Flaxseed and Cracked Pepper Crackers, Cook Book Spotlight with Joy The Baker....

Joy The Bakers new cook book has a plethora of recipes in it which I am jonesing to try! Although there's some dangerously good looking pages of sweet Utopia, I was happy to try the second recipe choice given to us by Heather of Girlichef fame. It was the Flaxseed and Cracked Pepper cracker. I like crackers but growing up I was really only exposed to the Cream Cracker. This was a square water cracker sold in Scotland and it's so dry there's actually an eating challenge made for the cream cracker. One unlucky individual has to eat three in under one minute without any water. It sounds easy but is virtually impossible due to the harsh dryness of the cracker.

Don't worry Joy I'm not going to compare your flax crackers to the above and I apologise to all of the Cream Cracker fans I know, I'm just not one of them. These flax and pepper crackers were very good and really easy to make not to mention pretty good for your body. I did make two adjustments. The recipe calls for flax seed and also flax meal which was almost $10 a bag. I only needed a 1/4 cup so being the tight wad that I am, chose to grind some extra flax seeds in my coffee grinder to make my own flax meal. I also baked them for longer than the suggested time of 15-18 minutes. My reason was, once they came out and cooled they were a little on the soft side. They tasted great but I missed my crunch n' snap. I put them back in the oven and baked them for about another 10 minutes and once cool they were crunchy with that perfect snap. I wouldn't worry about burning them either, the oven temp is 325 degrees and if anything they'll just dry out even more which is how I like them.

They taste earthy and wholesome and I love trying to squish the flax seeds with my teeth after the cracker is on it's way to my stomach. I'm strange that way but I bet I'm not the only person, right? The consistency of my dough was great for rolling and also having buttermilk in them made me smile. I think buttermilk does wonders for recipes adding moisture and more flavor than regular milk or cream. I would definitely make these again and maybe add some pumpkin seeds or grated cheese but  I'd double the recipe as they're almost all gone. My two year old  was having his lunch as I was preparing my photo set and he saw them and started shouting "dookie" which is his word for cookie. I gave him one and he promptly had two more!

Serve these with some cheese, honey and blackberry jam, superb....

Heres the recipe for Flaxseed and Cracked Pepper Crackers, courtesy of Joy The Baker:

1/4 cup gloden flaxseed
1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold cut into cubes
1/2 cup buttermilk
Fresh ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flaxseed. flaxseed meal, flours, baking soda and salt.
Add the butter and work it into the dry ingredients until it resembles coarse oatmeal. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the buttermilk.
Use a fork to bring the dough together and shaggy. Turn out the dough onto a floured board and knead until a ball forms. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for 10 minutes.
When chilled, cut the dough in half and rollout thinnerthan 1/8 thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the crackers or use a pizza cutter to trim the edges and cut the dough into 1 1/2 inch squares. Prick each cracker with a fork and place on a baking sheet. Top with fresh ground black pepper.
Bake crackers for about 15-18 minutes (see my note above about baking times) Remove from the oven and let cool before placing in an airtight container to store.
The crackers will last at room temp for up to 4 days.

This post is part of the Joy the Baker Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef

Would you like to have a chance to win Joy's awesome book? Just head over to Girlichef's blog and enter her giveaway to win a copy of Joy The Baker!