Crackity Crackers! Rosemary, Pecan and Cranberry Raintree Crisps

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I'm not much of a cracker type these days. When the mixed box comes out, I tend to want to spread my creamy cheeses on the digestive biscuits which, lets face it, are more cookie than cracker. However, I always circle around for two or three of these raintree crisps when they are out for free samples down at the grocer's. I think I like them because they are mostly nut and dried fruit held together by a negligible amount of cracker.

February's Daring Challenge to make crispy crackers offered us the raintree crisp recipe from Dinner with Julie. I immediately crossed out raisins and pencilled in cranberries because there's just something about raisins that makes me sad. Sad for the raisins. Or, for the grapes, really. I don't know why I don't have a similarly irrational pity of cranberries. Other than that, I stuck to the recipe (okay, sans pepitas and flax). It was pleasantly easy and made me wonder how many other loaves of things I could just turn into crackers. Could I make this grapefruit cake into some sort of crispy cookie, for example? 

1337 slicing skillz

Two things: 1) The recipe suggested that I slice the loaves as thinly as I could, but that was apparently too thin to weather the suggested baking time and oven temperature, as I had some burning issues. If you're very good at slicing thinly (and have the benefit of a fancy new Henckels knife that your boyfriend's father and stepmum sent the both of you for Christmas which I keep somehow failing to sneak into my photos), you might want to bake a practice batch and adjust the time/temperature. 2) Don't go easy on the fresh rosemary. I probably could have happily doubled it.

Rosemary Pecan Cranberry (Fig?) Crisp Recipe

For 2 loaves, which turns into about 8 dozen crackers, you'll need:

2 c AP flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 c. buttermilk

1/4 c brown sugar

1/4 c honey

2 1/2 c delicious stuff (cried cranberries, pecans, sesame seeds, I think I probably some dried figs)

1++ Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 350F and grease and/or line two loaf pans.

Whisk dry ingredients together well, then dump everything else in and mix until just blended. Pour your mix into the loaf pans and bake for about 35 minutes until your loaves spring back when you poke them. Allow to cool completely (or shove them in the freezer impatiently).

Reheat the oven to 300F, or reduce it if you actually left it ON while your loaves cooled.

Slice the cold loaves thinly (about 1/4 inch if you're measuring), and spread the slices out on some cookie sheets. Bake for about 15 minutes, flip, bake ten more minutes until crisp and golden.

Devour. Remove crumbs from inside of T-shirt.

"Sarah from All Our Fingers in the Pie was our February 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she challenges us to use our creativity in making our own Crisp Flatbreads and Crackers! "