Crispy food has enormous sensory appeal, and this gluten-free cracker also offers great nutrition. We all know nuts are full of omega-3s and minerals as well as protein. Himalayan salt has 84 minerals and trace elements making it important for electrolyte replacement. The high levels of piperine in freshly cracked pepper are an anti-inflammatory.

This nut cracker delivers great taste as well as all these benefits. After a spicy bit of cracked pepper, a touch of coconut offers a lightly creamy finish. Add fresh avocado, hummus, or nut butter for a perfect lunch or snack. It’s also a great dipper for soup.

Ingredients

• 1 cup each flax seed, cashews, walnuts (substitute/add almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, etc. as preferred)
• ½ cup dry coconut flakes
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• A pinch of almond flour as needed
• A tablespoon of coconut water as needed
• 1-2 tablespoon freshly cracked peppercorns (to taste)
• 1-2 teaspoons Himalayan pink salt crystals, unrefined and unprocessed to taste

Instructions

1. Soak all the nuts, flax seeds, and coconut in spate bowls for eight hours. Add water to the nuts as needed. Let the flax seed soak up all its own water. They will develop a gelatinous consistency, but that helps hold the cracker together.
2. Drain excess water from the nuts and coconut (save the coconut liquid to add to the cracker dough if it gets a little dry) and blend or process them with the olive oil.
3. If the consistency is too sticky, add a pinch or two of almond flour to tighten up the dough. If it is too dry, add some coconut water. You are looking for a textured, spreadable blend.
4. Add Himalayan salt crystals, blend, and taste. Add more as desired.
5. Crack your peppercorns. For the most variety in texture, I fold the peppercorns in a cloth napkin and hit them with a small kitchen hammer or a rolling pin. As each pepper cracks, the aroma rises from the cloth.
6. Spread the mixture 1/8-inch think on solid dehydrator trays or baker’s parchment paper. After dehydrating for 4 hours at 165 degrees, make lines (with a knife) halfway through the dough in the shape of your crackers (my dehydrator is round so my crackers come out in pie-like wedges).
7. Dehydrate until the crackers are ever-so-slightly soft in the middle…they crisp up as they cool. This can take from 4 to 8 more hours.
8. Pack them in a firm plastic storage container. Don’t eat them all before your next adventure on the trail!

Find more drink recipes in Backpackers’ Ultra Food by Cinny Green along with more tips, techniques, and recipes to elevate eating on the trail. You can find the book here at Amazon.com.

Editor's Note: This recipe originally appeared in Issue 15 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here.