Whole Wheat Crackers

We enjoy homemade crackers from time to time.  They are so much nicer than bought crackers, I don't know why I don't make them more often.  These are delicious served along side a bowl of soup or used to scoop up an egg salad or used as an alternative to potato chips when you get the late-night munchies. They also take a little jam or cheese as any conventional cracker would. 

I don't usually use the sugar, but do so if you desire.  The sugar barely makes a difference but you will have a slightly sweeter cracker.  

I also made a few animal crackers today.  I added cinnamon to the original recipe and cut out the crackers with animal cookie cutters.  So cute for the kiddies. 

Whole Wheat Crackers
1 cup whole wheat flour
¼-½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar, optional
½ teaspoon baking powder
2-3 tablespoons cold water
¼ cup + 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Coarse salt or sugar for sprinkling on top, optional

(For Animal Crackers add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and add the sugar.  Sprinkle with coarse sugar before baking.)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  You will need an ungreased 15x10-inch cookie or baking sheet. 
 
In a medium bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Mix the oil and water together and add all together to the flour mixture.  Stir together until you have a soft lump of dough.  Don't over work the dough.   

Roll dough directly out on the cookie or on a piece of parchment paper and transfer to the pan.  Score into squares or rectangles.  Sprinkle with salt, if desired.   Bake 375 degree oven for 10 minutes or until golden brown.  Watch that the crackers do not burn.

Let crackers cool on pan before removing.  Store in air tight container.  

Makes about 18-24 crackers, depending on how you cut them.  
 

Gather a few simple ingredients and you can have homemade crackers.  The sugar is optional.

Mix the dry ingredients together.  Mix the water and oil together and pour into the flour and mix all together.  You should have a nice soft lump of dough.  Don't over work the dough.

You may roll the dough directly on to the pan or roll out on parchment paper and transfer dough and paper to the baking sheet.

Use a knife or a pizza cutter to score the dough before baking.  Make your crackers as big or small as you want.  Use a fork to poke holes in the dough to keep it from blistering.  This is called "docking" the dough.  Sprinkle a little coarse salt on the crackers if you wish.

Bake the crackers for 10-12 minutes.  These are baked perfectly.  Watch very carefully as they will burn quickly once they are baked.  I had to throw out my first batch this morning because I wasn't vigilant the last minute or two.

I made rectangular crackers and then remembered I had animal cookie cutters, so I made animal crackers as well.  I added cinnamon to the animal cracker dough and sprinkled the  dough animals with a little coarse sugar.

Animal Crackers ready for soup.  Listen here for the song, Animal Crackers in My Soup.

Ready for a little jam or cheese.