Rosemary Wheat Crackers

Pin It Now! As each day passes, winter comes closer to an end! It is quite exciting, although, a great amount of snow still covers the ground from the last snow storm. The temperatures are rising and the birds are beginning to sing their song! You can almost feel it in your bones, spring is near! Feels good, huh??? Now, onto the good stuff: FOOD!

My parents had a dinner party and had asked that I made some baguettes and some of my Wheat Thin knock-offs, as well as dessert. Of course I gladly accepted!!! The baguettes came out wonderfully, like they did the last time I made them, thank goodness! As did these crackers and the dessert.

Background on myself: I love Rosemary. Rosemary Clooney, that is. I could listen to her sing all day. Honestly. Love her. I feel like we could have been best of buds! :o) Sisters, sisters... There were never such devoted sisters... Oh wait!! This is a FOOD blog, my mistake. This is perhaps for another conversation.

Let's see! Where was I? Rosemary!!! Yes, Rosemary. I looove using Rosemary (the herb) as I cook. I'm sure you have all eaten the Triscuits with the rosemary and olive oil. There's simply no debating it, they're the best! After racking my brain, thinking of a way to make Triscuits, I decided that it is potentially quite difficult and perhaps meant to be done when I'm not making it for dinner guests. At those moments, you stick with what works. My knock-off Wheat Thins that I made about a month ago. I decided to combine what I love about those rosemary Triscuits with my Wheat Thins recipe! This was the result, and I was quite pleased!

Rosemary Wheat Crackers
Adapted recipe by King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking
Yields 13 dozen crackers



1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
2 tablespoons rosemary
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) butter
1/4 cup (2 ounces) water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Additional salt for topping (optional)

1. TO MAKE THE DOUGH: Combine the flour, sugar, salt, rosemary and paprika in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and mix it in thoroughly, using your fingers, a pastry blender, a mixer or a food processor. Combine the water and vanilla, and add to the flour mixture, mixing until smooth.

2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease baking sheets or line with parchment paper.

3. TO ROLL AND CUT THE DOUGH: Divide the dough into 4 pieces; keep the other pieces covered while you work with one at a time. Lightly flour your work surface and your rolling pin and roll the piece of dough into a large rectangle, which should be at least 12 inches square when trimmed. Keep your pin and the surface of your dough evenly floured. Flip the dough frequently to keep it from sticking, but too much flour will make it difficult to roll. Keep rolling until the dough is as thin as you can get it without tearing, at least 1/16 inch thick. Trim the dough to even the edges and use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to cut the piece into squares approximately 1 1/2 inches wide.

4. Transfer the squares to a prepared baking sheet; you can crowd them together, as they don’t expand while baking. Sprinkle the squares lightly with salt, if desired. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Save the scraps under plastic wrap and reroll them all at once just one time.

5. TO BAKE THE CRACKERS: Bake the crackers, one sheet at a time, until crisp and browned, 5 to 7 minutes. If some of the thinner crackers brown too quickly, remove them and return the remaining crackers to the oven to finish baking. These crackers bake quickly, so watch them closely - even 30 seconds can turn them from golden brown to toast! Remove the crackers from the oven and cool on the pan or on a plate; they cool quickly. These crackers will stay crisp for several days, but are best stored in airtight containers.