Gluten-free holiday crackers

I've been posting a lot of sweet recipes lately, and let's face it--Most edible gifts tend to be full of sugar. I say go ahead and have a bite of whatever sweet treat you fancy this week: The holidays are about celebrating and letting go.

But at a certain point you findyourself up to your ears in cookies, candies, and cakes. It's not only dangerous--it's monotonous. If you're like most people, a pile of well-intended home-made sweets is forming in a corner of your house somewhere. This hasn't happened to me this year because most people realize that I'm gluten intolerant and therefore can't eat whatever they're baking.

However, I've managed to have my fill regardless. The past month of recipe-testing has reminded me of something that I already knew about myself: I can only take so much sugar before I start to go batsh*t crazy. (On that note, sugar and alcohol don't mix, people...Watch out.)

Christmas isn't even here yet, and I'm already sick of sweets. I knew I would be, and I'm probably not alone.

 That's why I came up with this savory take on gingerbread men. I mean, why not? I think these crackers are just as festive as their cookie cousins. There's even an intentional sprinkling of red and green in the dough, from herbs and sun-dried tomatoes.

 You could serve them as an hors d'oevres at a party with a variety of cheeses and dips. The little man pictured above is wearing sun-dried tomato pesto and dandelion-walnut pesto. Such a cute little drinking buddy. Off to fetch a glass of Chianti. 'Tis the season...Ciao!

Gluten-Free Holiday Crackers

3/4 cup chickpea flour

½ cup brown rice flour

½ cup almond meal

½ cup tapioca flour

2 tablespoons flax meal

2 tablespoons onion powder

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons dried herbs of your choice

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons sea salt

1 teaspoon fresh pepper

Zest of one lemon

3 tablespoons olive oil (can sub part with pesto)

About ¼ cup warm water

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.


• First, combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.


• Add in the olive oil, then gradually stir in the warm water as needed, until a soft but malleable ball of dough is formed. Let it sit a few minutes.


• On a sheet of parchment or wax paper, roll out half of the dough with a rolling pin. Aim for about 1/4” in thickness, and try to be as consistent as you can.


• Using holiday cut-outs, create your cracker shapes, reserving the excess dough to roll out more. You can use any shape you like--Christmas trees or santa hats are nice too. A star of David for Hannukah, even.


• Bake the crackers at 350 degrees for the first 5 minutes, then reduce to 300 for another 5 minutes. Remove when the edges are just beginning to turn golden—The crackers will crispen up more once they have cooled.