Making Homemade Crackers Challenge

I once had a friend who made chocolate chip cookies regularly. She called them “6 Minute Cookies.” I asked why. She said that it was to remind herself that they really only took 6 minutes of prep time before they got popped in the oven, so she never had an excuse not to make them for her family! I didn’t believe her, so she whipped out a timer and started to make a batch. Sure enough, it was 5 minutes and 42 seconds later when they went into the oven. I was FLOORED. I had been so used to thinking of homemade food as being time consuming or HARD, but she reminded me that it really can be surprisingly EASY.

Last week, I announced a Challenge that promised to be fun, tasty, and inspiring. The task? Make homemade crackers. As many times as you can or want to. The goal? To help you see how easy it is to eat convenient snacks without resorting to store bought options which are often full of trans-fats, hidden MSG, improperly prepared grains, or other nasties. The prize? A $540 KoMo PK-1 Grain Mill from Pleasant Hill Grain.

I shared my own recipe for Homemade Graham Crackers, and asked you to share yours in the comments. So, if you’re looking for healthy, tasty cracker recipes (many of them grain-free), check out the comments on that post!

It’s been a week since the Challenge began, and I want to share an update on our collective progress.

So, I put out the call on my Facebook Page, asking readers who are participating to send me their photos and/or blog posts about the crackers they’ve made. (Seriously, if you guys don’t follow me there, you should! We have really great discussions on all kinds of nutrition & health related topics and news stories, plus I frequently share recipes or other posts from other like-minded bloggers that capture my interest. You’ll like it.)

Without further ado, here are a few samples of the kinds of crackers you all have been making. If you want to include yourself in this post, please email me a photo of your homemade crackers (a picture of your kiddos chowing down on them would be cuter!) along with a brief description of the crackers you made. Alternatively, you can share about your cracker-making experience on your blog, and I’ll link to it here!

Julie Hill’s Gluten-Free Sesame Crackers

First up are these beautiful gluten-free sesame crackers from reader Julie Hill. Thanks, Julie!

Kathy Confer’s Homemade Sea Salt and Olive Oil Crackers

Don’t these look delicious? Kathy, you’re awesome.

Kellie Green’s Like Those Ritz Crackers

How did she get these round shapes? Inquiring minds want to know! They’re so tiny, so it can’t be an inverted glass. A cookie cutter? Thank you, Kellie, for joining in the fun!

Jill Chapin’s Homemade Graham Crackers

Jill Chapin made my Homemade Graham Cracker recipe, but substituted molasses for the honey and regular whole wheat flour for the einkorn. She reports: “It was easy! They were delicious!”

Shaye’s Soaked Whole Grain Crackers

Shaye at The Elliott Homestead created this wonderful recipe for a soaked whole grain cracker for those of you who can’t buy or use sprouted flours. Don’t they look perfect? She’s sharing her recipe for Whole Grain Crackers with you on her blog. Thanks, Shaye, for the recipe and the inspiration!

Hayley’s Cheesy Gluten-Free Crackers

Remember our collective disappointment at the ingredients in store-bought organic cheese crackers? Well, if you find yourself jonesing for cheddar crackers, Hayley at Health Starts in the Kitchen has the solution to your misery. She’s sharing her recipe for Cheesy Gluten Free Crackers with you. Thank you, Hayley, for your creativity!

Want to Join The Challenge?

Remember, every time you make crackers between now until November 11th, you’ll get an entry to win a KoMo PK-1 Grain Mill (valued at $540).

The KoMo PK-1 is the Porsche of grain grinders — luxurious, efficient, and attractive. It’s beautifully crafted with a solid beechwood exterior, a quiet electric motor, and corundum/ceramic burrs to grind a wide variety of grains including wheat, einkorn, oat groats, rice, kamut, spelt, buckwheat, barley, rye, millet, teff, quinoa, amaranth, and sorghum. It will even grind spices, lentils and dry beans.

To join in the Challenge, simply make these or any other crackers, then go to the main Challenge post to enter.

Thank you all for joining in the fun!

(top photo by kelvinbeecroft)