You fell head over heels for my viral gluten-free seed cracker recipe. So, it's about time I gave you another variation! And what could be better than a holiday variation that you can use on your vegan charcuterie boards? This seed cracker recipe has a sweeter taste and holiday favourites like cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and toasted almonds.
Gluten-free
Oil-Free
Just mix, add water, and bake!
Ingredients
This seed cracker recipe is made from 10 simple ingredients.
Almond flour, ground flaxseeds (or flaxseed meal), and chia seeds make up the bulk of the cracker.
Sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, and dried cranberries are sprinkled throughout for texture and flavour.
Cinnamon sprinkles in more holiday flavour and a bit of maple syrup brings a bit of sweet warmth.
Oh ya... and salt and water round out the 10!
How To Make Holiday Seed Crackers
This holiday seed cracker recipe is incredibly simple to make. Just:
- Mix the dry ingredients,
- Add water,
- Spread on a baking sheet,
- And bake!
The ground almond flour, ground flaxseed, and chia seeds will absorb the water in about 10 minutes and create a wet dough that requires no kneading. Simply spread the mixture as thinly as you can on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake.
These holiday seed crackers are more delicate and more prone to burning than my gluten-free seed crackers so the process for baking them is a little different. The natural sugars in the maple syrup will brown the crackers quite quickly. The delicate sliced almonds also have a tendency to get quite toasty.
For these reasons; I bake these crackers at a lower temperature, cover them halfway through the baking time and turn the oven off after 40 minutes. The trick to getting crispy crackers without having to bake them for hours at a really low temperature is to turn the oven off at the end of the baking time and leave the crackers in the cooling oven. The heat in the oven will draw out the remaining moisture and make the crackers extra crispy!
Can I Dehydrate This Seed Cracker Recipe?
I have had many questions on my previous seed crackers about whether these crackers can be dehydrated instead of baked.
Unfortunately, I do not have a dehydrator or air fryer but I have had comments from others stating that they dehydrate the crackers. I haven't tested this version myself but one comment stated that they dehydrate the crackers at 110 degrees F for 18 to 24 hours until dry.
Let me know in the comments below if you are a seasoned dehydrator and have suggestions for the time and temperature!
Recipe Cost
This holiday seed cracker recipe costs me just over $3 Canadian. It yields 260 grams or between 50-60 medium sized crackers. That means that the price per 100 grams is about $1.18/100 grams.
For comparison, similar store-bought seed crackers tend to cost me over $4/100 g at my local grocery store and at least $1.50/100g at my wholesale store.
Remember to let me know in the comments below how you like these holidays seed crackers and what other flavourings you would choose!
You might also love my no bake Chocolate Almond Tart that is a perfect gluten-free make ahead holiday option.
Print
Gluten-Free Holiday Seed Cracker Recipe
- Total Time: 65 minutes (plus cooling time)
- Yield: 260 grams 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
A holiday version of my viral gluten-free seed cracker recipe. Slightly sweet, oil-free, and so simple to make!
Ingredients
- ½ cup almond flour (see notes for alternatives)
- ½ cup ground flaxseed (or flaxseed meal)
- 4 tbsp chia seeds (¼ cup)
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds
- ⅓ cup dried cranberries, chopped small
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp maple syrup (see notes for alternatives)
*All the ingredients for this recipe are from our pantry and freezer tips!
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients, other than the water and maple syrup, in a medium sized bowl. Make sure your cranberries are chopped quite small.
- In a measuring cup or other vessel, dissolve the maple syrup into the 1 cup water.
- Pour the sweetened water over the seed mixture and stir to combine. Make sure that the cranberries are evenly dispersed and not clumped together.
- Preheat your oven to 275 degrees F and allow the mixture to sit and soak for 10 - 15 minutes until the water has been absorbed. Prepare two large sheet pans with parchment paper. *Do not use wax paper as the crackers will stick!
- Once the water has been absorbed, spread half the seed mixture on each prepared sheet pan. Spread the mixture into as thin a layer as you can. The thinner you spread the mixture the crunchier the crackers will be. You should have a rectangle of about 12x10 inches.
- Bake the crackers for 20 minutes then turn the pans to encourage even baking and loosely cover the crackers with another sheet of parchment paper so they don't burn. *See notes for my alternatives if you don’t have parchment paper.
- Bake for an additional 20 minutes.
- Turn the oven off, remove the crackers one sheet at a time and quickly score the crackers into squares using a knife (be careful to not drag through the larger nuts and seeds damaging the cracker). Return the scored crackers to the oven and allow the oven and the crackers to cool down. Cooling in the warm oven will remove excess moisture and the crackers will become really crispy and delicious! You can loosely cover the crackers again during this time if you're worried they might get overdone but keeping them uncovered can help to dry them out. Sometimes I check them after about an hour and remove the cover at that point.
- Once the oven and crackers have fully cooled, break the crackers along the score lines and store in an airtight container on your counter for 2-3 weeks. They will also stay crispy in an airtight container in the fridge but mine are usually gone after a few days on the counter!
Notes
Approximate Cost: $3.07 CAD for 260 grams that’s about $1.18/100g. Store-bought gluten-free or “healthier” seed crackers cost me approximately $4.83/100g at my local grocery store and at least $1.50/100g at my wholesale store.
In place of maple syrup you can use any liquid sweetener you have. Alternatively, you can dissolve a granulated sugar in water, allow the mixture to cool slightly and then add it to the seed mixture. If you prefer to keep the cracker unsweetened, simply omit the sugar and add plain water to the seed mixture.
For a nut free version try using oat flour in place of the almond flour and substituting the sliced almonds with more pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds. *To make oat flour simply grind quick or rolled oats in a food processor until a fine flour forms.
Baking Tips: these crackers are more prone to burning because of the sugar used to sweeten the water and the delicate sliced almonds. The lower oven temperature and allowing the crackers to cool in the hot oven produces the best results. Using parchment paper to cover the crackers halfway through the baking time still allows heat to penetrate through but prevents the crackers from much burning. Another aluminum sheet pan can also be used in the event you don’t have parchment paper. Balance a sheet pan on the edges of the pan holding your crackers and make sure it is on an angle that covers the crackers but allows steam to escape.You don’t want to fully enclose the crackers because you don’t want them to steam. Oddly, I have found that aluminum foil loosely covering the crackers does not allow enough heat through and the centre crackers will stay soft so I prefer to use parchment or another sheet pan.
In the event your centre crackers are still soft after they cool you can save them! Bake them again at 175 degrees F for about 30 minutes. The lower oven temperature will prevent them from burning (cover them again with parchment if you’re concerned they will burn) and you can check them every 10 minutes or so to see when they are dry. You can also try flipping the crackers over so the bottoms receive more heat and dry out quicker.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Resting Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Snacks
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American, Canadian
Jamie
SO excited to try these! I love your other seed cracker recipe so I'm sure these will be just as good 😋 thanks for another great recipe Kathryn!
Kathryn Alexandre
I'm so glad you like my other crackers and are excited to try this holiday version Jamie! Keep me posted!
Jo
Made these over the holidays to take up to the cottage with my family and everyone loved them!! They went really well with a vegan brie we bought!
Kathryn Alexandre
Ooo that sounds delicious! I'm so glad everyone enjoyed them! Thank you so much for letting me know!
Betsy
Could I substitute quinoa flour or coconut flour for the almond flour? I'm allergic to almonds so the almond flour is not an option for me. Thanks in advance for your any input you can give me.
Kathryn Alexandre
I haven't tried using either of those flours but they should work just fine. Oats will work too (or oat flour if you don't want the larger pieces of oats in the finished cracker). I have used chickpea flour which is very fine in other versions of similar crackers so I would suspect that quinoa or coconut would work too. Let me know what you end up trying and how they work out for you! My other seed cracker is almond free in case you've missed it (https://tastythriftytimely.com/gluten-free-seed-cracker-recipe/) but you will definitely be able to adapt this holiday version.
Tahera
Can I use honey instead of maple syrup?
Kathryn Alexandre
Yes absolutely. The sugar in honey will react the same way the maple syrup does and cause the crackers to brown a little more quickly so just keep an eye on them. Enjoy!
JC
We love these any time of the year! They are filling and nutritious. Thank you!
Kathryn Alexandre
Fantastic! I agree that these are not just for the holidays! I'm so glad to hear that you have been enjoying them. Thank you for letting us know!
tamarque
Why would one want to dehydrate them if being cost and energy conscious? These units work slowly and consume a lot of electricity. My gas stove is much more energy efficient and in winter helps warm the house--another benefit.
What is the caloric value in these crackers?
Kathryn Alexandre
The dehydrated version was requested by people who prefer to keep the seeds raw and prevent them from reaching temperatures that could diminish their nutritional value. Personally, I always bake these but my air fryer/convection oven actually uses less energy than my range. According to my hydro supplier, counter-top appliances require less energy. My large oven requires much more power to heat up than a small appliance like the air fryer. I'm sure it's different depending on where you live and what your energy costs are. Definitely a benefit to heat up the house while you cook!
A 10 cracker serving of these holiday seed crackers has 171 calories, 6.5 grams protein, 7.3 g carbs, 11.3 g fat plus a good amount of fibre, vitamins and nutrients of course!