Cowboy Crackers

Back to food. That's been my theme of the past few days. Getting back to food. I think it's safe to say that the past couple of months have been rather hectic, stressful and tiring for me. One job ended, and while I was meant to be winding down and taking some time off, I had an opportunity I couldn't pass up. I'm starting a new job on Monday, and am fresh off of a week spent in gorgeous Cleveland, Ohio visiting my family and friends. My blog has been shamefully neglected and so I will say it again and then not another word about my personal life: Back to food.

While in Cleveland I found myself at an old haunt. My Mom, girlfriend and I went to the End of the Commons General Store in Mesopotamia, Ohio. It's a lot more exciting now than it was the last time I visited, but it still carries the same old stand-by products in bulk foods and supplies. Every time I visit I have to peruse the cookie cutter selection. I will never have enough cookie cutters, never. This trip I picked up three new additions to my collection, a trio of sorts. I found a horseshoe, a cowperson, and the silhouette of a horse's head. Cowboy cookies were definitely in order...well, sort of.

One of the drawbacks of my leaving home is also having to leave my diet locked tidily up in my little duplex. When I say my "diet," I mean the way I eat, my food philosophy. Spending nine days at my parents' house, while my Mom makes great efforts to accommodate me (which do not go unnoticed), always results in feeling a little bad about myself, and my body not feeling quite up to par. Even the smallest addition of processed foods, preservatives and anything really atypical of my usual local-seasonal-organic diet can have a noticeable impact on my body image, and how my body actually feels. One thing that always seems to happen on my trips home is a dessert smorgasbord. Therefore, last night when I unpacked my brand new trio of John Wayne's favorite cookie cutters and could not resist the temptation to use them, I had to get clever.

My time at home made me come to another somewhat new decision. I want to eat as little in the way of processed food as possible. Yes, this is something I already do, but I want to go a little bit further with it. I'm going to try to start making my own snacks. Snacks have always been a point of anxiety for me. When most people imagine snacks, the list of things they imagine is almost entirely processed. I am the same way. So, after nibbling on a couple of Barbara's brand Oatmeal Animal Cookies, I had an idea.

I decided to make oatmeal crackers, cut out into my cowboy shapes. The keyword here is "crackers." That is precisely what they are. With the addition of more sweetener, they might be able to flirt with cookie, but as they are now, they are simply crackers-not savory, not sweet, but delicious. I tried to make them as healthy as possible while also making them taste good. I think I succeeded. The crunchy, dense cut outs are packed with oatmeal, oat bran, whole wheat, spelt, and flax. They contain no butter or eggs, and rely on sunflower seed butter and olive oil for their texture. I jazzed them up with some molasses for flavor, sweetness and nutrients, and some spices reminiscent of a gingersnap. When it was all said and done, I smeared a lucky horse's head with my homemade black raspberry jam and called it my two o'clock pick me up. It was delicious and satisfying and I will be making these again when my bag is almost empty. Enjoy, and always remember to eat well and buy local.



Queen Honeybea's
Cowboy Crackers
Makes 3 dozen large crackers

1/2 cup organic rolled oats
1/2 cup local organic milk
2 TBS. sunflower seed butter
1 TBS. olive oil
2 TBS. local raw honey
1 TBS. molasses
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup organic all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat spelt flour
2 TBS. oat bran
1 TBS. flax seeds
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1. In a small sauce pan, heat milk to a simmer but not a boil. Add the oats and cool completely.

2. In a large bowl, beat together with a wooden spoon the sunflower butter, olive oil, honey and molasses. Add the oatmeal mixture and beat to combine.

3. In a medium size bowl, combine the flours, oat bran, flax seeds, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Add all at once to the wet ingredients and mix to make a stiff dough.

4. On a floured pastry cloth, roll half the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters, or cut into strips, squares or triangles for quicker, less intricate crackers. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 425 degrees for 9 minutes.

5. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely. Repeat until all of the dough is gone and all the crackers are baked.