Homemade Fruit & Nut Crisps
I‘ve got a love/hate relationship with crackers. They’re an easy entertaining option – serve a box of rye crisps with a wedge of firm cheese and a handful of dried fruit and you’ve got a fast appetizer – and are mighty convenient for handing out to the kids while killing time in a line-up. But they have their drawbacks too.
Excessive packaging, nutritional failings, not to mention high cost, keep me from frequently stocking my pantry with store-bought crackers. In the past, when the holidays rolled around, I would get tempted to stash an assortment of crisps and crackers for entertaining, but now I make my own, thanks to this recipe for homemade crisps.
Homemade crackers? Isn’t that a lot of work?
Yes and no. Most homemade crackers require rolling out the dough and cutting each cracker individually, which can take some time. These crisps, however, are first baked as a loaf, then thinly sliced and toasted – no rolling required. I’m certain even the novice baker could turn out a successful batch – and once you taste them, there’s no going without!
These highly addicting fruit crisps are delicately flavored with buttermilk & honey, scented with fresh rosemary and contain just enough nuts & dried fruit to complement the rest of the accompaniments on the cheese board.
7 Reasons to Love Homemade Crisps
1. No Preservatives or Packaging
Store bought crackers usually carry lots of trans fat and unwanted preservatives to increase their shelf life. Rest assured you’ll know every ingredient that goes into your crisps.
2. Ideal Do-Ahead Baked Good
These crisps freeze well both as pre-sliced loaves as well as in their cracker-like state. Stored in an airtight container, they can last up to two weeks in the pantry, but I’m willing to bet they will be consumed long before then.
3. Pick Your Own Flavor Combinations
Customize your crisps by choosing your favorite ingredients to fill out the fruit, seed and nut categories. Hate raisins? No problem, just replace them with dried apricots or cranberries.
4. Kid-friendly Baking Activity
I made several batches of crisps with my two-year-old on his ‘helping’ stool. By having all the ingredients pre-measured, it was easy to include him in the mixing (and tasting!) without worrying over mixed up measurements.
5. Made in 2 Steps
We all know that the window of time for baking is often short, so I love that these crisps can be made in two steps.
- Step 1: Mix and bake loaves (which can then be wrapped and frozen.)
- Step 2: Slice & bake crisps.
6. They’re Healthy!
Wheat flour, wheat germ, flax, assorted seeds – these are just some of the ingredients that contribute to your daily intake of Omega-3’s and help to lower your cholesterol.
7. Homemade Cracker Freakout Factor
You’ll understand this one once you’ve made and served these crisps to guests and the umpteenth person exclaims:
“You MADE these? She made these. I can’t believe you made these.”
Yeah, it happens every time.
Now, on to the recipe.
Apricot-Hazelnut Crisps
Ingredients
Crisps Base Recipe
- 1 cup organic whole-wheat flour
- 1 cup organic all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups buttermilk
- 1/4 cup raw cane sugar
- 1/4 cup liquid honey
Seeds:
- 1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup ground flax seed
Suggested Add-ins:
- 1/2 cup apricots
- 1/2 cup dried figs chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- or
- 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup figs
- 1/2 cup pecans chopped
- Zest of one orange
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
Bake the Loaves
- In a large bowl, stir together the flours, baking soda and salt. Add the buttermilk, cane sugar and honey and stir a few strokes.
- Add the seeds, (pumpkin, sesame, and flax) apricots, dried figs, hazelnuts, and rosemary and stir just until blended.
- Pour the batter into 1 8”x4” loaf pan and 2 mini-loaf pans that have been sprayed with nonstick spray.
- Bake for about 22 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack.
- Wrap tightly and freeze slightly before slicing. OR freeze for up to two months, then partially thaw, slice and bake for fresh crackers.
Slice & Bake the Crisps
- The cooler the bread, the easier it is to slice really thin. I start with my loaves partially frozen.
- Slice the loaves as thinly as you can and place the slices in a single layer on an ungreased cookie sheet. (Julie likes to slice and bake one loaf and pop the other in the freezer for another day.)
- Preheat the oven to 300°F and bake them for about 15 minutes, then flip them over and bake for another 10 minutes, until crisp and deep golden.
- Cool and store in an airtight container.
Notes
Nutrition
It looks like a lot of ingredients, but each one is important for the flavor and texture of the loaf, so make a list, check it twice, and get going!
Also, one recipe makes about eight dozen crackers, so it’s well worth the work.
Crackers. Do you pull them out for entertaining? What’s a favorite flavor and have you ever made your own?
This is a neat idea! Great for appetizers with cheese! Looks delicious!
Oh this sweet type of crisp is my favorite and they are like 7$ a small box, great recipe indeed!
I know, they are SO expensive to buy. This recipe makes a bunch, so they’re also nice to giveaway.
These are beautiful and what a great idea. I tried a cranberry stilton a few weeks ago and was in love. These would be great together.
I think that would be a fantastic combo, Shannon. Yum!
Yes! I’ve made a Spelt flour cracker a few times and they were a big hit. I had lunch with Julie a few weeks ago and we chatted about this very recipe. I really like your adapted version and have added both recipes to my holiday-making list.
Thanks Jan! Julie is such an inspiration.
I love making my own crackers. I don’t make them nearly enough.
These look delicious! Perfect with some type of gorgonzola!
Thanx Aimee ! I will absolutely be making these. Yum 8)
They’re so addictive, Tavia, and perfect with a glass of wine. 😉
I actually want to try and make crackers again! A while back I did it…and it was so much work and not all that great. These look delicious though!
I’ve been making my own crackers since last March now, for all the reasons you cited. These look great; love to try them, but I’m not getting the scale on these– are they cracker sized or larger?
Xan, some are long and narrow (baked in a regular loaf pan), about 3-inches by 1 inch. Others are more or less 2 inches square, those were baked in mini loaf pans.
Hi Aimee
The smallest pan I can find is 2.5″ wide. Have you actually found a 2″wide pan anywhere? Seems like it would make a more delicate size. Thank you very much ?
Could you swap out the dried fruit for something savory like sundried tomatoes?
Sure you could. That sounds delicious!
For a savory cracker, would I need to substitute other ingredients for the cane sugar and honey, or just omit them? If the latter, would other ingredient quantities or ratios need to be changed in order to achieve the right texture?
Definitely do not omit them. The final product is not at all sweet so don’t worry about that.
My husband and I are negotiating a date on our calendar for making a bunch of these to give as gifts! Thanks for the wonderful idea. My husband is Mr. Crackers in our house; he has made a variety of seeded and nutty whole-wheat crackers that were awesome. He thinks your recipe sounds great. Thanks so much!
Best comment ever!
It’s as though this recipe was created just for me! I can’t wait to make these. I could eat fruit and nut bread/crackers for every meal. Seriously.
*Love* these, especially the versatility–I’m all about recipes I can customize to better suit my family &/or guests. I came online looking for something snacky and crisp to balance out the holiday menu, and was thrilled to find the answer in my twitter feed!
Oh my goodness! This looks amazing! I love those types of crackers – there’s a B.C company that makes them but they’re waaay too expensive.
Thank you so much!
I know, Raincoast Crisps, right. So why ARE they so expensive? 😉 Give these a try, impress your friends, and have spare change leftover!
Can’t wait to try this!
My daughter is doing the “what can I make today mum” thing. She’s decided that cooking is a way to alleviate those days that aren’t the usual crazy busy. I must say that i’m kind of getting impressed with her ability to just make what she feels like! This is a definite print out for her and can you imagine when i pull them out and people say ‘did she really make them? ‘ she’s 12..that would be so cool! thanks aimée.
Super cool, indeed. She could definitely make these, although you may want to help with the slicing.
Oh my goodness!! These look wonderful! I cannot wait to make them!! Thanks!
This recipe reminds me biscotti because we have to bake it twice. Except biscotti are for dessert, they are sweet.
I look forward trying your recipe of crispy.
thanks
Exactly! These are like a savory, thin biscotti.
These look great, and I look forward to making them! This ma be a stupid question, but what do you mean by “raw cane sugar”? Just regular sugar? Or something like demerera (sp?) sugar? thanks!
You can use demerera, if that is all you have but whole cane sugar is the best sweetener, as depicted here:
http://simpleorganic.net/whole-cane-sugar-a-better-way-to-sweeten/
Good question.
I have never made homemade crackers before but you really have me thinking about it now! I just realized how great it would be to show up with these for Thanksgiving. I’m usually known of bringing sweets but you gotta change it up now and then 🙂
Oh a quick question! What type of cheese did you serve these little crackers with?
These crackers really go with almost any cheese, Nanny. I served them with a soft St Andre, but a creamy blue or a firm Gouda would also be great!
I am looking for something to take to a party where the host is extremely allergic to nuts, Do you think these would still be good with just the fruit in them?
Totally. Just increase the seeds…
Those look delicious!! I love the added fruit. Homemade crackers and crisps are so much better than store bought. Thanks for the tips.
Looks as if I’ve just found myself the perfect “date” for my cup of coffee! YUM!
I do pull out the crackers for entertaining. I’ve never made them before, but would love to try these.
this is full of goodness. that double baking make the cookies taste more awesome. love this recipe ! 🙂
I have never made crackers before, but I love that its this simple! whoo-hoo! Thanks for sharing.
LOVE these! they’re so great to have on hand to slice and bake whenever you need them!
Now the problem for me would be wanting to eat these all up. I can only imagine with some goat cheese how delicious they are.
These look so golden and delicious. I can’t wait to make these!
I want to directly grab your rss feed to stay informed of any updates, but I cant find it, do you have one?
These look delicious, I can’t wait to make them.
question: do you mean that you can either use 1 8 x 4 loaf pan, or 2 mini loaf pans? thx!
These were the definite hit of the party last night. Everyone was fascinated by how they were made and wanted the recipe, of course.
I had baked them a few days earlier and found that they had lost their crispness, so I recrisped them in the oven for a little over 10 minutes – turned them over once – and that did the trick.
I bought a new pan – sort of like a muffin tin, but with 8 mini loaves – and can’t wait to try it with this recipe.
Thank you again for sharing this.
I have made my own crackers before, I’ve made whole wheat crackers and cheese crackers. I tend to eat the cheese ones on their own, but I like to pair the whole wheat ones with some soft mild cheeses. I like that this one has a variety of nuts and seeds and can be frozen and sliced when needed.
Made these for Christmas, and everyone went CRAZY when they found out they were homemade!! Thank you for the fantastic recipe (and your blog, in general!). LOVE THEM! I used a ‘muffin’ like tin (12 square openings -made by Wilton) and found that one recipe filled this exactly. It’s perfect to put this size of loaf into the freezer and take out as needed. I made 2 batches, one each of the apricot/fig, and the cranberry fig. I used white figs with the cranberries, and dark figs with the apricots. Each little loaf makes about 15 crackers, so I take out one of each which is just enough for a party! Thanks again for this post!
Thanks so much, Judy! I always love to hear that a reader has enjoyed a recipe.
Merry Christmas!
I made these to add to christmas gift boxes, and they were a HUGE hit!
Recently, I had something similar in a bread basket somewhere (WHY can’t I remember where??), and they had sprinkled a little cinnamon-sugar on top, maybe even a light brushing of butter, too. SO good!
I made these today, and my cracker-loving husband and 15 mo old daughter were big fans. My add-ins were simply dried cranberries, rosemary, and walnuts; we plan to eat plain or with some soft blue cheese.
I made it in the regular loaf pan size, and it took closer to 32 minutes for it to set. At 22 minutes, the loaf was still mostly batter in the middle. I think I need to cook it for longer than 25 minutes to toast them at the end, too. I thought maybe they’d crisp up when they dried, but they only did slightly and could go longer, for sure. I only did one sheet tonight, so I have many more to experiment with tomorrow.
The taste was delicious and I love the health factor. My husband was very surprised to learn there wasn’t oil or butter in it. Thanks for sharing and this will for sure be a staple in our house!
Hi! Do you have a gluten -free version? They look amazing!
I was going to make these last year and somehow never did. I was just thinking about them the other day – thanx for reposting !! 🙂
Yes! So happy you posted this recipe! Now I can make my own instead of eating all of yours!! ;D
I remember these. They look so good. Can’t say I’ve ever made crackers, I’ve had recipes in hand but never got to them-maybe I’ll make yours…you had me at freezer friendly. 🙂
I think these would be great with nutella!
Looks like a big recipe, but certainly worth it. I’m going to try it for an upcoming dinner party.
I found this recipe by way of your vegetarian Thanksgiving post. Thank you so much for both. I can’t wait to try these (and the appetizers in particular for the Thanksgiving meal).
Cari
I had to stop buying crackers – either there were unwanted ingredients or they weren’t tasty. I have of the latter still in my cupboard; I would not serve them to guests. I have not yet made my own but I might now. I don’t like AP flour so first I will try spelt.
I wanted to follow your blog but there doesn’t seem to be a method I can use.