Whole Wheat and Sesame Seed Baked Crackers

Despite all the good foods I make for them, or because of it, the kids seem unnaturally fond of snack time compared to meal times. Be it a measly string cheese, nuts and carrots snack, or a slightly exotic one consisting of home-made muffin and fresh berry smoothie, they sit there on their little chairs, swinging their legs and yakking away, chomping and munching.

Baked goldfish and other "healthy" snack crackers can leave a big hole in my budget, the rate at which they consume them, in spite of my strict rationing. But, more than that, I was quite appalled by the labels - most standard snack crackers list High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) as the first or second ingredient. I am not too fond of HFCS in foods for my family.

Some of the vadaams - particularly the rice ones and the tapioca, lime, and chili concoctions - are a great option - especially since I microwave the vadaams rather than deep frying as is traditional. Each variety of these vadaams have their own cooking times and I "sacrifice" a couple first to determine optimal time and power setting on my microwave.

Anyway, now that I am home for summer, I've been making Indian snacks as well as experimenting with some wheat and rice flour crackers - to see if the kids like them as much or better than store-bought ones.

This batch of whole wheat crackers has become a favorite at home. It is easy to make, versatile, can adjust flavors or leave it bland, and it is baked, not fried. as always, it is nice to experiment with small batches to get it to one's taste/liking. I dust some cheese powder right after baking as they seem to like this.

Ingredients
whole wheat flour
sesame seeds
water, as needed
salt to taste
a pinch of brown sugar (optional)
spices (optional): coriander powder, garlic powder, paprika powder
Cooking Spray
Parchment paper, Cookie Sheet, Rolling Pin, Cookie Cutter Shapes (optional)

Preparation

1. Pre-heat oven to 400°F
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, add a little water at a time to form a smooth dough, not much unlike for roti
3. Roll it flat with a rolling pin, to about 1 or 2 millimeter thick and cut out shapes with the cookie cutter, or simply cut squares or rectangles or diamonds with a knife
4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, spray some cooking spray if preferred, and place the cut dough evenly spaced, not touching each other; Spray with cooking spray on top
5. Bake in a 400°F oven for about 8 minutes; cooking time varies with thickness; check doneness; flip them over partway if preferred and finish baking till edges are brown and moderately crisp