crackers | Cook With Nikki

With my love of baking, and after endless recipe attempts for crackers, flat breads and pita bread, I’ve found that I only have success with maybe every one out of ten recipes. My best recipe for a “sweet cracker” was the Graham Cracker Cookies, which actually turned out to be a cookie instead of a cracker. (Not quite a fail, as they still tasted awesome! 😉 ) So instead of going on with a search for a recipe, I decided to toss together the basic elements of some crispy cookie recipes I know, remove some elements while adding new elements, and finally managed to get it right! 🙂 (Yay!) I’ve played around with this one for a while, and I can assure you that if followed properly, this recipe makes an amazing little cracker! This is a “sweet cracker” recipe, that works great for peanut butter, hazelnut spread, jam, or better yet: my apple butter recipe! Enjoy! 🙂 This recipe makes 2 cookie sheets worth of crackers…

Note 1: When rolling out the dough for these crackers, do so with a light and soft hand, otherwise you will rip the dough. Note 2: After every few rolls, you should lightly peel the dough off of the surface you are rolling it on, and flip the dough over so that you can alternate between sides. This will ensure the dough has an even texture, and does not stick to one spot of the surface.

Cinnamon And Brown Sugar Crackers

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour (I really had to resist the temptation to use whole wheat, as it would have made these crackers way too dense!)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (lightly packed) brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsalted butter (in small cubes, and just slightly cooler than room temperature)
1/3 cup water
for tops:
egg whites (1-2) in a bowl set aside
coarse sugar

Method:

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.
In a large bowl, sift the flour, salt, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
Add the vanilla extract and butter, and with your fingers, mix the butter into the flower until crumbly.
Using a spatula, stir in the water.
As the dough forms, switch to using your hands, and knead the dough in the bowl for about 5 minutes.
Pull the dough into two halves, and start rolling out one half on a clean surface. (I use a non-stick rolling-pin for rolling out dough. If you’re using a wooden rolling-pin and find that the dough is sticking to the pin, apply a small amount of flour to the top of the dough. Try not to use too much though, as this will dry out the dough.)
Continue to roll out the dough to about 1/4 of an inch in thickness, then trim off the edges of the dough (making it a square or rectangle shape) and add the trimmings to the second pile of dough.
Set aside (covered with paper towel).
Follow the same steps with the other half. (With the trimmings, you can just roll it out and make a third sheet for “random shaped” crackers.)
After all of the dough is rolled out, pre heat your oven to 400 F.
Cover all of the dough with paper towel, and allow to sit for about 20 minutes. (The dough will “puff” slightly, and this will also give your oven time to maintain an even high temperature.)
After the 20 minutes is up, use the rolling-pin to LIGHTLY roll the dough to 1/8 of an inch in thickness. (Try to maintain the square shape of the dough…)
Using a smooth sharp knife, cut the dough into strips diagonally, and then again horizontally.
If you like, use a tooth pick or a fork (I used a fondu stick) to poke holes all over the cracker dough.
Place the cut dough about 0.5 cm apart from each other on the prepared cookie sheet.
Brush a light layer of egg white over each cracker, and sprinkle with some coarse sugar.
Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 15-17 minutes.
Note: Since all ovens are different, check the crackers after about 12 minutes. Then again at 15 minutes, and again at 17 minutes. I made two batches, and they were both ready at 17 minutes. The tops will be lightly browned around the edges when ready. It’s okay if a few of them are slightly darker on the edges, because they will still taste great! 😉
After removed from the oven, allow to cool (off of the cookie sheet, but still on the parchment paper!) for about 10 minutes before eating. (They will be way too hot to eat right away, as I found out the hard way… And they aren’t crispy enough until they’ve completely cooled.)
Serve alone, or with some sweet spread! I found my cinnamon and brown sugar apple butter to be the perfect spread for these tasty crackers! 🙂