Wheat Thins

In my newlywed condition, I've been getting all homemakerish all the sudden and delighting in doing so many things that help us save money, or are better, or that are just homemakerish. For instance, I have stopped buying bread and have just been making all our bread, I froze a whole bunch of strawberries and peaches that were in season (somehow that just made me feel so domestic), I made a bunch of pesto to freeze with our homegrown basil (if that doesn't feel domestic I don't know what does), I made tons of strawberry jam with my sister-in-law, I'm looking into making my own garlic powder, and am planning on making a huge batch of fresh salsa with our homegrown oregano (and possibly our tomatoes when they grow...?). I LOVE it!! These are the sorts of things I've always wanted to do all day. And who doesn't want to save money?

 My latest thing is homemade crackers. Kendall and I go through a goodly amount of crackers and chips in a week, if I buy them. By that I mean that once while we were dating we got some chips and hummus at the store, and in 15 minutes we ate the entire bag and entire container. While sitting in the parking lot. And actually, that didn't just happen once--but happens very frequently. 

So you get the idea. This sort of behavior necessitates either intervention, acquiring a second job to serve our cracker habits, or....

Homemade crackers!

My first attempt was not a favorite with either of us. It was supposed to be a knock-off on cheeze-its, but when you happen to love cheeze-its they can be a pretty disappointing substitute. 

Not Cheeze-its. 

I tried this wheat thin-like cracker today, though, and was pleased both with how long it took and how hard it was (not long. Not hard.), but also how delicious and crunchy and salty they are! You might want to double the recipe if you find you really like it...or triple it...or...

I pulled them out of the oven to remove some of the thinner ones that brown faster than the others. I recommend this if you don't want burned crackers and fire alarms! I taste-tested one and thought, "Hmm. They're ok, I guess." And 20 seconds later most of the plate was gone. 

Whole Wheat Sugar-Free Crackers

From kitchenstewardship.com

1 1/4 C whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. paprika

4 T Earth Balance, or other vegan butter (I'm sure coconut oil works too)

1/4 C water

1/4 tsp. vanilla

1 T honey

salt for topping

1. Combine flour, salt, and paprika in a mixing bowl. Cut in the earth balance until crumbs are no bigger than a pea. 

2. Combine water, vanilla, and honey in a measuring cup or mixing bowl and add to dry ingredients. Combine until a dough forms (it's rather shaggy and doesn't really come together). 

3. Preheat oven to 400. 

4. Roll dough out onto parchment paper or directly onto a greased cookie sheet. I did the latter because I didn't have any parchment paper, but it was sure harder to roll out. Roll as thin as you possibly can, and cut into 1-inch pieces with a pizza cutter or knife. Transfer crackers still on the parchment paper to a cookie sheet. Or painstakingly move one cut-out cracker at a time from where you rolled it to the baking sheet, like I did with the Cheeze-its. Not fun. 

5. Top with lots of salt and bake for 5-10 min until crisp and brown. Watch them very carefully because they can burn fast. I put them in for 5 min, then 2 min, then maybe 2 more, then 1 min at a time until I felt they were sufficiently ready. They do crisp up a bit on the pan after baking!!!