Endurance Crackers

When I stumbled upon this recipe last week on Oh She Glows, I knew we had to give it a try very soon.  Gracen loves all things crunchy (crackers especially) and lives for nuts and seeds, so the recipe really couldn’t be suited to her any better.  Plus, the list of ingredients includes things we always have in the house… Score.

To get started, we collected our ingredients (this has become one of Gracen’s favourite parts of cooking… I retrieve the items from the cupboards and fridge, and she walks back and forth, carefully depositing them on the butcher block one at a time)…  Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, Chia Goodness (plain chia seeds would work just as well), sesame seeds, finely chopped sweet onion and garlic, water, and kosher salt is what you’ll need.
Start off by dumping your pumpkin seeds into a large mixing bowl.

Add the sunflower seeds…

Sesame seeds…

And Chia Goodness (or plain chia).

Give the seeds a little mix and set the bowl aside.

Get out a separate smaller bowl, and dump in your onion and garlic.

Then add the water.

Stir the mixture for a minute.

Next, pour the water mixture into the seed mixture.
Stir really well, allowing enough time for the chia seeds to absorb the water and thicken the mixture.

If you’re a seed fiend like this little one is, now would be a great time to sneak a few pinchfuls into your mouth.
Next, take a few pinches of kosher salt, add them to your mixture, and stir again.

Dump the mixture onto a large parchment-lined baking sheet.

Using the back of a spoon, spread the mixture out into a very thin layer.  Don’t be too worried about holes – they’re easy to patch up at the end.  (If you’re working with a little one, this part will definitely require a little grown-up help.  I let Gracen flatten the mound at the beginning and pat down my spreading job at the very end and she was pleased with that.)
If your monkey is anything like mine, they may try to lick the seeds straight off the pan.  (No joke – this really happened. Multiple times in fact.  Crazy girl.)

In the end, we settled on her licking the spoon in exchange for keeping her tongue off of our oven-ready crackers.
Next, it’s time to pop the pan into the oven.

Halfway through the baking time, remove the pan from the oven and slice up your crackers (I used a pizza cutter and it worked great).  Crackers can be as big or as small as you want them to be and can be cut in squares, triangles, diamonds, or any other shape your little heart desires.

Once cut, use a spatula to help you flip the crackers over (this step was surprisingly easier than I expected it to be) and pop them back in the oven for the remainder of the time.
When you take them out, they should be crispy and golden.

Allow to cool, then gently remove them from the pan.
Serve to your very anxious and excited toddler.  Be prepared to hear “Mmmmmmmm!” and “More! More! More!” endlessly.

These crackers are truly delicious.  They’re light and crispy and have a perfectly nutty / savoury flavour.  Not to mention that they’re vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, sugar-free, and oil-free, so they’re the perfect snack for just about anyone!

Endurance Crackers