Cheddar Asiago Crackers (Low Carb)

Santa was especially kind and thoughtful to me this past Christmas. Knowing as he does that my favourite part of the holiday is the stockings, he made sure to fill mine to the brim. And he took care to be mindful of my dietary restrictions, steering clear of the gourmet jams and chocolates he's given me in the past, and focussing instead on fun little kitchen tools and lower carb treats. He even thought to give me a subscription to a diabetic magazine, so what to my wondering eyes should appear, but Bret Michaels staring out at me from the front cover on Christmas morning! A little scary perhaps, but very thoughtful, nevertheless.

One of the low carb treats Santa included was a bag of Vermont Cheese Powder from King Arthur Flour. Santa truly is omniscient, if he is aware of both my diabetes and my love of all things King Arthur Flour. The back of the package has a recipe for cheddar cheese crackers, made with flour, of course. But it got me thinking of the Buttermilk Ranch Snack Crackers I'd made a while back. They were delicious and I'd always meant to make them again but never got around to it. My new cheese powder was a perfect opportunity to play around with the flavours and create a whole new snack for myself!



The Results: Run, do not walk, to your nearest computer and order yourself some of this cheese poweder. These crackers were phenomenal! They have a tangy cheesey bite to them and I literally could not stop eating them when they came out of the oven. I had to tear myself away so that I wouldn't spoil my dinner. And my kids were like vultures, hanging around and nibbling at the little edge pieces until I made them stop. The ranch-flavoured version of these crackers was good, but these were way better and I definitely won't wait long to make them again.

And this time, they stayed crisp even after they cooled and were put away in a tupperware container overnight. I rolled out the dough very thin and I left them in the oven after I'd turned it off, so that may be the reason. It may also be that the cheese powder and the grated asiago helped them retain their crispness as well.

I couldn't call these gluten free because the package says that the product is made in a facility that also processes wheat products. But if you can find yourself a comparable cheese powder that is GF, the rest of the ingredients are gluten free.



Cheddar Asiago Crackers

1 1/2 cups almond meal
1/2 cup flax seed meal
1/3 cup Vermont Cheese Powder
1/2 cup finely grated asiago cheese (could sub parmesan)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp melted butter
2 egg whites

Preheat oven to 225F.

In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients and mix well.

Add in butter and egg whites and stir until a cohesive dough forms.

On a large cookie sheet, roll out into a rough rectangle between sheets of parchment paper to desired thickness. Can be made very thin, but make sure that it is of even thickness all over so the edges won't burn before the middle crisps up.

Remove top layer of parchment. With a sharp knife, score into desired size of cracker.

Bake one hour or until firm and edges are crispy. Turn off oven and leave crackers in oven another half hour to an hour.

Total carbs for the entire recipe is about 50g. I rolled mine very thin, and got about 50 small crackers, each cracker having 1g of carbs and 0.5g of fiber.