I have an intense love for all things Trader Joe’s. I distinctly remember my first Trader Joe’s experience, out in Tempe, Arizona when I was a grad student. After hearing much about this mecca of interesting, gourmet and relatively inexpensive foods, I finally coaxed a friend to take me along on her next Trader Joe’s run (she had a car, I did not). Honestly, it was like walking into heaven. I do believe I heard angels sing a little as I crossed the threshold. But at the same time, I was completely and utterly overwhelmed. There was so much to look at, so much to consider, so many wonderful smells and and tastes. And all at such reasonable prices! It was a tightwad foodie’s dream come true! I could get lost in there for hours upon hours. I still can. I often feel the pull of the siren’s call, the lovely cheeses and meats, crackers and sweets, calling to me. I can’t eat everything on offer anymore, but I’m always intrigued by their flavour combinations and sometimes I have to find a way to make my own version. Hence, these delicious low carb Raisin Rosemary Crisps. Delicious little rounds of savoury/sweet almond flour shortbread, upon which to rest your favourite cheeses. Or just to munch plain, because they are that good.
I first sampled the Raisin Rosemary Crisps when over at a friend’s house for dinner. They had a cheese plate, and nothing to really put the cheese on except wheat-based crackers. I am not at all hesitant about picking up chunks of cheese and popping them in my mouth – as far as I am concerned, good cheese needs no accompaniment. But my friend mentioned that the Triple Cream Brie from Trader Joe’s was amazing when paired with the Raisin Rosemary Crisps so I had to give it a little sample. And she was dead right. There was something magical about the salty, tangy brie paired with the savoury but slightly sweet cracker. I was in love, but held back from more samples for fear of a glucose spike. Nevertheless, the flavours stayed on my mind and every time I saw that Triple Cream Brie (which is itself to die for), I thought about making my own gluten-free Raisin Rosemary Crisps. It couldn’t be that hard, could it?
And then I was invited to be a California Raisins Ambassador and of course, the fate of the low carb, gluten-free raisin rosemary crisps was sealed! It seemed like a perfect recipe in which to incorporate raisins in a healthy fashion. Yes, raisins are high in carbs, but used sparingly, they make a wonderful, flavourful addition to low carb recipes. And in these crisps, the raisins go along way, because they are chopped first and the crisps are so thinly sliced. I was delighted by the results. These had fantastic flavour and a crispy, buttery, shortbread texture. My kids loved them, and I had to shoo them away so I’d have enough to pair with my Triple Cream Brie!
For those of you who love raisin recipes as much as I do, I wanted to alert you to the Simply Raisins Recipe Contest on Relish Magazine. Relish is a national cooking magazine that comes as an insert in hundreds of newspapers all across the country. It also has a fantastic online component. This is your chance to get your recipes seen by thousands upon thousands of readers. And you could win $1000 and a trip to visit the Relish Studios in Nashville. For contest details, please see http://relish.com/simplyraisins/.
Crunchy crisps with just the right savory-sweet balance, perfect for topping with your favorite cheeses!
- 2 cups almond flour
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- 2 tbsp golden flax seed meal
- 2 tbsp Swerve Sweetener (or granulated erythritol)
- ¾ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ¼ cup raisins chopped
- 3 tbsp sunflower seeds
- 3 tbsp fresh rosemary chopped
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp raisin juice concentrate OR molasses (optional)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together almond flour, coconut flour, flax seed meal, erythritol, salt and pepper. Stir in raisins, sunflower seeds and chopped rosemary.
- In a large bowl, beat butter until smooth. Beat in egg and raisin juice or molasses if using.
- Beat in almond flour mixture until dough comes together.
- Turn out dough onto a sheet of waxed paper and form into a round, long log, about 1 ½ inches in diameter. Wrap tightly in waxed paper and freeze 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 300F and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.
- Slice frozen dough into thin slices, no more than ¼ inch thick.
- Place on prepared baking sheet and bake 5 minutes, then remove from oven and press flatter with a flat-bottomed glass.
- Return to oven and bake another 8-10 minutes, until starting to brown. Remove and let cool.
Serves 12 (about 4 to 5 crackers). Each serving has 9.6 g of carbs and 3.2 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 6.4 g.
[email protected] says
LOVE this idea Carolyn. Great for holiday parties!
Island Vittles says
OK, this is hilarious! I posted a recipe for my homemade version of these this week too! Great minds think alike…yours look delicious. Let the entertaining season begin! Theresa
Carolyn says
Omg, really? I have to check it out…
[email protected] says
There’s no Trader Joe’s anywhere near me… I envy you all! Darn Indiana! 😉
The crackers sound ahhhhmazing!
Kiersten @ Oh My Veggies says
I’m obsessed with Trader Joe’s too. It’s probably not healthy. These look so good–I love the idea of pairing rosemary and raisins!
Yvonne @ StoneGable says
Carolyn, I found you from another blogging friend, Gail at Faithfulness Farm. I just love your style and recipes! I want to make everything you post! YUMMY!
Thanks for giving us a healthy and delicious alternative to high carb foods!
Danijela says
I love it! Recipes with raisins always works for me. 🙂 Oh, yes, thanks for the contest info.
Jeanette says
These crackers look fantastic Carolyn – wish you could bake these and sell them so we could all have them!
Carol Lovett says
I really really love this idea!!!!
Darlene says
I just pulled these out of the oven and they are fabulous. I subbed sesame seeds for the sunflower seeds and used about 1 T. dried rosemary. I love the salty/sweetness in this cracker.
I did have to bake mine about twice as long as the recipe called for. I was using an air bake cookie sheet. Thanks for a great recipe to have on hand over the holidays!!!
litehousepat says
I hope this isn’t a dumb question but what is raisin juice concentrate?
Pat
Carolyn says
It’s not a dumb question at all. I was going to address this in my post but it was getting too long. It’s not commercially available and it’s not necessary for the recipe, I was just trying it out. It’s something they gave us on the raisin tour. It’s basically a thick, syrupy concentrate made from boiling down raisins and water and they sell it to bakeries and such for sweetener. Since it’s all natural, I am intrigued by it’s possibilities in baking, in place of sugar and such. Not for low carb, certainly, because it has lots of natural sugars, but in place of molasses and things. I was curious to try it out but I used in such a small quantity, I don’t think it really added much to the recipe as a whole, which is why it (and the molasses alternative) is optional.
litehousepat says
Thanks for answering my question!
Pat
Brian @ A Thought For Food says
These look so tasty!
Grabandgorecipes says
These looks so Yummy.
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says
Those crackers are ones that I miss the most, so glad you made a gluten free version!
Renee says
Sweet raisins and savory rosemary is such an awesome flavor combination. I will be pinning this to my Holiday board for sure! Thanks.
LowCarbCentral says
These looked so good I cooked up a batch today. Mine didn’t go quite as brown as yours look but this might be because I was missing the molasses or prune juice. They still tasted wonderful. Thank you !
Alysa (InspiredRD) says
Do you need my address? 🙂
Seriously love this recipe and can’t wait to try it!
Holdthegross says
Omg I love these crackers so much but have to avoid buying them because of the wheat. I am so excited to try this recipe!
Malainie says
Is the carb count with or without the raisin juice concentrate/molasses? Love your recipes! I’ve made a similar tasting cracker but substituted dried, unsweetened cranberries for the raisins.
Carolyn says
With the raisin concentrate.
Malainie says
I made these with dried cranberries. So good! But my log made 8 dozen crisps of 1 1/2 to 2 inches long by 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide. I also found it easier to mash them a bit after the first five minutes of cooking, using a nonstick spatula. I also sprinkled them with a little bit of Celtic grey coarse salt.
Shelby says
I also love these crackers from trader joes! they go great with soft cheeses and sharp cheddar. I would like to make your recipe with white ap flour,whole wheat flour, and brown sugar instead. Do you know what ratio to white flour and whole wheat flour I should use to get a product similar to the crackers from trader joe’s?
Thanks!
Carolyn says
No, I am sorry. I don’t use regular flour at all anymore so I can’t say how to make the switch from almond flour. I’d find a good wheat flour cracker recipe and adapt it for rosemary and raisins.
Pat says
Cannot believe I missed this post when originally pubished as I was completely obsessed with these crackers and took them to every holiday gathering. Then my local TJ store stopped carrying them stating they were a seasonal item. OMG! Obviously, I was not strict LCHF back in 2012 but stumbled on this recipe today as a reprint on another site. I AM IN HEAVEN! I can make my favorite cracker of all time and make it Low Carb. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
Carolyn says
You’re welcome.They were a fave on our house too and I was sad when I couldn’t eat them anymore…but now I can!
Carrie Vines says
My dough came out really crumbly, like bread crumbs..It would form a ball in my hand, but the log wouldn’t hold together enough to wrap.. Suggestions?
Carolyn says
What kind of almond flour were you using? That can make a difference. Try adding a tbsp or two of water now to get it to come together. Or an additional egg white.
Nita says
Words cannot describe, how grateful I am, you posted this recipe! I know I’m a few years late with this post, but I tried these crackers for the first time a week ago, and fell in love! I’m trying to eat low carb and wondered if I could find an alternative to them. Thank you for posting this! Your a low carber saver! ?
Carolyn says
Glad you liked them. They are a fave here too. I have half a roll of them still in my freezer, just waiting for the day I need to crank out a few to munch on.
Gerri says
Hope it’s never too late to say thank you. These crisps are fabulous! I’ve never had TJ”s, but can’t imagine they’d hold a candle to yours.
Carolyn says
I love them too!
Judy says
Aaaaaaaaah. OhEMGeeee! This is my favorite cracker from TJ’s! I used to work there and pushed these crackers like a crazy drug dealer so they’d never be discontinued. And while lazily lurking on the low carb Facebook feed I find this recipe?!?! I will be making these this weekend and I’ll be buying all the Brie too! Smooches ? to you!!!
Carolyn says
Haha, I never knew there was such a trick to keep things in stock at TJ’s!
Karen says
Delicious! Just made these. Had to bake them twice as long. When trying to flatten them out they stuck to the glass so I used my fingers. Next time I think I will just roll them out on the cookie sheet and cut into one inch squares. Thank you. Yum!