Making a good cracker is no easy task when you are not using flour or other grains. Obtaining a tasty, crunchy cracker using almond flour is the goal I was after and I think I have one. These remind me of Cheez-It crackers.
After making a tart shell I realized that the dough might also make a good cracker. I’m now
thinking that there are a number of dry, hard cheeses, like Parmesan, that would work well with this recipe, but I haven’t tried any yet. Stay tuned.
These also serve well as croutons – just break them up a bit and place them in a salad or in a bowl of soup. I can’t keep these around too long, but they store well in a sealed container at room temperature, or you can refrigerate them.
Some folks tell me that almond flour goods taste mealy, and these might be the case for some. I don’t mind the texture, but just a warning to those who are sensitive to that texture. I’m going to try a recipe adding eggs next time to see if it changes the texture. Baking with nut butter instead of nut flour definitely removes any grainy texture, as in the case of the brownies.
For some cracker inspiration, try these links:
Parmesan Thyme Crackers
Ingredients (makes about 24 medium-size crackers, or 2 sheets)
- 1 1/2 cups of almond flour
- 1 1/2 cups of Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon of dried Thyme (or more)
- 3 tablespoons of water (or as needed to hold the dough together)
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine all the ingredients, except for the water, in a bowl and blend well, or place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until well blended.
- Add the water to the mixture and blend until the mixture forms a ball of dough. Only add enough water to hold it together – avoid making it too moist.
- Place the dough on a Silpat baking mat or other non-stick baking surface (such as parchment paper) and top it with a piece of parchment paper. Roll the dough out until it is thin enough to be a cracker (about 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch in thickness).
- Score the flattened dough with pizza cutter or knife to make square crackers and place them on a cookie sheet. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the crackers are browned on the top. They are crunchy when they are browned on top. They also brown on the bottom. Don’t be afraid to brown these, they don’t burn that easily.
- Cool and enjoy!
Servings: 24
Thanks for posting this egg-free recipe. My husband is the baker in the house. When it comes to “rolling out” dough of any kind my eyes glaze over. He loves to bake. Anyway, they’re great!!!!! We both really love them. I think they will be a regular at our house. I also think they would make a nice pizza dough. I prefer a super thin crust. They are tasty all by themselves or with spreads, etc. My husband may try baking them without the thyme and adding cinnamon sugar for a nice egg-free cookie. I’ll be checking in to see what else your up to in the future.
Thanks again,
Liz
On second thought the cinnamon sugar probably wouldn’t go with the parmesan…….LOL.
Liz
Yeah, I’m not so sure about cinnamon and cheese 🙂
Maybe other spices though – tumeric (makes things orange and it’s an anti-inflammatory), paprika, and garlic come to mind. For crunchy cookies or crackers, just continue slow-baking them at a low temperature for a longer period of time.
I just made these today since I was craving something to dip into some fresh guacamole. I’ll have to say it was one of the strangest things I’ve ever made watching it turn into a ball even though it looked dry. They actually turned out very good, and I crumbled some up into some chili I made and it made it thicker and heartier. I will definitely be making htese again!
Somebody else mentioned spices, don’t forget about nutmeg, it goes great with cheese.
These are DELICIOUS! I used sage instead of thyme because I am a huge fan of the cheese-sage combo, and my only problem is going to be NOT eating them all in one sitting. Which would NOT make for a comfy belly, I have to say.
I just have to comment on this awesome recipe. You get ***** (5 stars) from both my husband (not GF) and myself (GF & egg free)! A delicious cracker with no eggs … one I can actually eat! As an evening snack it curbs our normal cravings. We have added it to our list of foods to take on the road. Thank you!
Just made these. They’re so good, i’ve had to box them up to hide them from my OH! I made them small – an inch square – in bite size pieces, and used a ravioli cutter to give the edges a nice wavy edge, which looked pretty. I also, in a deviation from your recipe, painted the top with beaten egg, then ground some salt crystals in a pestle and mortar with some dried herbs and pink peppercorns, then scattered the half ground, half chunky mix over the top of the squares. The result is an intensely salty, cheesy, crunchy hit, which is wonderful if you’re missing cheese biscuits like i am. Many thanks for the recipe! (i’m bookmarking this one – and drooling over the rest of your site..!)
Kethry – wow is all I can say. Great additions!
Erica – glad you liked the additions! I have a photo on flickr if you want to see the effect of the wavy lines – i tried to put it in the comments yesterday but your blog software wouldn’t allow it. if you prefer i can privately email you the link – you have my email address if you want…
Just a quick question about the the grated cheese: how was it grated lg holes on a box grater or smaller like on a micro plane rasp?
Lindsay
Thanks for asking – finely grated.
I am thinking these would be AWESOME with dill in them! I’m not a huge fan of thyme.
Yes, your favorite herb will work 🙂
My friend gave me some fresh thyme… can this be used instead?
yes, it should be delicious!
Do you have any no-grain *and* no-dairy crackers? Thanks. These sound delicious, but I can’t eat dairy.
I can’t think of any offhand but I have been meaning to share one. Needs testing though.
Trying these ….. any idea on how many carbs .. thanks
You can calculate using an online calculator such as https://www.myfitnesspal.com.