Raw Chocolate Coconut Crackers With Chocolate Tahini Dip
Ooh this is yummy one! A handful of simple ingredients and a dehydrator is pretty much all you need to make these delicious, sweet, crispy crackers. They are perfect on their own but they go real nice with this tahini dip. If this is your first experience of tahini as a dessert vibe, then you’re in for a treat!
If you’ve ever made a chia pudding before then surprise, this is basically dehydrated chia pudding blended up and dehydrated
Just like flaxseed crackers get their crunch from flaxseeds, chia seeds do the same job in this recipe. Chia and flax are really similar in that they become gloopy when wet and this gloop binds everything together and creates a perfect snap when dehydrated.
Chia seeds are wonderfully nutrient dense. They are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids as well as fibre, iron and calcium and are full of antioxidants. By grinding the seeds we not only make it potentially easier for our bodies to get hold of these nutrients but we also get a lovely smooth “dough” which ends up as a super crispy cracker.
You can easily make your own ground chia seeds by throwing them in a blender until you have a slightly course flour-like texture.
The cracker-making process here is really simple:
-combine all ingredients
-wait for a bit while the mixture firms up and becomes gelatinous
-spread onto a non-stick mat
-score
-dehydrate for 18-24 hours
-snap and store
Chocolate coconut crackers
Ingredients
1/2 cup ground chia seeds
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup cacao
1 tablespoon carob (optional but lovely)
4-5 tablespoons maple syrup (depending on how sweet you like things)
1/2 teaspoon tamari (optional but adds depth of flavour)
large pinch of salt
1 + 1/4 cup water
Method
Switch on your dehydrator and prepare two trays and two non-stick sheets.
Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well, then pour in the water and mix some more until everything is combined.
Leave the mixture to sit for at least 15 minutes, until it is easy to handle and roll out.
Place your first non-stick mat onto a clean surface (some of the mixture will likely go over the edge of the sheet). Pour half-ish of your mixture onto the sheet and if you have one, use an angled pallet knife to spread the mixture so it is about the thickness of a cracker. Alternatively, you could use a dough scraper or a spatula. Keep dipping your knife into a pot of water so that it doesn’t stick to the batter, otherwise you’ll just keep creating holes rather than spreading the mixture.
Don’t be afraid to go over the edge of the sheet, to get everything nice and even. This will take some time, so don’t rush.
When you feel you’ve finished smoothing the mixture out, trim the edges so you have a slight gap with some of the sheet showing all the way round. This will help you to check you have roughly the same thickness all over.
Use your pallet knife, scraper or the back of a knife (you don’t want to cut into the sheet!) to draw evenly spaced horizontal and vertical lines into the mixture to create squares the size you’d like your crackers to be. This will allow you to just snap your crackers into little squares once they have dehydrated.
Any extra on the edges that don’t fit into the squares you have scored out will be useful for when you want to test if your crackers are ready at the end of the dehydration time.
Repeat the process with the other half of your mixture.
Place both trays in the dehydrator and dehydrate at 115°F/46°C for between and 18-24 hours. This will vary depending on the thickness of your crackers.
Around halfway through the dehydrating time you need to flip your crackers. To do this, you’ll need another tray (you won’t need a non-stick sheet on it though. Simply place the second tray on top of the crackers, then carefully flip the whole thing over. Remove the original tray and carefully peel off the non-stick mat. This will allow the underside to dry properly.
At the end of the drying time, break of a small piece of cracker (or a bit of the edge), allow it to cool completely before checking it snaps. If it does, take the trays out, allow them to cool for a few minutes and then using the lines you scored, carefully snap the sheets into individual crackers.
When completely cool, store in an airtight container. If stored correctly, these will keep for many months.
Tahini dip
Ingredients
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon coconut milk powder (optional, adds creaminess)
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons cacao
pinch salt
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Method
Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl and whisk. At first the tahini will separate but keep mixing until you have a lovely runny creamy mixture. If needed you can add a little more water, a teaspoon, at a time to get your desired consistency.
Store in the fridge for a few days.
Note: To get a pretty swirl on top, take an extra spoonful of tahini, mix with some water until it’s runny, then drop dollops of it onto your chocolate tahini mix and swirl with a skewer.