Homemade Fruit & Nut Crisps

I‘ve got a love/hate relationship with crackers. They’re an easy entertaining option – serve a box of rye crisps with a wedge of firm cheese and a handful of dried fruit and you’ve got a fast appetizer – and are mighty convenient for handing out to the kids while killing time in a line-up. But they have their drawbacks too.

Excessive packaging, nutritional failings, not to mention high cost, keep me from frequently stocking my pantry with store-bought crackers. In the past, when the holidays rolled around, I would get tempted to stash an assortment of crisps and crackers for entertaining, but now I make my own, thanks to this recipe for homemade crisps.

Homemade crackers? Isn’t that a lot of work?

Yes and no. Most homemade crackers require rolling out the dough and cutting each cracker individually, which can take some time. These crisps, however, are first baked as a loaf, then thinly sliced and toasted – no rolling required. I’m certain even the novice baker could turn out a successful batch – and once you taste them, there’s no going without!

These highly addicting fruit crisps are delicately flavored with buttermilk & honey, scented with fresh rosemary and contain just enough nuts & dried fruit to complement the rest of the accompaniments on the cheese board.

7 Reasons to Love Homemade Crisps

1. No Preservatives or Packaging

Store bought crackers usually carry lots of trans fat and unwanted preservatives to increase their shelf life. Rest assured you’ll know every ingredient that goes into your crisps.

2. Ideal Do-Ahead Baked Good

These crisps freeze well both as pre-sliced loaves as well as in their cracker-like state. Stored in an airtight container, they can last up to two weeks in the pantry, but I’m willing to bet they will be consumed long before then.

3. Pick Your Own Flavor Combinations

Customize your crisps by choosing your favorite ingredients to fill out the fruit, seed and nut categories. Hate raisins? No problem, just replace them with dried apricots or cranberries.

4. Kid-friendly Baking Activity

I made several batches of crisps with my two-year-old on his ‘helping’ stool. By having all the ingredients pre-measured, it was easy to include him in the mixing (and tasting!) without worrying over mixed up measurements.

5. Made in 2 Steps

We all know that the window of time for baking is often short, so I love that these crisps can be made in two steps.

  • Step 1: Mix and bake loaves (which can then be wrapped and frozen.)
  • Step 2: Slice & bake crisps.

6. They’re Healthy!

Wheat flour, wheat germ, flax, assorted seeds – these are just some of the ingredients that contribute to your daily intake of Omega-3’s and help to lower your cholesterol.

7. Homemade Cracker Freakout Factor

You’ll understand this one once you’ve made and served these crisps to guests and the umpteenth person exclaims:

“You MADE these? She made these. I can’t believe you made these.”

Yeah, it happens every time.

Now, on to the recipe.

Apricot-Hazelnut Crisps

It looks like a lot of ingredients, but each one is important for the flavour and texture of the loaf, so make a list, check it twice, and get going! Also, one recipe makes about eight dozen crackers, so it's well worth the work.
5 from 12 votes
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Course: Bakery
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 96 crackers (about 8 dozen)
Calories: 37kcal
Author: Aimee

Ingredients

Crisps Base Recipe

  • 1 cup organic whole-wheat flour
  • 1 cup organic all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup raw cane sugar
  • 1/4 cup liquid honey

Seeds:

  • 1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
  • 1/4 cup sesame seeds
  • 1/4 cup ground flax seed

Suggested Add-ins:

  • 1/2 cup apricots
  • 1/2 cup dried figs chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
  • 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
  • or
  • 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
  • 1/2 cup figs
  • 1/2 cup pecans chopped
  • Zest of one orange

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.

Bake the Loaves

  • In a large bowl, stir together the flours, baking soda and salt. Add the buttermilk, cane sugar and honey and stir a few strokes.
  • Add the seeds, (pumpkin, sesame, and flax) apricots, dried figs, hazelnuts, and rosemary and stir just until blended.
  • Pour the batter into 1 8”x4” loaf pan and 2 mini-loaf pans that have been sprayed with nonstick spray.
  • Bake for about 22 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the pans and cool on a wire rack.
  • Wrap tightly and freeze slightly before slicing. OR freeze for up to two months, then partially thaw, slice and bake for fresh crackers.

Slice & Bake the Crisps

  • The cooler the bread, the easier it is to slice really thin. I start with my loaves partially frozen.
  • Slice the loaves as thinly as you can and place the slices in a single layer on an ungreased cookie sheet. (Julie likes to slice and bake one loaf and pop the other in the freezer for another day.)
  • Preheat the oven to 300°F and bake them for about 15 minutes, then flip them over and bake for another 10 minutes, until crisp and deep golden.
  • Cool and store in an airtight container.

Notes

Because of the whole-wheat flour, these are a fairly hefty cracker. Feel free to use all-purpose flour instead of the whole wheat (for a total of 2 cups white flour)
- adapted from Dinner with Julie

Nutrition

Calories: 37kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 42mg | Potassium: 44mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg

It looks like a lot of ingredients, but each one is important for the flavor and texture of the loaf, so make a list, check it twice, and get going!

Also, one recipe makes about eight dozen crackers, so it’s well worth the work.

Crackers. Do you pull them out for entertaining? What’s a favorite flavor and have you ever made your own?

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122 Comments

  1. Hi Aimee:
    I just found your blog and these crackers sound great for the holiday season! How long do they keep and how do you store them? Do you freeze the loaves, defrost them and then bake them up as needed or bake them all at once? (8 dozen sounds like a lot). Please advise the best way to store both the loaves for later baking and the baked crackers themselves. Thanks so much.
    I checked out a bunch of your other recipes too – like the homemade granola. With a fridge full of ruined food to toss after the recent hurricane, I decided to go through my entire pantry, tossed plastic containers, bought glass containers, more whole grains, fresh spices, with a commitment to cooking healthier, keeping things simpler and organized for the new year – I figured a one month head start would keep me on track. Finding some fun recipes on your site has me looking forward to keeping that commitment. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

  2. Hi Aimee:
    I read the recipe more carefully and see you answered most of my questions, aside from how long the crackers stay fresh after round 2 of baking. Can’t wait to try them 🙂

  3. These are delicious! I made them with craisins and figs and took them to work for a holiday potluck. They were a huge hit! And so easy to make!

  4. I made the cranberry fig pecan orange ones and they are great. Smell ah-mazing while cooking- very festive! Took me a little experimenting for the time/temp of the second bake to get them crispy and not burned, but I live in a very wet climate and I think that may have an effect! I turned down the heat and left them in a bit longer. Remember they do crisp a bit as they cool too, much like a cookie. Thanks for a wonderful recipe for entertaining!

  5. Just made these last night (and finished today). They are so good! This is exactly the cracker recipe I have been looking for. I find them much easier to make than other the kind of crackers you have to roll out. I didn\’t have all the same ingredients on hand, so I used 2 cups unsweetened almond coconut milk instead of buttermilk, 1/4 cup maple syrup in place of honey, 1/4 cup of baking dates ground with a tsp of white sugar in place of the cane sugar. For the fillings I used organic figs (the black ones), organic pumpkin seeds, organic sunflower seeds, and organic dried golden berries.

  6. That is mouth watering. My mouth got watery while looking at your crisps. I will try this recipe for my family. I’m sure they will love this. Thanks for sharing the recipe here. I’ll get back to you of what will be the outcome.

  7. I’ve been thinking about these crackers for months, never having found a recipe in any of my cookbooks. Huzzah for google, which lead me here.

    1. Isabelle, it is. So sorry about that. This is an older recipe and I have yet to transfer it over to the new Recipe Box system. Hope you enjoyed the crisps! I’ve just baked up my batch for the holiday’s too.

  8. blast! I should have used your recipe- I used another I found online that didn’t turn out very well and I think your proportions are much better 🙂

  9. Has anyone tried to sub almond flour in this? II am looking forsomething to take the place of thin addictive but want to make it with a bit less gluten. This sounds delish!

  10. Hi! I made this recipe and love the flavor and the ease, however I have a question about how crisp they should be. I baked my slices even longer than the recipe directs, and they were more hard at the edges and really chewy in the centers, than crisp. Should they be truly crisp, or maybe I baked too long and they should be a softer chewy?

    Thanks!

    1. Hi Angela,

      They should shatter when you bite into them, however if they are not kept airtight, they will get a little soft. Just pop them in the oven and they should crisp up again.

  11. This recipe is amazing! I was looking for a cracker to replicate a favorite I found made by kii naturals. This recipe does a perfect job! I just finished my fourth batch. I’ve done Date/Walnut, Apricot/Hazelnut and Apricot/Almond. They have all turned out perfectly.

    I substituted whole quinoa seeds for the sesame seeds. I ground ¼ cup of flax seeds which turns out to be more than ¼ cup of flax meal. I also substituted powdered rosemary and lemon zest. I also reduced the super and honey by a little bit because I think the dried fruit provides a lot of sugar.

    I was confused about the number and type of loaf pans. I split the batter between two regular loaf pans. I baked mine for 25 minutes, but maybe my oven runs under temperature.

    My husband and one year old both love them too!

  12. I’m looking for a baby lead weaning cracker as a first food. I know I could swap honey for another sweetener. But the buttermilk has me cautious. Do you have a cracker you would recommend for little bits?

  13. 5 stars
    Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. It is one of my favorites by far! Love the results! Made cranberry, rosemary, pecan version. YUMMY!

  14. 5 stars
    I’ve had fun with this recipe! I make them gluten free by swapping the AP flour for Cup for Cup and the whole wheat for buckwheat. I never have buttermilk on hand, so I make them with half yogurt and half regular milk. I often make a port and fig reduction to go with cheese so I usually do all apricots, no figs. And I couldn’t find my flax seed one time, so I put in some raw hulled sunflower seeds for variety (totally different than flax, but it worked fine.)

    They stay relatively fresh in an airtight container basically indefinitely (it’s possible that I cook them to a little more doneness than others might like, but I like the toasty flavor they get.) And they never fail to evoke the “you MADE these?!?!” response when I take them anywhere! 😀

    So, these are basically the best thing ever. The only other crackerlike recipe I like nearly as well is Nigella Lawson’s parmesan crisps, which are basically little savory shortbreads — they’re a very simple, very, very different, but also very delicious, beast. 🙂

  15. Do you spoon your flour into your measuring cup, or scoop and level off with a knife? Or do you weigh your flour? Thanks.

  16. Hi! They sound lovely, but I’m confused about the pans. Is it (1) 8×4 AND (2) mini loaf pans or one or the other. Any info on the mini size?? Thanks!

  17. 5 stars
    Thank you so much for this recipe! I was looking for something similar to these thinaddictions cranberry crackers that my parents get (which are too pricey for me) and this definitely hit the mark. Easy to make and customize. I used a pan that has 9 mini loaves in it and I got twelve total. Made about 150 crackers and will definitely be doing this again with new flavors. Thanks again!

  18. Its amazing and easy recipe that I can recommend to my friends. I cannot wait to try this recipe at home. And it is a good choice to have this recipe because it is very convenient to bring this snacks at work. Thanks.

  19. 5 stars
    Have just made these delightful flavoured loaves and eaten several slices straight from the oven, before making into biscuits!! Delish! made 2 batches, 1st using the fig, craisin and pecan combination and the 2nd using dried apricots, figs, rosemary and instead of buttermilk I substituted with almond milk and vanilla yoghurt. They smell so good. Can’t wait to dry them out in the oven and have with homemade quince paste and brie cheese!!

  20. Can’t wait to try but Am confused about the baking pans. It says 1, 8×4 loaf pan plus 2 mini loaf pans. Why 2 different sized pans?

  21. 5 stars
    Yay, crackers. I used to make these under the guise of a brand name that was way too expensive to buy. I lost that recipe and now it’s back.
    Thank you, thank you, thank you.

  22. Better put this recipe in more than one loaf pan. I didn’t notice the extra “2 mini loaf pan”, which I don’t have and it didn’t cook at ALL in the middle. Just wasted all those ingredients. What a flop!

  23. 5 stars
    I just made a half batch to pair with homemade boursin. They look amazing on the tray, and they really couldn’t have been easier to make. I used apricots, cranberries, pepitas, and sunflower seeds, and added 1/8 t of cinnamon. Per your flour tip, I used 3/4 c white and 1/4 c wheat flours. I omitted nuts only because a few people attending have allergies.

    I made the half batch in two very small (not quite “mini”) loaf pans, and they are the perfect size. Thank you for the partially frozen tip. After exactly one hour in the freezer, the loaves sliced flawlessly.

    Thank you for an easy, economical alternative to those overpriced crisps!

    1. What are the dimensions of your very small pan and where did you find it. I would like to make these more “cracker size” rather than loaf size. Is there truly a mini pan somewhere? Thank you… Susie

  24. Your ingredients list says “whole cane sugar” but your mixing directions say “brown sugar”…which is it?

  25. I would surely like to know where to get a truly “mini” pan (approx 2″ wide) so these come out looking more like small crackers. Any idea where to find one of these?

    Thank you,
    Susie

  26. 5 stars
    For those wondering about the pan sizes, I used the “disposable” holiday pan that was the 8×4 measurement, and 2 mini-loaf pans for the extra batter, as the recipe said. When you’re ready to make the crackers, after thawing the larger loaf for 30 minutes, I sliced it lengthwise in half, so that my crackers were all the nice little 1 1/2 by 1 1/2 or so that you want. The mini-loaf pans gave a size that was a teeny bit larger, but still nice cracker size.
    I LOVED this recipe and plan to always have a loaf on hand in the freezer for those impromptu gatherings.

  27. I have a question on one of the ingredients, the 1/4 cup flax seed, ground. Depending on how this is read, the volume of ingredient would be quite different. Does this mean 1/4 cup of ground flax seed? Or 1/4 cup of flax seed that I need to then grind. 1/4 cup of flax that I grind would then become 1/2 cup of ground flax seed as the volume doubles when the seeds are ground. Thank you! I just bought all the ingredients to make this, but am just unsure on the flax seed.

    1. 5 stars
      What did you end up doing? I find this recipe is very forgiving. It was more flexible with amounts than I originally had thought. Just get the basics correct and tweak the seeds, nuts and fruit. I just tried a batch and added 1/4 ground quinoa rough ground on top of the recommend amounts.

  28. 5 stars
    THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I too love the crackers but have to search stores diligently to find 20-25 crackers under $4.00. I made this recipe twice. As you suggested swapping flavors, nuts and seed to fit my taste. I even used 1 cup milk and 1 cup greek plain yogurt in place of buttermilk because I had big tub of yogurt to use. I might be weird, but I like it also as just a snack bread…warm from the oven. So tasty and healthy. I love the crackers too and they turned out just perfect. So glad I found this recipe.

  29. 5 stars
    Hi Aimee,
    Thank you for this delicious recipe, I made the recipe yesterday and split it between 2 loaf pans; cooked them, froze them, then took one out, sliced it, and rebaked it. Wow! it had such a WOW factor that they almost didn’t make it to the dinner party I was going to. When I got up this morning I made the second loaf, my husband and I couldn’t stop eating them. When a friend stopped by I served the crackers with homemade hummus, cucumbers, and a tomato on top and his response, ” Wow, you made these!” Just like you said they would.

    Thank you!

  30. Hi,
    I am in covid19 confinement in France. I’ve been searching for this exact recipe for ages. THANK YOU
    I have most of these ingredients In my cupboard but don’t have buttermilk nor much standard flour. Can I replace the buttermilk with anything please? I plant to use some coconut and almond flours to replace the missing plain flour. I will let you know how it goes…

    1. Judith this is a very versatile recipe so I think it should be okay. For the buttermilk you can use sour milk or regular milk with a little yogourt or sour cream.

  31. 5 stars
    Just wondering what kind of container you use? I put them in a long ziplock container and they went soft in the middle. Any recommendations?