The ABC’s of Baking Tasty (and Healthy) Crackers

by Anna H. Blessing (Chicago)

101 Cookbooks + alphabet cookie cutter set = very adorable oatmeal crackers.

I absolutely love baking, but it often involves piles upon piles of delicious, addictive, sugary, floury, buttery stuff. Enter superfoods goddess Heidi Swanson, whose beautiful photo-centric blog, 101 Cookbooks, emphasizes whole, fresh and local foods. That’s where I found the recipe for the rye flour and rolled oats crackers I made above. Crispy and tasty, these guys feel indulgent but turn out to be really healthy (which is why I made them in kid-friendly alphabet form for my little girl).

Heidi says the trick for crackers that perfectly snap in two (instead of crumbling) is to make them extra thin and then flip them midbaking so each side gets browned. My tip? Use the freshest rolled oats you can get for that toasty flavor. (Fellow Chicagoans, I’ve found great ones at Three Sisters Garden.)

101 Cookbooks: Oatmeal Crackers

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1¼ cups whole milk, heated just to boiling
• ¼ cup room-temperature unsalted butter
• 4 tablespoons natural cane sugar
• 3 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
• 2 teaspoons crushed anise seed (optional)
• ½ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
• 1¼ cup dark rye flour
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting