I’ve now about worked my way through the entire list of cracker and flatbread recipes in Matthew Kenney’s book, Everyday Raw. (Raw ice cream – you are next! As soon as I can source young coconut which, no surprise, is not stocked at my local Walmart.) I’m obsessed with the technique and love the idea of making my own healthy, raw “chips” at home rather than buying tortilla chips and (my favorite guilty snack) Stacy’s Pita Chips. If you haven’t tried these: DO NOT buy a bag. You will be forever hooked. Fear not, I am going to tackle recreating those babies in my dehydrator, but for today, I’m sharing an on-the-sweet-side cracker that I created using the principles I picked up from Kenney’s book. These very crispy crackers include some standard granola bar ingredients. By the way, I’ve shared this recipe over at Gluten-Free Cat as part of Raw Foods Thursdays!
Eat them straight up or make a sandwich using homemade coconut milk ice cream. Thanks to Amanda (via Somer) for that very easy and tasty recipe – you’ll have to ask them for it yourselves…
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One year and one day ago today: Bluebirds to Be
- 1 cup raw walnuts, soaked overnight, rinsed and drained
- 1 large apple, cored and chopped into small chunks
- 1" nubbin fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, soaked in warm water for an hour or so and drained
- 1 cup flaxseed meal
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cacao nibs
- generous pinch salt
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- dash cardamom
- 1/2 tsp. orange zest
- 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup agave nectar (taste dough and add more if preferred)
- Put the flaxseed meal, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, cacao nibs and orange zest in a large bowl. Set aside.
- In a food processor, process the walnuts, ginger and apple until you get a nice mash. Add this mixture to the flaxseed meal mixture and add the remaining (wet) ingredients. Using a big spoon or your hands, mix until thoroughly combined. This is a fairly wet mess.
- Line a dehydrator tray with a non-stick sheet and plop the dough into the center, top with another non-stick sheet and slowly roll out the dough. I had to move dough from time to time from one spot to another to get something that resembled a square. The dough should be about 1/4" thick. Remove that top non-stick sheet, gently score the dough into whatever size and shape strike your fancy and slide the tray with the dough into the dehydrator.
- Dehydrate at 145-degrees for 30 minutes, then turn down the temperature to 115F. After a few hours of drying, I carefully transfer the dough to a screen for more efficient drying. Dehydrate for about 24 hours or until crispy and crunchy. Break into pieces and store in an air-tight container.
I’m still amazed by this dehydrating business. Your crackers look great and I would have assumed they’d been cooked in an oven if I didn’t know better. It makes me wonder about products I see on shelves, have any of them been made by dehydrating rather than cooking, and is this ever stated on packaging? I assume it would be, to get the attraction of anyone on a raw food diet, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it.
It’s pretty cool, Lorna. I’ve only scratched the surface. Along w/ the dehydrator, I ordered a book about what one can “dry out.” EVERYthing! So much to learn. I’m not sure how much it’s used in standard food processing – but I know along w/ freeze-dried foods one can find dehydrated products in camping/outdoor-type stores.
You would be amazed at how many things are dehydrated and sold that way 🙂 Raw bars, sprouted grains and seeds, berries, fruit, kale chips and so on…..it is one of the best ways to preserve food.
There you go, Lorna! Who knew!
So gorgeous! Annie you are making me drool 🙂 I am going to have to make some of these for my very own cookie jar, they can’t be anything but gorgeously healthy if you made them 🙂
If I’ve made you drool, then my day is complete ;-)!
I have to put on a bib before I head over to your blog Annie, I am constantly drooling :). I have had my excalibur for quite a while now and bought it when you just couldn’t get them here in Australia and paid WAY too much for it and haven’t used it nearly enough. Now that one of my favourite bloggers is posting raw dehydrated recipes it’s much more likely that I will have a go and use it more often for more than just dog treats 🙂 a double whammy now because I can dry some of the recipes in my warming oven while the wood stove is on all through winter without having to use any electricity :). I dried coconut flour, almond flour, okara etc. in the coolest warming oven because it never gets all that warm and as the fire is almost constantly on over our winter it is a nice very gentle heat approximating a dehydrator.
These raw crackers are utterly brilliant my friend 😀
Cheers
CCU
Hey, CCU! Appreciate you taking time away from your studies.
I love the idea of a sweet cracker! And with that ice cream, oh man. EPIC.
Seriously – the crackers were pretty good on their own, but the coconut ice cream pushed ’em over the edge ;-).
Oh good golly YUM…. these sound INSANELY good…. I LOVE dehydrator cracker-snacks like this. I’m a sweet tooth through & through so the idea of these beats out ANY type of savoury cracker – love the cardamom/orange/cacao flavour combo going on – brilliant!
🙂 thanks, Lou! There are so many possibilities, too – other spices, flavors…
With that list of ingredients these have to be scrumpdillyumtios 😛
That’s a first on this blog, girl: scrumpdillyumtios! High praise, indeed!
Yes. Probably needs a spell checking but you got my vibe. I was feeling a little Willy Wonkish O:-)
Those look great. I’m tempted to try them in my oven – I’ve got a proofing setting that might do the trick. Yum!
I really should try it that way, too – if I were the conscientious researcher type – which I so clearly am not…
Why make a second batch when you should be eating the first?
I like the way your mind works!
THAT’S IT! I’m looking on craigslist and ksl now….. I can’t live without one any longer!
That’s a great idea! I’ll bet you have one in a jiffy – and then we can get our dehydrator-crazy on!!
Borrowing one from a neighbor for 30 days….. ! 🙂 Saving my pennies!!
Hehe – brilliant! That way you can see if you like it and how much you might use it.
Have you seen the neat app he put out awhile back? I was sent it to review, and wow, on my iPad it was great!
I haven’t! Must check that out, thanks!
I too love Stacy’s pita chips…please make me a batch of homemade ones..and I will trade you some cupcakes! YUM!
Oooh – I need either a dehyrator or a proofing setting on MY oven. Or to move in with Little Sis. I wonder if she would do my laundry? 🙂
I’ll bet she would if you promise to man (woman??) the dehydrator!
I’m envious of your dehydrator! Especially since you’re making such nummy stuff! Those look delectable…
Oh no… I’m still laughing about your comment to Lorna “I ordered a book about what one can “dry out.” EVERYthing!”
I’ve ordered my own dehydrator and I’m already recognising I’m in trouble! You can dehydrate EVERYthing???? Wow. BTW These look awesome!!!
It’s gonna take us a long time to dehydrate everything ;-)!
LOL – but how much fun to try!!!
These crackers look so delicious!!
Hey, thanks!
I love my Everyday Raw book – it’s beautiful!
Oh and Annie you are so right about the Stacey’s Pita Chips! You warned us before, one day I saw them in the supermarket and remembered you said they were dangerous – they are 🙂
Wow LOVE your beautiful granola bar crackers Annie!
So you didn’t heed my warning, eh ;-)? Those darn chips are addictive!
Today I made my first test batch of raw “pita” chips – will let you know how they turned out!
Love! I haven’t been using
My dehydrator much lately :-/ Honestly, I hate cleaning the darn thing. But, I love using it, so I just need to suck it up, and clean it. Sign
Yummy looking crackers, Annie! You are certainly lately into the raw movement!
Move to Portland, Ann! Be my neighbor! We can go to New Seasons (local grocery chain) and I will show you the fresh young Thai coconuts– AND the mature coconuts– and the frozen coconut meat!
The Not-Boyfriend is SUPER into homemade icecream– he has a really great machine. I make raw vegan “vice” cream with dates, coconut milk, and vanilla beans . . . Delish!
I also want to write an “Ode to Portland(ia) Grocery Stores”– so many raw, local, as-unprocessed-as-possible goodies. There is a company that makes sugar-free, vegan, GF ice cream sandwiches that actually taste NETTER than Ben and Jerry’s. no joke.
Every time I eat one (at the Whole Foods in the Pearl), someone comes up to me (because I absolutely cannot wait to get to my car before I rip the little blessed morsel out of its packaging and devour it greedily, standing up, in the eating area) and says, “Oh. My. God/goodness. Where did you get that?”
So I walk that person back to the freezer section and show him/her the vegan icecream goodness.
Love your writing. And now I have managed to blather on about a casual aside regarding coconuts and not acknowledge your lovely recipe! I am getting a dehydrator this week (I have been spending the earth– the literal/metaphorical earth trying out various brands of kale chips) and so I can’t wait to try this recipe out!
Another gorgeous post!
Peace,
Jen
I’ve never been to Portland (drove through it once, long ago), but I just know I would love it. And you’re killing me!! Talking about the awesome grocery stores – it’s just crue ;-)l! I have to haul my arse 90 minutes west to get to a Whole Foods and they don’t stock the same stuff they stock at, let’s say, more progressive Whole Foods. Very irritating. But – I shouldn’t complain, I am thrilled to have one in the same state.
Anyway, I’m certain you and I could do some major damage and you bet I will coerce you into being my Portland guide when I visit (and someday, someday, I will get there!).
Oh how fun that you’re getting a dehydrator! It’s changed my life, no doubt about it.
Well, you and Kel put Portland in your list of travels and I will prepare a guided tour of restaurants, grocery stores . . . It’s vegan-foodie paradise over here! And we can have a double-date-dinner at my house: you, me, Kel, and the Not-Boyfriend! 🙂
Yummy looking crackers, Annie! You are certainly lately into the raw movement!
I’m kinda dehydrator-obsessed right now ;-)! Hope my readers don’t get too annoyed with me!
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These sound insanely delicious!! I absolutely love the idea of ginger in the cracker too. I’m featuring them tomorrow at Raw Foods Thursdays. Thanks so much for linking them up!
Thanks, Heather! Very cool :-)!
So these are in the dehydrator now and the house smells amazing! Can’t wait to try them tomorrow! Thanks again for sharing them with us!
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