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!
-
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!
Georgia says
Looks like a great recipe! Do you think these could be made dairy free ?
Nagi says
Sure can Georgia – use soy/almond/oat milk and coconut yogurt! N x
Marjorie Rego says
Thanks Nagi. Will let you know when I try it. 🙂
Marjorie Rego says
Hi Nagi. Can’t wait to try this recipe. Will wholeweat chappati flour work ok in place of the regular wholemeal flour you get at Coles or Woolies? Just trying to avoid buying another packet of flour as I have loads of the chappati flour (which is whole wheat but ground finer). Thank you!
Nagi says
I haven’t tried to be honest Marjorie – would love to know if it works! N x
Marjorie Rego says
Thanks Nagi. Will let you know when I try it. 🙂
Sonya says
Nagi, do you think you could cook these in a round date roll tin? Might be a bit big!
Lisa says
This is what I use. Sometimes I leave as large rounds but usually cut that in half as well. I slice the whole loaf in half and then run through the slicer on my food processor for perfect slices.
Deb says
These sound delicious and are smelling great while cooking, but I just realised I forgot to put the bi-carb soda in. I’m hoping they still work out!
Nagi says
They should be ok, just more dense Deb! N x
Penny says
These are a fantastic biscuit, great to have on hand in the freezer, problem is they taste so good we keep eating them as soon as they are pulled out of the oven for the second bake
LizzieG says
I love this recipe, so much nicer than bought crackers! I am gluten free so swap out the two flours for gf plain and it works perfectly. I have also doubled the recipe and frozen one loaf for over three months 🤫 and it came out wonderfully flavoured and easy to slice.
My only problem is that once they are baked and served, there are never any left! 🥺
Nagi says
That’s great to hear LizzieG! N x
Narda says
Just wanted to say thank you from Melbourne, it’s so lovely to see how much thought you’ve been putting in to cheering us up and on and keeping us well fed through lockdown.
Bronwyn says
Made great Xmas gifts last year accompanied with homemade spiced olives. Everyone loved them, but I expected nothing less from one of your recipes. Many thanks.
Tracey says
I’m so glad I found this recipe Nagi, I have used a lot of your recipes. These crackers are so expensive to buy and you’re version is delicious. I dried my slices in my dehydrator after slicing. Thank you 🙏
Nagi says
Sounds great Tracey, I’m so glad you love them – perfect to store as well! N x
Yasmine says
Can these be made wheat and oat free? I was thinking almond meal? Would that work?
Carol says
I substituted buckwheat flour for the 2 wheat flours. Still had to have the oats though. They took a bit longer to dry out in the second cook but texture and taste wise came out ok.
Love love love this recipe Nagi
Yasmine says
Amazing! Thanks so much! I’m thinking I will keep the oats out and add an egg?
Carol says
Don’t think egg would work you will need something to absorb liquid and bind. What about shredded coconut?
Yasmine says
Oh that’s a great idea! Thanks so much! I love coconut! I’ll let you know how it goes!
Nagi says
No it won’t sorry Yasmine – it will change the whole texture and crumble. N x
Christine says
Can I replace the wholewheat flour with plain flour instead? Thanks.
Jen says
I made these and they were delicious. I sliced them with an old fashioned bread slicer which worked really well. Thank you for the recipe Nagi.
Tina says
Made these over the weekend exactly to the recipe as I happened to have all of the ingredients in my pantry. Love them!! I do find myself sneaking them out of the tin and eating them just as they are.
Nagi says
I’m so glad you love them Tina!! N x
Dora says
Hi Nagi, I’m going to make these and make different varieties. If I make some with dried apricots and figs etc, do I need to chop them up first in pieces?
Nagi says
Hi Dora, yes I would chop first so they are evenly distributed throughout 🙂 N x
Dora says
I made these today. Wow! they are amazing. Can’t stop eating these with cheese and quince paste or anything really! Will definitely make more. Thanks Nagi!,
Abigail Walton says
Next day despite putting them in airtight container went all soggy and tough what can I do as they were lovely and crisp when I made them
Nagi says
Hi Abigail, they should stay crisp – did you put them in the container when they were completely cool? You can crisp them back up by popping them back in the oven for 10 minutes or so 🙂 N x
Jane says
This recipe looks great! What type of rolled oats did you use? Old fashioned? Quick One Minute Oats? I would think either would work, but I’m curious what you used.
Nagi says
Hi Jane, I just used rolled oats here 🙂 N x
Sandy says
Hi Nagi! Eager to try these but will have to do at my folks’ place as my tiny freezer is chockers.
If I was to try and make these sugar free, would I need to substitute anything in place? If it was just a Tbsp I wouldn’t worry but will the batter be affected too much missing the 1/4 of a cup?
Nagi says
Hi Sandy, yes it will change the batter – I haven’t tried with any subs though sorry! N x
Sanda FitzGerald says
I’m coming this right now and it smells amazing. Early taste tests at the pre slice and bake has earned a two thumbs up. I agree with you – these are much better than the shop bought ones and very economical. Looking forward to exploring more of your recipes – thank you 😊
Isha says
Thanks Nagi for sharing a wonderful and delicious recipe!! They turned crispy.. perfect go to snacks!!
Kathy says
Hi Nagi, this is a great recipe and is always popular! I like to put my own twist with Australian grown almonds, raisins and flaxseed.
Nagi says
Yum! There are so many options here! N x