These Homemade Gourmet Crackers are a revelation. A copycat of the gourmet fruit and nut crackers sold at the stores to serve with cheese that I love but are pricey! These are simple to make, keeps for weeks, cost 80% less than store bought and taste so much better, you’ll be amazed (I was!).
Spectacular with cheeses and spreads, and for gifting!
Stop press!!! Big news – DOZER HAS A BUTTON!!
↑↑↑ For all Dozer lovers out there who just want to skip straight to Dozer and see what cheeky antics he’s up to today, just click on the Dozer button and it will take you straight down to him, then you can come back and read the post!!!
Oh – there is a button to jump to the Recipe too, which I’ve had for a while now, and I also added a button to jump straight down to the Video.
A button for everyone – whatever you’re after! Dozer, recipe video or just the recipe!
OK, enough about the Dozer button. Onto today’s recipe – Homemade Gourmet Crackers!! I am super excited about this one because I’ve had some great feedback from my official taste testing team (aka my mother’s golf friends who descend upon the beach shack for a post-golf lunch and provide very constructive feedback on my recipes).
These crackers are so great, I really wish I had a fantastic story to go with them. But actually, I don’t. Quite simply, gourmet crackers are all the rage nowadays but I just can’t bring myself to pay the rather obscene prices for them. Fellow Aussies may have noticed a certain brand of gourmet crackers prominently placed near the cheese and spreads section of supermarkets like Woolworths and Coles. Crackers that look just like these homemade ones – except they are round – and they cost $6 for 15 pieces. $6!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have been known to drop a small fortune on designer shoes a handful of times in my life. However, I cannot bring myself to pay $6 for one packet of gourmet crackers, especially when 1 packet would never suffice for my gatherings, I’d have to get 3 or 4. Can you imagine paying $24 just for the crackers for a cheese board??
Oh wait, I just realised I totally lied. I did buy one packet – for taste testing purposes, to copy them. 😉 I’d been eyeing them off for months, wanting to do a huge cheese board with these gourmet crackers. Then finally the penny dropped – get a packet and copy them.
So that’s what I did.
These are very simple to make. It’s just like mixing up a muffin batter, except it’s baked in a loaf tin. Freeze (to make it super easy to slice thinly), slice, then bake again. It’s like making biscotti (ooooh, haven’t done that yet!!). It’s highly customisable, and brilliant for making ahead because the baked crackers stay crisp for at least 1 month OR you can keep the loaf in the freezer for weeks and weeks, then bake when you want them.
My taste testers agreed 100% that there is no contest when comparing these Homemade Gourmet Crackers to the store bought ones. With homemade, you can actually truly taste the ingredients – the spices, the cranberries, the sunflower seeds. The store bought one has far less flavour. When you taste them one after the other, which we all did, the difference is so “in your face”, it’s quite extraordinary.
If you’re planning a cheeseboard these upcoming holidays, I truly hope you consider these. Your family and friends will be blown away. They really are so simple, customisable, and make ahead – my taste testers were eating crackers I’d made 4 weeks earlier!
Oh – and they cost about 20% of the gourmet crackers that I copied. 🙂 I have a little gathering with friends this weekend, and I’m wondering how many times I will point to the crackers on the cheese board and proudly say “I made those”. I’ll ask my friends to keep count! – Nagi x
More cookie / cracker copycats
Other recipes I’ve created in the past for the same reason as these Byron Bay cookie copycat recipe (ie because I love ’em but they’re expensive!)
-
Byron Bay Cookies Copycat White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies – big, thick, buttery cookies loaded with white chocolate and macadamia nuts. Crisp with a tender melt-in-your-mouth texture, just like Byron Bay Cookies!
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Muesli Cookies (Breakfast Cookies / Granola Cookies) – copycat of the thick, chunky, chewy muesli cookies sold in cafes across Australia. A healthy breakfast option because it’s like a bowl of oatmeal in cookie form – refined sugar free, low fat, gluten free, keeps you full for ages but it tastes like a sweet cookie!
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Homemade Gourmet Crackers
Ingredients
- 1 cup / 250 ml milk (any fat % cow's milk)
- ¼ cup / 50g brown sugar , packed
- ¼ cup plain unsweetened yoghurt (I used Greek)
- ½ cup / 75g plain flour (all purpose)
- ½ cup / 75g whole wheat / wholemeal flour
- ½ cup dried cranberries (or other dried fruit of choice)
- 1 tsp baking soda / bi-carb (or 3 tsp baking powder)
- ½ cup rolled oats (or 1/3 cup more nuts of choice)
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds (or other seeds or nuts of choice)
Spices:
- ½ tsp ground turmeric (can omit)
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp nutmeg (or All Spice or 1/8 tsp cloves)
- ¼ tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried rosemary (or ½ tsp more thyme)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F (all oven types). Grease and line a small loaf tin with baking paper (mine is 21 x 11 x 7 cm / 8.5 x 4.5 x 3”) (Note 1).
- Whisk the milk, sugar and yoghurt in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, add plain flour, wholemeal flour and cranberries. Stir – use fingers to break up cranberries if required.
- Add remaining ingredients, including Spices, plus the milk mixture. It should be a thick batter, like muffin batter (note: batter in video looks slightly thicker because it was standing for a couple of minutes, doesn't affect outcome).
- Scrape/pour into tin. Bake for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Cool on rack, then wrap in cling wrap and freeze for at least 2 hours, up to 3 months. (Note 2)
- Unwrap loaf and allow to thaw partially so the outside is not rock hard frozen (around 20 minutes).
- Preheat oven to 120C/250F (all oven types). Place one shelf in the middle, and another shelf beneath it.
- Use a serrated bread knife to slice thinly – around 2 mm / 1/12” thick (see video). Place biscuits on 2 large baking trays, you can squeeze them in as they won’t expand or stick.
- Bake for 50 minutes or until they are a light brown, swapping trays halfway.
- Leave biscuits on tray to cool – they will harden so they snap when you break them. (Note 3)
- Store in an airtight container for 4 weeks (probably ok for longer, I’ve only done 4 weeks). Brilliant served with creamy cheeses like brie, camembert, but soft, creamy blue cheeses is the ultimate pairing!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
LIFE OF DOZER
Dozer smacking his lips over MY lunch today – a very spicy Asian Noodle Salad. No spicy salad for you Dozer! Too painful for you!
Finished making these earlier today Now enjoying with blue cheese and scotch. Wow! so much better than the bought versions. Worth the effort for sure. I used dried apricots (because that’s what I had) but will explore variations now.
This is exactly how I enjoy them: with Jameson whiskey and blue cheese. I got addicted to wheat thins with my whiskey/blue cheese when I lived in the US (now back in Europe), but these are a very good substitution for them
Just made 3 loaves – original (Cranberry & sunflower seeds), apricot & almond, fig & pistachio. They look & smell amazing!
Waiting for them to cool before freezing. Wish me luck with the slicing!
Loved this recipe — so very timely in the lead up to the silly season. The fact I know what’s going into the batch (good things!) vs all the additives etc. of the store bought version is my main driver. I riffed today and leaned into middle eastern spices, crunchie pistachios and subbed fresh chopped dates for the cranberries. Yum! Thanks again Wonder Woman!
Hi
Can I substitute brown sugar with honey.My husband doesn’t take sugar.Or what else can I use.
Thanks.
I have made several batches of these and substituted honey for sugar in some. Still works very well.
Very good. Easy to make and really good with brie. I followed the recipe and they turned out great. I’ll be making some to give to my friends who don’t cook. Better than the crackers you can buy in the store. Thanks!!!
Does the gourmet crackers work with GF flour ?
I made these successfully with White Wings Gluten free flour the other day. I added a tsp of zanthum gum to the mixture as well. They worked perfectly and tasted so good 😊
I am wondering the same thing!
Hi there Nagi,
These look so scrumptious. Would they be successful made gf do you think.
Cheers. 🌸 Mandy.
Sensational – I’ve made 3 batches today, strictly as per the recipe, for some Christmas get togethers over the coming weekend. I’m wolfing them down on their own – they’re going to be a revelation with cheese added!
Appears 2 b a Great Recipe. Will try it out soon! 😄
Can I sub with GF flour and plant-based milk in the gourmet crackers recipe?
I think the range of crackers you refer to begins with an O. I know the rep in my local community. I agree the cost is exorbitant. I bought some from Costco but nothing says delicious like a Nagi recipe and your friends and family will feel the love!!
Hi Nagi! I used this recipe as a basis for savory crackers so my apologies up front for all the changes I had to make! But wanted to leave a comment to attest to the versatility of your recipe and of course, I plan to make your version, next.
I’m vegan so right off the bat, sub’ed water for the milk and yogurt. Also, used chopped olives in place of cranberries and left out the sugar, turmeric and cinnamon and nutmeg completely and used more rosemary, thyme and black pepper.
The resulting crackers were delicious and I’m never gonna buy commercial crackers again! Thank you for this lovely recipe!
Oh they look delicious Nagi! No surprise though coming from you! I too love the gourmet crackers but not the price that goes with them. I can’t wait to try them. Could I use fresh rosemary instead of dried? I have a huge rosemary plant at home.
Ooh I think I have an old nut loaf tin in the back of the cupboard. That would be perfect.
Is it 1 teaspoon each of bicarb and baking powder or is it either?
Esther… recipe says 1tsp bi carb or 3 tsp baking powder…
These are easy and absolutely delicious. Nagi, I’m thinking of making a selection for school teachers’ Christmas gifts. In addition to the original, we’ll try a chocolate version (with cocoa and macadamia), and a Christmas version (gingerbread spices). What else would you suggest in those mixes? I had a dream of the chocolate version and thought I’d try it 😀
You are actually slicing them much thicker than stated! If you really sliced them 1/12th inch… you’d get 96 crackers! Not 40! So you are actually slicing these at 1/5 inch… which is a more reasonable thickness! This would be 5mm… NOT 2mm! I have made this recipe but have not sliced and rebaked yet. I used half buttermilk for the milk… just my cook’s instinct!
I wondered about that too but could hear Nagi’s giggle … the idea is to keep the slices thin! Thin as you can without resulting in burnt crackers Too thick and you’d break your teeth.
Wonderful just as written. Make them the day before your get together. They are even better the second day. I made mine in two mini loaf pans. Used one right away and froze the other one for later. Makes a 2.75 x 1.75 cracker. Perfect!
Just making these crackers for the fourth time- and we love them in our household. Thanks Nagi! (I always make a double batch and leave one loaf in the freezer for a rainy day) 👍🏻
I have made these many times and love them,thank you for the recipe I’m addicted to these healthy little crackers.