Stocking the Cheese Board with Rosemary Pecan Crisps
If you analyzed my diet over the past two weeks, you’d conclude that cheese and dessert had combined to make a new food group. I feel as though they have been the main staples of my diet since the holidays started and am scratching my head trying to remember consuming an actual ordinary meal–massive multi-course dinner parties excluded, of course.
I’m partially blaming Julie for this influx of artery clogging ripened milk products in my diet because she introduced me to these Rosemary Raisin Pecan Crisps, and once one has the perfect transportation for the cheese from wooden board to lips, there is no stopping the heavy traffic.
Similar to Raincoast Crisps, the deadly addicting, yet expensive cracker that Julie brilliantly patterned her recipe after, these treats, plus a wheel of triple creme Brie are a Girl’s Best Friend. They are delicately flavored with buttermilk & honey, scented with fresh rosemary and contain just enough nuts & fruit to eclipse the rest of the accompaniments on the cheese board.
OK, the crisps are very simple to make–and don’t worry, you’re not going to have to knead bread dough! The batter, which is leavened with baking soda, comes together quickly and two hefty loaves are baked off in a jiff. When cooled, the loaves are sliced and the slices baked again into the crisps you see here; yep, it’s a similar method to making biscotti.
The longest part is probably slicing the loaves, but if you do this while they are very cold or partially frozen, the result will be uniform, thin slices of bread which will produce lovely, lovely crisps.
Do visit Dinner with Julie for her entertaining post on the subject and a few ideas for alternative add-ins.
Rosemary Raisin Pecan Crisps
via Dinner with Julie
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds (optional)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup flax seed, ground
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
Preheat oven to 350° F.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add the buttermilk, brown sugar and honey and stir a few strokes. Add the raisins, pecans, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flax seed and rosemary and stir just until blended.
Pour the batter into two 8”x4” loaf pans that have been sprayed with nonstick spray.
Bake for about 35 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack.
The cooler the bread, the easier it is to slice really thin. You can leave it until the next day or pop it in the freezer.
Slice the loaves as thin 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.)
Reduce the oven heat 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.
Makes about 8 dozen crackers.
wow this looks fab… i can almost taste this … i have to make this… thanks so much for sharing… really mouthwatering pics
Aimee these look lovely, i missed them for the holidays, but I'm sure these would be perfect any time ! Bookmarked for sure.
What a great snack! I love rosemary!
I have GOT to make these! And with brie? Perfect.
Dessert + cheese = my lopsided food pyramid, too! I've got to try these crisps; they look soooo good! Especially with cheese…and some wine…followed by a brownie.
As much as the girls love crackers, they won't eat these. Still searching.
I absolutely LOVE this idea, and I have a feeling these crisps will be making an appearance at book club sometime this year!
Yum! Amaaaazing. I'm dying to try these crisps!
Yummie,..thse crisps look so lovely & fabulous too!
Oh how lovely – LOVE the flavors in the crackers, and I can see how they would be soooo addictive with the brie. Delish!
I loooooooove Raincoast Crisps, but at over $7 a box, I don't buy them anymore except on very special occasions. I've had the recipe in my Facebook message box, from my cousin, for a few months now though and have been dying to make my own batch. SO thanks for the push! They look identcal to the commercial version, but I bet they taste a million times better. Thanks Aimee!
Those look great! We made crackers yesterday; I'm trying to move away from processed foods in our pantry. We'll put these on our list.
so perfect! and so much better than those terrible 'table water' crackers.
wonderful, I think I will be trying your recipes this weekend! (with some cheese and a glass of wine)
I'm gonna make these as soon as everyone in this household has gotten over our case of mild food poisoning!
Seriously! I'll bring the wine if you make this little cheese plate baby!! Looks delish!
~kristin
I can't wait to try these. I love that expensive, addictive cracker! Thanks Aimee and Julie!
I do love Raincoast Chips so thanks for introducign us to this recipe Aimee.
These look so delicious – especially with that slice of cheese on top!
mouth watering…. mmm….
just noticed its dinner time, im thinking my mac and cheese is going to be sad and disappointing after reading this.
Wow. I had some goat cheese in the fridge hanging out, so decided this was a great day to finally try this bread. It is delicious and that is even before toasting. Got a couple slices in the oven toasting, now. Can't wait to see how/if that improves it. I wanted a savory snack to take to a party tomorrow and something to picnic with on a girl's weekend. This is perfect! Thanks! PS-I used whole wheat flour and it worked great.