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!
Hi, just made these and they look fab but around the sunflower seeds they’ve gone Bright green. Any ideas why this might happen? Tia
These look fantastic!! Do you think they could be made gluten free by subbing plain gf flour for the plain/whole meal flour? Or perhaps by using a mix of flour types (e.g: plain gf and buckwheat flours)?
Hi Alana, I haven’t tried to be honest! I would love to know if it works! N x
Thank you for this great recipe. I have made this a few times now and subbed in dried apricot and pecans instead of cranberries and sunflower seeds – absolutely delicious. Great comments from family and friends.
Was wondering how I would go about doing Parmesan and Onion? Thinking spring onion rather than normal onion,sliced thinly, and shaved parmesan rather than shredded. Maybe cumin instead of cinnamon & nutmeg. Should I leave in the sunflower seeds or it wouldnt make a difference? The original recipe is delicious but really wanted to try something that is totally savoury
Hi Sue – this will add moisture which won’t be ideal for these cookies – it’s something I’d need to test sorry! N x
Or maybe onion flakes would be better, just not sure about the parmesan
Hi I have noticed that you can use almond milk but we dont get tin pumpkin so can I use puree pumpkin that I make from scratch
Sure can Karen!! N x
Oh my Lord! These are so delicious and so easy to make.
This recipe will be a go to from now on! Thank you Nagi
Sorry if this has been asked but would using almond milk with something to sour it and cashew cream work as a dairy sub? I thought coconut yoghurt might change the taste too much. We have dairy allergies in our house so I’m always trying to adapt recipes. If anyone has successfully subbed the dairy products, I’d love to know what worked.
Hi Kat, yes that should work fine!! N x
So easy, so good! Everyone loved them, will definitely make again.
Nagi, you’re a genius. These are amazing.
The flavours are amazing. Thanks for sharing this recipe. It’s up there on top of all the many recipes I’ve tried Tin Eats.
BUT I can’t get them to crisp up. There still moisture content and not crispy.
I have returned them to the oven and let them to cool behind a closed door.
Still no luck. Any thoughts?
I’ve found in the first cooking I need to leave them for 30 minutes rather than 25, and then the skewer still comes out with a tiny amount of moisture. After freezing, slicing and the final 50 minutes they come out perfect.
I’m very disappointed that I have. Not had a response to my question about the Gourmet Crackers.
I don’t seem to be able to get them to be crispy and watch my email daily for a response.
You shouldn’t encourage comments if you can’t offer a response.
Hi Dennis, you’ll have to forgive me, I get hundreds and hundreds of comments, emails, messages and requests on social media. I try to respond to as many as physically possible but unfortunately some do fall through the cracks, I’m only human and I do as much commenting as I can.
Sorry you had issues with the crackers, did you change the recipe at all? Try leaving them in the oven slightly longer once sliced, they should crisp up nicely. – Nagi
thanks! this is the comment i was looking for. I’m going to try make these for my celiac mum and was wondering about gluten free flour. I was thinking maybe I could use buckwheat flour as a sub for wholemeal as well as gf plain flour.
Hi Fiona, I haven’t tried to be honest, would love to know if it works! N x
Hi Nagi, Can I use quick oats instead of rolled oats in this recipe ? Thanks
I use quick oats and they seem to come out ok
I ended up using the quick oats and it worked well. Cooked for 30 minutes to get the skewer coming out clean. Also did some with dried apricots. Just as awesome. I’ll only ever make these crackers now. Gone are the days of bought ones. Thanks Nagi for such an awesome recipe. Perfect work colleagues Christmas presents.
I haven’t tried but I’m sure it should be fine Anne! N x
Thank you.
Of all the recipes I have cooked from this blog (there are many!) this is pretty much my most favourite. The crackers are soooooo good! Straightforward to make and amazing comments from guests about them. Thanks Nagi, you have done it again 👌
Such a great recipe!! Crackers turned out crunchy yet chewy on the inside…perfect. Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe!
These are amazing. I didn’t use rosemary and used Oat milk instead of regular milk. Wonderful!!!!
Hi Nagi, I know the exact crackers you mean, we’ve bought them before (and complained about the price). They make a lot of different flavours/types, any idea how I could do the fig & olive ones? I’m worried that the olives might introduce too much moisture…
I wonder if you used sliced black olives, and patted them dry really well first if that would work?
Hi Felicia, I honestly haven’t tried with olives, but I imagine if you don’t overdo it with too many, they will dry out once you slice and re-bake them. I’d love to know if you give it a go! N x
Thanks, Nagi, I’ll try using kalamatas & will let you know how it goes!
Felicia – how did this go with the olives? Did you also use figs? I am so, so curious!
I have used cut up figs and they were lovely, in fact I throw in anything I have on hand! Need to try the olives.
Made two batches for my upcoming baby shower – one with dried cherries, pecans and pistachios, the other with raisins, almonds and pumpkin seeds. Will definitely be making another batch for at-home snacking! They turned out really well!
hi Brianna, im also thinking of making these with dried cherries and pistachios (had a dream actually of this exact combination) did you use the same spice mix? As I thought the turmeric maybe too strong for this combo
Perfect Brianna! N x
Looks like a great recipe! Do you think these could be made dairy free ?
Sure can Georgia – use soy/almond/oat milk and coconut yogurt! N x
Thanks Nagi. Will let you know when I try it. 🙂
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!
I haven’t tried to be honest Marjorie – would love to know if it works! N x
Thanks Nagi. Will let you know when I try it. 🙂
Nagi, do you think you could cook these in a round date roll tin? Might be a bit big!
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.