Fruitcake. Dark, moist, dense, boozy, studded with colorful 'funny fruit', inevitably the brunt of re-gifting…
Dried Fruit & Nut Crisps
Bake your own crackers! As simple as slice ‘n bake cookies but more wholesome. Packed with dried apricots, raisins, pistachios, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and no added fat, these crackers are as easy as baking a quick bread then slicing and toasting. You can vary with different spices like cinnamon and allspice, or add black or white pepper to pep them up. They are yummy served with cheese, or snack on them plain. Let me know how your home-baked crackers venture turns out!
Dried Fruit and Nut Crisps
The recipe is flexible to different proportions of the nuts, seeds and spices. For example, almonds can substitute for pistachios, and more or less of each seed is fine for a total of 1-1/4 cups nuts and seeds. Make your own variation! I sometimes make a slightly spicy version with nutmeg, allspice and pepper, or add a couple tablespoons of crystallized ginger for a hit of sweet heat. Or make them plain. The dried fruit and crunchy nuts and seeds can hold their own.
Ingredients
- 1 cup 125g all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup 80g Sun-Maid Golden Raisins
- 1/2 cup 80g thinly sliced Sun-Maid dried apricots
- 1/2 cup 65g coarsely chopped pistachios or almonds
- 1/2 cup 75g raw pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup 30g raw sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup 45g packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp* salt
- 1/4 tsp each, ground nutmeg, allspice and black or white pepper
- 2 tbsp 20g minced crystallized ginger
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 4.5×8.5 or 9×5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
- Combine all ingredients except milk in a large bowl. Mix well. Stir in milk. Batter will be thin, don’t worry!
- Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired — this fancys up the top edge of the crackers when they are sliced.
- Bake until golden brown and a pick inserted in center comes out clean, 35-45 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Run a knife around edge and remove from pan.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze for at least 3 hours or overnight.When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F. Remove loaf from freezer and let stand 5-10 minutes.
- Slice into 1/8-inch slices, using a sturdy sharp knife. Arrange slices in a single layer on an ungreased or parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake turning once or twice until edges are golden brown, 15-20 minutes depending on cracker thickness. Watch carefully the last few minutes, removing any crackers that brown first. Cool on a wire rack.
- Store for 2-3 days in sealed plastic bag or for best crispness, store in a tin. If crackers soften, re-crisp in 300F° oven for 5-10 minutes. Cool.
Notes
Notes:
Saltiness is a preference and also enhances sweet and spicy flavors. Increase salt to ½ to 1 teaspoon as desired.
If you only have salted or dry toasted nuts they will work fine. Adjust salt as needed.
Crackers may soften within 1-2 days with crystallized ginger.
These look wonderful! I look forward to giving them a try.
Thanks Peggy! Let me know what you think and feel free to play around with the flavoring and nut/seed blend. There’s lots or ways to go with it.
Yumm! This is my kind of “snack” and… recipe. Easy peasy and healthy too :o)
These sound delicious! 🙂 I’ll have to try the recipe and see if it can work with non dairy milk
Erika — I’m sure it will work with non-dairy milk. Give it a try and let us know!
I LOVE the crackers like this from Rustic Bakery–it never occurred to me I could make my own! Thanks for the idea and the recipe, Rosemary.
It is such an easy recipe with endless variations. And great to have in the freezer for homemade fresh crackers! Let me know what flavors you create 🙂