Healthy, Gluten Free Crackers

These crackers aren't so much a cracker in the thin, crispy sense.  They are thicker, chewier, heartier, with a slight crisp around the edges, and they are oh so good.  They're kind of a crackery/bready/cakey texture.  They're wonderful for the spreading of hummus or baba ghanouj.  They're fantastic as a side for soup.  Rolled thicker and cut larger, they make a good flat bread for sandwiches.  They're also pretty darned good just by themselves.  Not that I know this from experience, because I ate half a dozen of them all by myself or anything.

This recipe is a mash up of the (never home)maker's version and the Oh She Glows version, spiced to match my preferences.  Both of those blogs are amazing, and if you don't follow them, you probably should!  I've learned so much from them both.  Anyway, these crackers are also gluten free and vegan.  Win all the way around here!

This recipe offers one last advantage.  It's a way to use up leftovers.  There tends to be both left over quinoa and left over rice pretty often around here.  Unfortunately, today I had neither, so I actually had to cook!

Healthy, Gluten Free Crackers

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown rice, uncooked
• 1/2 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 1/4 cup ground flax
• 1 TBSP water
• 2 TBSP nutritional yeast
• 1 TBSP thyme
• 1 TBSP oregano
• 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1 tsp tahini
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp garlic, finely minced

Directions:

1.  Cook rice and quinoa in separate pots.

2.  Cool completely.

Because I was very anxious to make these, I just dumped them both into the bowl of the food processor and shoved it in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

3.  Preheat oven to 350°.

4.  Put all ingredients into bowl of food processor and process until well mixed.

Don't worry when it's not dough-like.  It should look like this.

5.  Dump mixture onto a greased cookie sheet.

6.  Flatten and shape the dough with wet hands.

7.  Cover with plastic wrap and roll with rolling pin to help even out the thickness and smooth the tops.  Don't worry about trying to roll it thin.  These AREN'T supposed to be thin little crackers. However, if you want to work on rolling them thin, they will bake up crispier.

8.  Use a pizza cutter to slice into desired shapes.

9.  Bake 15 minutes, and then carefully flip the crackers over.

10.  Bake 15 to 25 minutes more, until golden.  Watch very carefully after 30 minutes so they won't burn.

11.  Cool for 15 minutes on the baking sheet.  They will further firm up while cooling.

Enjoy!