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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Gluten Free Cheddar Salsa Crackers



Gluten Free Cheddar Salsa Crackers

When my husband was in college, he & his friends used to take a handful of raw wheat berries and chew them.  After the first few minutes of chewing the chaff and bran would separate from the inside core of the grain - what remained was a chewable substance like gum.  That's what they did - they chewed it for hours as a natural chewing gum. 

It is this gooey, gummy gunk that goops up our guts
Gluten occurs in most grains like wheat and rye and the theory is that consuming Gluten causes problems for our digestion and can even add to an overall inflammatory situation in our bodies (NOTE: I am NOT a doctor - this information is what I learned from researching this subject).
Just recently my husband asked if I could start cooking Gluten-Free - neither one of us have "Celiac" disease but he wants to see if we might notice any change in our health (eg maybe less joint pain etc).  As always - I try to create my own recipes and I have had many Gluten-Free-flops but this recipe that I am sharing with you today is one of my successful creations.


                                                                                                        Printable Recipe
1/4 cup butter (softened)                                                                     
1/2 cup corn meal (make sure it is 100% corn meal & does NOT contain wheat flour)
1/4 cup rice flour
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup salsa (at room temperature)
1/2 cup cheddar cheese (shredded & at room temperature) (or Colby cheese)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)

With an electric mixer - combine the butter, salsa and egg yolk just until mixed.  With a wooden spoon stir the corn meal, salt, pepper and rice flour into the butter mixture.   Then, knead the cheese into the dough by hand on a clean flat surface until the cheese is blended into the dough (about 5 minutes of kneading).  The dough should look like the picture above.


I'm using  my squirrel, snail & porcupine cookie cutters

Cut the dough in half and then Roll out the dough on a floured surface (Remember - use RICE flour to dust the rolling surface) - about 1/4 inch thick.  Cut the crackers using your favorite cookie cutters (I used my squirrel, snail & porcupine cutters).  Keep rolling out the scraps until all of the dough has been used   (NOTE:  After rolling the scraps 3 times the dough starts to become very dry & brittle - so I just baked the scraps in whatever shape they were in).  Repeat with the other half of the dough. 
 Place each cracker on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and prick each cracker with a fork to prevent "puffing."

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes (or until desired golden brown color is achieved).


Crackers are ready to be baked

Allow to cool and ENJOY!!

8 comments:

  1. Those look good!

    Never thought of making crackers!

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    http://christiecottage.blogspot.com

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  2. My youngest daughter and her soon to be husband are gluten free. Whenever I eat at their place I always feel great --- no heavy "after food" feeling. I went to a wedding shower recently for them and pasta salad was brought by one of the guests. Each used to love that and both tried a spoonful. And each got sick almost immediately. I am going to pass this recipe on to her and I know she'll use it. Thanks so much for sharing!~Cindy, visiting from Blogging Buddies

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  3. Mmmm! These look really good. I love that you cut them with cookie cutters!

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  4. Yum, I need to try making these. Is it hard to find rice flour? Do you think the carb count is still low even though there is some rice flour in it?

    Cindy

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    Replies
    1. The carb thing is an issue - although if you use brown rice flour then there is more fiber and therefore less of a carb issue. I bought my brown rice flour at Kroger in the health food section (expensive but good).

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  5. These look so good. I'm kind of a cheese fiend, so I know I'd love them.

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  6. I am glad I read this. I stay pretty health conscious about food but I never have taken time to read much about gluten and wasn't sure why the gluten free diets were becoming so popular lately, I understand it a bit better now.

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  7. Wow these look delicious! I am following you back from The Stuff of Success. Thanks.Athena

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