Gluten Free Cheddar Salsa Crackers

Gluten Free Cheddar Salsa Crackers

When my husband was in college, he & his friends used to take a handful of raw wheat berries and chew them.  After the first few minutes of chewing the chaff and bran would separate from the inside core of the grain - what remained was a chewable substance like gum.  That's what they did - they chewed it for hours as a natural chewing gum. 

It is this gooey, gummy gunk that goops up our guts. 

Gluten occurs in most grains like wheat and rye and the theory is that consuming Gluten causes problems for our digestion and can even add to an overall inflammatory situation in our bodies (NOTE: I am NOT a doctor - this information is what I learned from researching this subject).

Just recently my husband asked if I could start cooking Gluten-Free - neither one of us have "Celiac" disease but he wants to see if we might notice any change in our health (eg maybe less joint pain etc).  As always - I try to create my own recipes and I have had many Gluten-Free-flops but this recipe that I am sharing with you today is one of my successful creations.

                                                                                                        Printable Recipe

1/4 cup butter (softened)                                                                     

1/2 cup corn meal (make sure it is 100% corn meal & does NOT contain wheat flour)

1/4 cup rice flour

1 egg yolk

1/4 cup salsa (at room temperature)

1/2 cup cheddar cheese (shredded & at room temperature) (or Colby cheese)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)

With an electric mixer - combine the butter, salsa and egg yolk just until mixed.  With a wooden spoon stir the corn meal, salt, pepper and rice flour into the butter mixture.   Then, knead the cheese into the dough by hand on a clean flat surface until the cheese is blended into the dough (about 5 minutes of kneading).  The dough should look like the picture above.

I'm using  my squirrel, snail & porcupine cookie cutters

Cut the dough in half and then Roll out the dough on a floured surface (Remember - use RICE flour to dust the rolling surface) - about 1/4 inch thick.  Cut the crackers using your favorite cookie cutters (I used my squirrel, snail & porcupine cutters).  Keep rolling out the scraps until all of the dough has been used   (NOTE:  After rolling the scraps 3 times the dough starts to become very dry & brittle - so I just baked the scraps in whatever shape they were in).  Repeat with the other half of the dough. 

 Place each cracker on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and prick each cracker with a fork to prevent "puffing."

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes (or until desired golden brown color is achieved).

Crackers are ready to be baked

Allow to cool and ENJOY!!