Whole Grain Crackers

First order of business...HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the mothers out there. Coincidentally this year mother's day in Iran was also pretty close to the US mother's day (It was on Friday), but regardless, no matter where in the world they are, mothers are beautiful, perfect, and oh so kind in their own way. A special shout out to my own mommy who I just skyped with! :)

This post may seem like..."omg I can't believe she's posting about crackers", but crackers are big deal. I mean this all actually started when I was eating tea biscuits (these Ulker tea biscuits) with...tea--and I thought to myself, "I wish I could make these". To my surprise, it's totally possible to make crackers. The ones I'm sharing with you guys today unfortunately didn't turn out exactly like the tea biscuits, but they're still absolutely delightful. They kind of taste like a biscuit version of  Nabisco's Wheat Thins--not too sweet, not really salty, good on their own... and a perfect pairing with whatever you want to top it with (peanut butter and jelly, butter and jam, chocolate...). They're also pretty easy to make, with the hardest part being the arm workout from rolling out the dough pretty thin.

I made a couple changes to the original recipe because some people had put in their reviews that the granulated sugar made the crackers a bit grainy and that the amount of sugar really made the crackers sweet.

Whole Grain Crackers
Adapted from www.egglesscooking.com (click for direct link to original recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp rolled oats
• 5 tbsp cold butter (I'm not sure if you can substitute margarine or extra virgin coconut oil for this, but I will try it and let you guys know) 
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar  (or other powdered grain sweetener)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup + 2 tbsp milk (whatever kind you prefer, 1%, 2%, whole, almond...)
• A couple tbsp of granulated sugar for topping (you will likely use less than this) 

Directions:

• In a large mixing bowl, sift flours, baking powder, and salt (sifting is important to ensure that your dough is uniformly mixed and that no lumps get into the batter, I usually whisk these ingredients in the sieve to help mix them up and push them through a bit quicker)
• Cut up cold butter into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. Mix with a hand mixer or tabletop mixer, or work with your fingers until mixture forms coarse crumbs
• Stir in sugar and slowly add milk to form a dough
• Knead dough with hands until smooth 
• Form dough into a disk, wrap it and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. In the meantime, pre-heat oven to 375 F. 
• Line two cookie sheets with aluminum foil and spray them lightly with oil
• After 30 minutes in the fridge, lightly flour the surface you're working on and roll out dough into 1/2 cm thickness. I had to do this in pieces--I didn't roll out the entire dough, but instead divided the dough into 6 pieces and rolled each piece individually. It was a little bit more work but it made things a bit easier as the dough is not like a soft stretchy pizza dough.
• Use a cookie cutter to cut out whatever shape you like from the dough (I used the opening of the smallest size Rubbermaid food container)
• Combine dough scraps again with rest of the dough and re-roll and repeat cutting process
• Prick crackers with a fork a few times before placing them on the cookie sheet
• Top each cracker with a small pinch of granulated sugar before you place in the oven
• Baking time depends on the thickness of your crackers and the color of your cookie sheet, mine took about 10-12 minutes. I would definitely watch them after about 8 minutes or so. You're looking for a light golden brown color--nothing dark (which happened to a couple of my thinner ones sadly).
• Leave them to cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet when done, and then transfer to cooling rack.

I had these crackers topped with banana slices and all natural almond butter. Almond butter (essentially almonds grounded into a paste) is a great nut butter full of Vitamin E, Potassium, Magnesium, Iron, Calcium, and Phosphorus. It's also a great alternative for people with peanut allergies. The key is to find an almond butter made using cold pressed methods (which ensures that nutrients are all still there), and one that is natural (no sugar, extra oil, etc added). 4-5 of these crackers are a great midday snack and the fiber helps keep you full :). 

Leave me some love in the comments below! 

Enjoy!