Thursday, December 12, 2013

Parmesan Pecan Crackers -- Low Carb & Wheat/Grain-Free

We had another cold day here today -- it was only 28 degrees this morning and only made it up into the 40s. I had a really busy day today and didn't want to make anything complicated for dinner...but wanted something "comforting" to eat. I had leftover cooked chicken breast in the fridge, so I decided to make a quick Chicken Noodle Soup with it. I made a half batch of tortillas to use as noodles for my soup and just used a carton of chicken stock since I didn't have any homemade stock available. I thinly sliced a carrot and stalk of celery and simmered it in the stock along with the chicken. I stirred my "noodles" into the soup before serving. But...what is soup without crackers? Well, it's soup...and tonight I wanted soup AND crackers, so I made a quick and oh-so-simple batch of Parmesan Pecan Crackers using a mixture of almond flour, pecan meal and Parmesan cheese along with some herbs and spices. The crackers turned out great! We enjoyed them with some cheese along with our soup. I snapped a couple photos below as well as the easy cracker recipe. It only takes about 5 to 10 minutes to make the crackers and roll them out and then about 15-20 minutes to bake them...and they are really good. With the upcoming holidays they would be great with cheese or dipped in hummus or topped with a variety of different spreads. They are actually good all by themselves. Enjoy!




Parmesan Pecan Crackers
Makes approximately 4 dozen crackers

Ingredients:

·        1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
·        3/4 cup almond flour
·        3/4 cup pecan meal
·        2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
·        1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
·        1/4 teaspoon onion powder
·        1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
·        1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste
·        1/4 teaspoon sea salt
·        1 large egg
·        1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place first 9 ingredients (all the dry ingredients) in a medium bowl.

In a separate small bowl, whisk egg and olive oil until combined; pour into dry mixture. Combine mixture using a rubber spatula into stiff dense dough; knead a couple times in the bowl with the heel of your hand to thoroughly combine and moisten ingredients; shape into a ball.

Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the size of your baking pan; place parchment on counter or workspace. Place dough in center and press down evenly with your hands to about 1-inch thick. Place another sheet of parchment on top of dough. Roll dough out between parchment paper until about 1/8-inch thick. Remove top sheet of parchment; transfer bottom parchment to baking pan. If desired, lightly sprinkle additional sea salt on top of dough. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutting wheel, cut into 1-inch squares, or desired size.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until light golden brown, checking frequently. If crackers on outer edge begin browning more quickly, carefully remove those and transfer to a plate or rack. When crackers are done, remove from oven and leave on parchment paper until cool. Separate crackers and enjoy. Store cooled crackers in an air tight container.

*Note – If crispier crackers are desired, after separating baked crackers, return to a 300 degree oven for about 5 to 7 minutes until crisp. 

18 comments:

CyberSis said...

Hi GGC,

Boy, do I love crackers! :-) I've actually made them using your pizza crust recipe spread out real thin (on parchment,) baked for a few minutes (till dough was somewhat "set") then flattened out some more, cut up with a pizza cutter, spread out, and then popped back into the oven to finish baking. (How's that for a run-on sentence ... I'm up too late!) The pizza crust crackers were so good with some wonderful dips that we brought home from a Middle Eastern restaurant.

These crackers, though, with the pecan meal, look scrumptious! What a great idea! It must really give the crackers a wonderful flavor. And the color is gorgeous. These are definitely on my "hit list"! I have pecans in the freezer. I’m thinking that one could pulverize them in the food processor ... maybe you’d have to be careful not to end up with “pecan butter,” though.

Sami said...

I thought of making some dips as appetizers for Christmas, now I have the ideal crackers to bake, instead of buying Gluten free chips or crackers. Thanks, and have a wonderful Christmas and New Year.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Sami -- I hope you enjoy these crackers -- you can change the spices, or cheese, too if you'd like. I think they would be better than buying gluten free crackers/chips. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, too! :-)

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Cybersis -- I love crackers, too -- they should have named me Polly! LOL I have had other folks tell me they used my pizza crust to make crackers before too -- I will have to try that out some day as well. I'm sure pecans can be easily ground -- but you are right -- one pulse too many and you'll have pecan butter! ;-)

dana said...

I tried these yesterday. They were so good I made another double batch. Did them exactly as written and I put them back in @300 for 7 min .Lotsa crackers!
They are good. Thank you.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Dana -- so glad you liked them! I am going to make more as well either tonight or tomorrow! Thanks! :-)

Unknown said...

Just took these crackers out of the oven! They are so tasty and easy to make! I can't wait to munch on them while ringing in the New Year! Thank you and Happy New Year, GGC!!

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Thanks, Mickie! So glad you like the crackers -- I actually made a batch this afternoon, too, to enjoy this evening with cheese. Happy New Year!!! :-)

Darlene said...

I wanted to make these today but had forgotten to get pecans, so I ground up sesame seeds in place of them. They came out fantastic! We've really been missing not having a healthy cracker.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Darlene -- good choice for a substitution! Sesame is one of my favorite flavors in a cracker, too. It's amazing how simple crackers are to make, isn't it? Now you have a snack to munch on or take with you in your purse (I've done that) as well as something to dip if you choose to...we enjoyed crackers and cheese over the holiday time. :-)

Anonymous said...

OMGosh!! I am so thankful that I found your site. Every recipe that I have made of yours has been wonderful. Just made the crackers...and although mine were about 1/8" thick I didn't get 4 dozen out of it...they were wonderful. Had them for lunch with some cheese and lil' pickles. Gonna make up about 4 batches to have to snack on with cheese for a couple of weeks. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your awesome recipes with the rest of us. I hope you never get tired of doing this so the rest of us can benefit from your hard work. Dale

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Dale,

Thanks so much! I'm so happy you enjoyed the crackers. It's nice to be able to have a cracker again isn't it? I like them with soup or with cheese and even just by themselves. Just a tip, if they lose their crispness from humidity, etc...popping them back in the oven (on a baking sheet) and baking them for a few minutes and cooling crisps them up again nicely! Thanks again for the kind words! :-)

Sharlou said...

I made these crackers today and they are wonderful. Haven't used any cheese but will tonight. Thank you Gourmet Girl for all your recipes. I love all of them I have tried.

Sharlou said...

I made these crackers this morning and they are wonderful. Thank you Gourmet Girl for all your recipes. Haven't made one that I didn't care for.

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Sharon,

Thanks so much. So happy you like the crackers and other recipes you've tried. Happy New Year! :-)

teaforme said...

I finally made these crackers today. I didn't quite get 4 dozen however, that didn't matter once I tasted them. I'll be making them again as I do with just about every one of your recipes that I've tried.
Many of my friends ask me how can I abstain from wheat products? I tell them to check out your site and it will tell you how.

Thank you for doing what you do.

Irene Keating

Gourmet Girl Cooks said...

Hi Irene,

So happy you enjoyed them! Some of how many crackers you get can depend on how thinly you roll them out, but like you said they are good regardless. Just a tip...if it's humid where you live (like it is here where I live) and they need to be re-crisped, simply pop them in a low oven (250-ish degrees) for a few minutes to re-crisp. It works great! So happy you are enjoying my recipes. I honestly do not miss wheat because I have found I still have plenty of variety and non-wheat alternatives of most of the things I like. Thanks so much for the kind words and you are more than welcome! :-)

Victoria Snelling said...

Do you have the nutritional information for these recipes? Even just the macros? I can eat if if I can't count it. Thanks.