Homemade Crackers

I have a weakness for Wheat Thins so this pinterest recipe caught my eye. I wouldn't call it an exact copy cat recipe but it was decent. The thin ones definitely had the texture down but I felt the taste was lacking. I'm sure it's all the icky chemicals that give the real crackers that delicious flavor. It might be the whole wheat thing. I'm desperately trying to like it in a effort to be healthy but I'm not really a fan. It was a pain to get the crackers that thin, my second batch wasn't as good....I got bored with all the rolling! The appearance is spot on too. It was a fun experiment but I will stick to the real deal, it will be my guilty pleasure!

Thin and not so thin

Also a sign of lazy rolling: weird cracker shapes!

Wheat Crackers

(Pinterest find! King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking)

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon paprika
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Additional salt for topping (optional)
Directions:
1. Combine the flour, sugar, salt and paprika in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and mix it in thoroughly, using your fingers, a pastry blender, a mixer or a food processor. Combine the water and vanilla, and add it to the flour mixture, mixing until smooth.
2. Pre heat the oven to 400˚F. Lightly grease baking sheets or line with parchment paper.
3. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Lightly flour your work surface and your rolling pin and roll the piece of dough into a large rectangle. Keep rolling until the dough is as thin as you can get it without tearing, at least 1/16 inch thick. Trim the dough to even the edges and use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to cut the piece into squares approximately 1 1/2 inches wide. Transfer the squares to a prepared baking sheet; you can crowd them together, as they don’t expand while baking. Sprinkle the squares lightly with salt, if desired. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Save the scraps under plastic wrap and reroll them all at once just one time.
4. Bake the crackers, one sheet at a time, until crisp and browned, 5 to 7 minutes. If some of the thinner crackers brown too quickly, remove them and return the remaining crackers to the oven to finish baking. These crackers bake quickly, so watch them closely – even 30 seconds can turn them from golden brown to toast! Remove the crackers from the oven and cool on the pan or on a plate; they cool quickly. These crackers will stay crisp for several days, but are best stored in airtight containers.