Happy almost Friday, all. So glad this week is coming to an end!
I sometimes feel bad when I give you a bunch of linked posts all in a row—shouldn’t I be offering you variety, range, and so on? But since everything has been so excited about date paste (and the awesome things you can do with it) I thought I’d quickly share one of the ways I put it to good use this week. For the first time in many years of raw cracker making, I made raw cocoa crackers, using chia seeds, raw cacao nibs, and date paste as a sweetener.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner.
These crackers really do have it all: they’re a little salty, a little sweet, a little crunchy, and a lot addictive. The chia seeds add some variety in texture, along with all of their usual nutritional benefits: fiber, Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, protein, and calcium. Whether you use date paste as directed, or substitute another sweetener (prune paste would work, as would pureed bananas, agave, or maple syrup, you can absolutely sweeten to taste. The crackers should be more sweet than savory, but how much more is up to you!
In case you all were wondering, these are technically raw cacao crackers. But to be honest, I think that “cocoa” has a nicer, more velvety ring to it.
Raw Cocoa Crackers (raw, vegan, gluten and soy free)
Makes about 25-30 crackers
1 cup cashews
1/3 cup flax meal
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup cacao nibs
1/2 cup date paste
Scant 1/2 cup water (or as needed)
2 tbsp chia seeds
1) Grind cashews, flax, salt, and cacao nibs in a food processor till finely ground.
2) Add date paste and run the processor motor. Drizzle water in until the mixture is the texture you want: it should be thick but not so thick you can’t spread it easily on a dehydrator tray.
3) Add chia seeds and pulse to combine.
4) Spread onto a Teflex lined dehydrator sheet and dehydrate for 3-4 hours at 115 degrees. Flip, score into cracker shapes, and dehydrate for another four hours.
The crackers have a fabulous texture, as you can see:
As always, you can bake these at 300 or 325 for about 35 minutes.
Now that I’ve made a foray into the world of sweet crackers, I may never come back. These were delicious, and they hit that wonderful sweet and savory spot (from the sea salt) that I adore. Here’s to more chocolatey crunch!!
Here, too, is to a weekend. I’ll be back tomorrow night with a delicious high raw dinner recipe to start your weekends off on the right foot!
xo
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