Vegan Homemade Wheat Thins

...I know...I know...Wheat Thins are already vegan...

...but it's always better to have complete control over all of the ingredients...right...

...some of you have been asking about my recipes...and I'm still so old-fashioned that I write them out longhand and keep them in a binder...these are all of my vegan(ized) recipes...

...so I got everything all measured out...wheat flour - turbinado sugar - salt - paprika - Earth Balance...

...then mixed the vanilla with the water...

...mixed the dry ingredients...

...added the Earth Balance...

...and blended that with the pastry fork...just like you were making biscuits - until it resembles coarse cornmeal...

...add the water and vanilla...

...and stir to combine...

...it will look like this firm ball of dough when you're done...

...this cracker dough is very pliable and easy to turn...but I prefer to roll it out directly on my parchment paper...

...roll it really thin - about 1/16 of an inch - and then trim the edges (you don't have to do this if you don't mind the ragged edges on your crackers) - and then cut into little squares with a pizza cutter - you can make them any size you want - we made ours little like Wheat Thins...

...sprinkle with some salt...

...then I just pick up the parchment paper with the crackers on it and put it on a baking sheet...

...bake for about 5-10 minutes until they just start to brown and watch them carefully after about 5 minutes as they will brown quickly and you don't want them to get overdone...

...allow them to cool...Scout tried one still warm from the oven and said 'it tastes just like real Wheat Thins' - amazing!...

...we store our Wheat Thins in this glass bowl with a sealable lid...tomorrow I'll show you what we made to eat with these sweet crackers...

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Whole Grain Baking Cookbook

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus extra for topping
1/4 teaspoon paprika
4 tablespoons Earth Balance
1/4 cup water (you might need to add a little more)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Set aside.

2. Add the flour, sugar, salt and paprika to a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Cut the Earth Balance into small pieces and add it to the bowl. Using a pastry blender, mix the Earth Balance into the dry ingredients thoroughly. Combine the water and vanilla in a small measuring cup or bowl. Add to the Earth Balance/flour mixture and mix until a smooth dough forms. If the dough is still dry, add a little more water.

3. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Work with one piece at a time, keeping the others covered with a towel so they don’t dry out. Lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin and roll the dough into a large rectangle. Lift the dough and turn it as you roll to ensure it’s not sticking. You want to roll the dough as thin as possible, try to make sure it’s 1/16-inch thick at most. If you want all of your crackers to be perfect, trim the edges of the dough so you have a rectangle with even sides. Use a pizza cutter to cut the rectangle into squares about 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide.

4. Transfer the dough squares to the prepared baking sheets. You can place them close together because they will not spread. Sprinkle the squares lightly with salt. Repeat the rolling and cutting process with the remaining 3 pieces of dough. Save all of your scraps under the towel to keep the dough from drying out; reroll them all at once to create a final batch of crackers.

5. Bake the crackers, one sheet at a time, until crisp and browned, about 5-10 minutes. Check the crackers at 5 minutes, and if some of the thinner ones are browning too quickly, remove them from the oven. The crackers can burn quickly so you want to keep a close eye on them. Remove crackers from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Store the crackers in an airtight container.