Back to Blogging and Baking

I'm picking up my blog again with a slight twist and new name from the direction I was originally taking it. More food and health along with my travels - the three things in life that sustain me (as the new blog name implies). Read my new pages to learn what I've been up to and learning this past year!

I spent my Saturday baking, on another cold... rainy... late spring Seattle day. (Summer starts Monday right?!?). My husband Reilly had mentioned he wouldn't mind crackers and some more of my oatmeal cookies I'd made him last week.

Crackers - never made them before but why not.

Cookies - easy, but I am missing some key ingredients of butter and brown and white sugar.

So here's what I ended up doing!

Whole Wheat Rosemary Crackers

3 1/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

3/4 Teaspoon of Salt
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Cup Water
1 Teaspoon Minced Fresh Rosemary

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Combine all of the ingredients into a bowl and stir until just combined. You should have a nice dough that doesn't stick to your fingers when you pick it up.
3. Split the dough into about 4 balls and roll each thinly (1/8 inch) out onto a sheet of wax paper into a rectangle.
4. Transfer the rolled out dough onto a cookie sheet or oven safe parchment paper by just flipping the wax paper over and peeling away.
5. Using a pizza cutter or knife cut but don't separate the dough into about 1x1 inch crackers. Then use a fork to poke 2 to 3 sets of holes per cracker.
6. Season with salt and bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until cracker feels hard to the touch.
7. Let cool and then separate crackers easily to enjoy or store for later. Repeat for the rest of dough.

This recipe made about 12 dozen crackers at about 10 to 15 calories per cracker.

Butterless Oatmeal Craisin Molasses Cookies

6 Tablespoons Olive Oil (instead of 8 Tablespoons Butter)
4 Tablespoons Molasses (instead of 1/3 Cup Brown Sugar)
4 Tablespoons Honey (instead of 1/3 Cup Sugar)
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
1 Large Egg
2 1/2 Cups Oatmeal
1 Cup Flour
1/2 Cup Craisins

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
2. Using blender, mix all ingredients but oats, flour and craisins.
3. Add in oats, flour and craisins. Dough will still look a bit wet but as long as it sticks when you scoop with a spoon it should be fine. The dough will also have a strong molasses flavor that disappears after baking.
4. Using a spoon, space out 12 spoonfuls of dough on your baking sheet or oven safe parchment paper.
5. Bake for 11 minutes or until when you touch the top of the cookie it feels a little firm. Cool and enjoy.

This recipe made 3 dozen cookies at about 75 calories per cookie. The flavor is also fairly mild for an oatmeal cookie.