Thursday, June 23, 2011

Ritz Cracker Knockoffs (dairy free)

Yes, I’m still trying to find something that a teething 7-month old can gnaw on. This time, instead of revisiting the graham cracker, I decided to explore other options… Ritz Crackers here I come.


The only real problem I have with Ritz Crackers is that when I read the title, I read “Ritz Carlton” and then it makes me really wish I were in San Francisco enjoying an amazing girls weekend with my sisters. Has it really been almost 5 years since our trip?  Man that was fun. If anyone has access to Ritz Carlton, Club Level accommodations (at a steep discount or FREE) let me know, I’ll see if I can take those off your hands for you. J

Ok, RITZ CRACKERS, back to RITZ CRACKERS – ugh! I’m too easily distracted.

I went with a recipe that was posted by Steph at The Cupcake Project because, according to her post, she has already done the work to find the homemade version of the recipe that tastes most like a Ritz. Since I would be making make adjustments for allergies I figured starting with something that was already close to the real thing would probably be a good idea.

These crackers don’t take forever to make and can be pulsed in a food processor to move the process along. They are flakey and crisp and have just the right amount of salt to compliment the flavor. Best part, my teething 7-month old ate them without choking. YAY. 

The downside…he may have still been allergic to something in the dough - Palm Shortening? Coconut oil? Baking powder? It’s hard to tell because we haven’t ever seen him completely relived of all symptoms. It appeared that maybe his eczema got a little worse after he ate the cracker. If anyone else is dealing with food allergies I’d gladly accept any insight as to why the ingredients may have caused a reaction.


Vegan Ritz Cracker Knockoffs

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
½  tsp salt
6 tbsp butter flavored palm shortening, chilled (or unsalted butter)
2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used coconut oil)
2/3 cup warm water

Topping (optional)
½ tsp salt
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Directions:
  1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
  2. Put the flour, baking powder, sugar, and 1/2 tsp of salt in the food processor.
  3. Pulse to combine.
  4. Add shortening and pulse to combine until dough looks like coarse sand.
  5. Mix water with coconut oil, turn processor on low and add to dough. Process the dough until it begins to form a ball.
  6. For a crispy cracker, roll dough out as thin as you can, 1/8-inch or thinner. 
  7. Use cookie cutters to cut the dough out.  You can make them Ritz-shaped or any shape that you like. With a toothpick poke holes in the cracker so that they don’t puff when you bake them.
  8. Bake the crackers on a parchment- or Silpat-lined baking sheet for ten minutes or until the crackers just begin to brown.
  9. TOPPING: While the crackers are baking, melt the remaining butter and mix in the remaining salt
  10. As soon as you remove the crackers from the oven, brush them with the salty butter.
  11. Let them cool on a wire rack then eat.
Source: Adapted from The Cupcake Project
Gwenevere

15 comments:

Sashquatch said...

ooo these looks too yummy and easy NOT to try! such a good basic recipe to have in the od go-to folder, will definitely try it out sometime thank you :)

Roxana GreenGirl said...

Gwen, can I say I love you?! I really do! I've been looking for a while to make vegan crackers and here you are, just posting this amazing recipe. Thanks so much!!!!

p.s. don't they just make you smile when they eat without our help. My 19 months is experimenting with the fork. Oh, I'm so proud of her!

The Harried Cook said...

Sounds like a great recipe! I love crackers and this sounds like something my toddler would LOVE! So sorry to hear that your little one reacted to it :( I hope you figure out what caused the allergy soon. Hope he's getting better!

Mary said...

These crackers are just beautiful. Definitely some of the best ones I've seen. I need to try them soon! Thanks.

In Katrina's Kitchen said...

Yay Gwen! You know me and making knowckoffs...LOVE it! This is genious because my 15month old is obsessed with Ritz. I have acouple of recipes bookmarked :) Sorry to hear about the allergen issues. :( Hopefully you'll get more and more answers every day.

Emily said...

If it has butter in it, it is not dairy free

Apron Appeal said...

Emily, any butter listed in the recipe is optional or was compensated for with a nondairy substitute option.

Sarah said...

To Emily: Duhhh ...

To Apron Appeal: Lovely recipe and thank you for posting it. Your crackers look delicious. I've got some new cutters and this will be a perfect way to try them out.

Apron Appeal said...

Thanks Sarah. I hope they turn out well for you.

MVB said...

Can you use brown rice flour for this recipe?

Unknown said...

I was going to make these but we don't have palm shortening. Could I sub. with coconut oil?

Boy said...

Although we have not tried it I would guess that if it is mixed in as a solid that it should turn out okay.

Let us know how it turns out.

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

I realize this post is from 2011. Having said that, were you able to find the allergen? I hope you were able to find it. I've recently discovered I'm probably allergic to corn (also lactose intolerant, citrus intolerant, egg intolerant). It seems that when I eat corn, I break out in a rash/hives. I also recently found out that baking powder is corn-derived. Maybe it's the baking powder?

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