Why did I want to recreate a former teenage favorite – Austin Cheese Crackers with Peanut Butter? Because my dehydrator was there.
I once had a raging one-pack-a-day addiction. My mother enabled my habit by including the pocket-sized packets in care boxes she mailed to my college dorm. When those supplies ran out, I’d scrounge for quarters for the vending machine or save up so I could buy bulk packages to satisfy my ceaseless craving for the salty, nutty, eerily bright orange snack cracker filled with something that resembled peanut butter. I kicked the habit long before I gave up cheese and animal products. Went cold turkey. There was just something about that orange color that nagged at me. But I never forgot the thrill I got, tearing open a package and devouring all six, perfectly square peanut butter sandwiches (probably washed down with an icy, cold Coke – another habit I kicked long ago).
Here’s a raw vegan version of this old favorite!
Raw Cheez Crackers with Almond Butter [Vegan]
Serves
60 individual crackers
Ingredients You Need for Raw Cheez Crackers with Almond Butter [Vegan]
- 1 cup flaxseed meal
- 1/4 cup raw coconut flour
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 medium-sized carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 apple, cored and cut into chunks
- 1 1/2 cups almonds, soaked for 8-10 hours, rinsed and drained
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1 cup water
- 1 tsp. white miso
- 1 tbsp. maple syrup
How to Prepare Raw Cheez Crackers with Almond Butter [Vegan]
- In a large bowl, combine the flaxseed meal, coconut flour and the nutritional yeast. Set aside.
- In a food processor, grind the almonds into a crumbly meal – don’t over process, otherwise you’ll have almond butter. Not a bad thing, but not what you’re looking for here.
- Empty the almond meal into the bowl w/ the flaxseed mixture.
- Process the carrots and apple until you have a nice mash. Scrape the mixture into the big bowl.
- Add the remaining ingredients and stir until thoroughly mixed. The mixture should be moist but hold together when pressed.
- Divide the mixture in two and spread one half on a dehydrator tray that has been covered with a non-stick drying sheet. You’ll just about be able to cover the full sheet. To get an even surface, I cover the dough with another non-stick sheet and gently roll with a rolling pin.
- Carefully lift off the non-stick sheet.
- Once the dough has been rolled out, gently score the surface into squares.
- Place the trays in the middle of the dehydrator and set the temperature to 145F.
- Dehydrate for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat to 115F and dehydrate for an additional 6-8 hours or until the cracker are very crispy all the way through.
- About halfway through the process, I carefully transfer the dough to a dehydrator screen.
Notes
