Homemade Wheat Thins

Recently, a major movement has been rekindled that involves making food that could be store bought. New cookbooks are being published and recipes shared for homemade twix bars, pop-tarts, and granola bars. If I had more than 24 hours in a day I would love to home prepare as much of my food as possible, however often as a result of being pinched for time it seems to my greater benefit to buy something already prepared. This recipe is a great exception. I stumbled upon it and immediately decided I had to try it. With only a few simple ingredients, this recipe is a clean way to eat the delicious and traditional wheat thin cracker, while knowing exactly what ingredients have been involved.

In my college-level rented kitchen we did not have a rolling pin, which I discovered quite late in the game, so instead I ended up using my roommate’s 24 ounce beer can. I guess you gotta do what you gotta do! Despite some kitchen utensil improvisation, the crackers ended up tasting delicious. Pair it with a dip, some peanut butter, munch on them by themselves, and share them with your friends- you’ll love the satisfaction of being able to say you made your own cracker.

Ingredients

• 1 ¼ cups (5 oz) 100% whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt, plus extra for sprinkling on
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• 4 Tablespoons Earth Balance or butter
• ¼ cup + 2 Tbsp water (or a tiny bit more if dough is too dry)
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla
• Optional: garlic powder, sesame seeds, other spices for flavoring as desired

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients and whisk (flour, sugar, paprika, salt).
3. Using two forks, begin to cut the butter into the flour mixture until the mixture is crumbly.
4. In a small bowl mix together the water and vanilla, and then add to the flour mixture.
5. Stir the mixture until the flour has been moistened and the dough comes together. Don’t be afraid to use your hands! You may need to squeeze the dough in order to make it adhere to itself.
6. (If the dough is too dry, add a touch of water. You do not want the dough to be sticky however.)
7. Split the dough in half. On a clean and floured surface, roll out half of the dough using a floured rolling pin. You want the dough to be extremely thin- about 1/16^th of an inch.
8. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into small squares (or desired shape) and move to the prepared baking sheet.
9. Sprinkle with desired spices, sesame seeds, or salt as desired
10. Bake for 8- 10 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Watch the crackers closely! Due to the fact that they are so thin they can burn quickly.
11. Cool completely and store in an air-tight container.

Notes and Tips:

• Yield: 60- 65 crackers crackers
• This yield is enough to fill two baking sheets. If you choose to bake both sheets together, make sure you rotate the sheets half way through so they are evenly baked.
• The key to the ideal cracker is getting the dough extremely thin while rolling it. If the dough is thicker, the chips will feel more like pita chips and less like wheat thins.

This recipe was created by Angela Liddon from “Oh She Glows“