shaped ones!
I told her we were going to make some more tomorrow, and she said, “Let’s make horses this time!” 🙂 Looks like I need to make a trip to the kitchen store…
Love homemade crackers! I bet my kids would go nuts on these, they don’t get crackers often enough either 😀 Actually, I think I would love some crackers too! Maybe these need to go on my to-make list for the weekend.
Get the kids to help you out! 🙂
These sound perfect! I usually don’t have many crackers on hand at home either so when I do I tend to eat them like crazy too. Girl after my own heart!!
These look so good! I’m a total cracker addict but I’ve never made them at home, these are definitely on my list now! 😀
Looks yummy !!! And in one of the pictures of Meghan, I can’t help but notice how many BANANAS you have on your kitchen counter!!!
Haha! We love our bananas over here. Between smoothies, adding them to oatmeal, sandwiches, freezing them for “ice cream”, we do eat a ton of them.
I am such a kid at heart! I want animal shaped crackers too 😉 I’m sure it was worth the time when she got to eat her little animals! How fun! …..If you can do it during naptime- we can do it anytime, you’re right! Looks yummy! …………I’m sure the baking with Meghan made it worth every minute! Looks like fun!