I came across a cracker recipe on Food Lover’s Kitchen website recently that I wanted to try: http://beta.primal-palate.com/recipe/herb-crackers/. I baked them first as written and didn’t care for the oregano or the cumin in them. They were also way, way too salty for us. Flax itself carries a sodium load and I rarely have to add salt to anything made with flax. Texture was overall very good for these crackers. Brittle and crisp, especially the browner crackers that were around the outer edges of the pan. But even those in the center of the pan were pretty crisp.

I decided to bake a second batch, majorly reducing the salt and substituting finely chopped dried rosemary for the oregano and cumin. VOILA! Those were magical for MY palate. Not too salty either. I’m very pleased these will stay crisp all week long just in a ziploc bag on the counter!

Today, I baked them a third time, again leaving out the herbs and spices, just using the onion powder and less garlic powder, allowing the black pepper flavor to really come through. I REALLY think this will be a more versatile, more neutral low-carb cracker for me, that will not “conflict” with spices in soups and entrees I might be having them with. I’ve baked so many different cracker recipes that mix almond flour and flax meal, but this ratio on those two key ingredients is JUST RIGHT! I can see this recipe is going to be one I have again and again (I’ve already baked it 3 times in two weeks!!). I’m so glad my non-low-carb, non-paleo husband likes these also! So my sincere thanks to Primal Palate for sharing this basic recipe. These crackers, excellent with cheese, butter, soup or whatever, are suitable for Paleo, Primal and are suitable for Atkins diners once you reach the OWL (on-going Weight Loss) phase.

INGREDIENTS:

2 c. almond flour

1 c. flax meal (I use a 50:50 mixture of dark and golden)

2 tsp. onion powder

½ tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. salt

2 tsp. coarse black pepper (this is the magical ingredient that makes these so good)

2 T. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 eggs, beaten (or 3 egg whites if you prefer a crisper cracker)

VARIATIONS: Any herb(s) you like along with onion and garlic powder, any combination of grated cheeses with or without onion/garlic powders, rosemary and onion powder, just onion powder, just garlic powder, onion powder and cayenne, onion powder and smoky chipotle powder and any combination of these things that suits your fancy. I’m looking forward to trying out all these possibilities over time. 🙂

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. Line a sided sheet pan with parchment. Mine is 11½ x 17″. Measure all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. With a fork, beat in the two eggs and olive oil until the mixture is moist throughout. Crumble the dough evenly over the parchment lined pan. Then, using plastic gloves or baggies on your hands press the dough evenly into the pan, trying to achieve the same thickness throughout. If you have a straight sided glass, you can even roll the dough out for a smoother surface, but this isn’t really necessary. This will take you a few minutes. Score into 48 crackers (8 x 6) with a straight edge knife. Pop into preheated oven and bake for 15-16 minutes. They will brown around the edges of the pan faster and you may have to remove outer crackers as they bake. Don’t over brown as flax products can get a burned taste real fast if over-browned. Cool and break apart along score lines. When thoroughly cool, store in ziploc bag at room temperature.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 48 crackers, each cracker contains:

33.2 calories

2.84 g fat

1.37 g carbs, .93 g fiber, .44 g NET CARBS

1.1 g protein

15.2 mg sodium

23.3 mg potassium