seed crackers

The other day my sister-in-law stopped by with a box of crackers and a thank you note for the bottle of mead I’d given them for their anniversary. At first I thought the crackers were some sort of candy brittle — they were so dark and glossy — but no, she explained, they were homemade crackers. To eat with your cheese, she wrote in her note. 

When I finally got around to tasting them, I was, to put it bluntly, stunned. They were amazing. Nutty, seedy, salty, and wonderfully crispy, they tasted outrageously expensive, like what you might find in the cracker display at Murray’s Cheese Shop in NYC, probably priced at something gawdawful ridiculous like $15 for 2 ounces. 

Of course I text-requested the recipe, and then I got all the more excited. There was absolutely nothing to these bad boys. They were positively pure, with simple ingredients and a wicked-easy make. Simply toss the seeds together with some salt and cornstarch, add a bit of oil and some boiling water, soak for 10 minutes, and then spread into a pan and bake. 

So far, I’ve been munching these plain — they are splendidly addicting — but I imagine they would be fantastic if served:

• With cheese (obvs)
• Spread with cottage (or ricotta) cheese and drizzled with honey
• Topped with mashed avocado
• Crumbled over a salad
• With a smear of cream cheese and fruit preserves
• Topped with nut butter and sliced banana
• Tossed with dried fruit and chocolate chunks for a trail mix
• Added to granola

Seed Crackers
Adapted from the recipe my sister-in-law sent me.

The actual recipe is titled “Gluten-Free Seed Crackers (Norwegian Crispbread Knekkebrod),” which makes these sound fancy, nutritious, and exotic. 

The recipe calls for raw sunflower and pumpkin seeds, but my sister-in-law and I agree that’s neither here nor there. So far I’ve just made them with salt, but she said that next time she’s adding black pepper and garlic salt, and she has also subbed poppy seed for some of the other seeds. I kinda think these might be nice with some nori crumbled in and a splash of soy sauce, or maybe, going in a completely different direction, with some orange zest and cinnamon?

⅓ cup sesame seeds
½ cup flax seeds
½ cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup sunflower seeds
2 tablespoon chia seeds
⅓ cup cornstarch
½ teaspoon salt
3½ tablespoons oil
¾ cup boiling water
flaky salt, for sprinkling

Stir together all the dry ingredients. Add the boiling water and oil and mix well. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

Using an off-set spatula, spread the seed mixture onto a parchment paper-lined half sheet pan (13×18-inch). At first it will seem like there’s not enough seed mixture, but no worries — there’s plenty! Working slowly, spread the cracker dough over the bottom of the pan. (If needed, dip the spatula in water to prevent it from sticking to the dough.)

Bake the crackers at 275 degrees for 90-110 minutes, rotating the pan occasionally. The crackers should darken slightly — aim for whatever level of toastiness you want. 

Cool the crackers to room temp and then break into pieces. Store the crackers in an airtight container at room temperature, or bag and freeze.

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Midway through writing this post, I had to break for a cracker snack, this time with peanut butter and honey, and OH MY WORD, PEOPLE. If you haven’t already fled to the kitchen to knock these out, what are you even doing?!

I’m serious. Get cracking.

This same time, years previous: the quotidian (1.10.22), 6.4 magnitude, the Baer Family Gathering of 2019, boys in beds, sticky toffee pudding.