As a Norwegian food blogger having lived in the United States now for well over 25 years, it always warms my heart to meet people who love Norway,  as well as the food, drinks, culture and history.  It surprises me how many are actually familiar with, and still practice Norwegian customs. Many are Norwegian-Americans, and others have simply fallen in love with my homeland and want to re-create some of the experiences they’ve had back home.

Additionally, it’s even more encouraging to see entrepreneurs building a business around Nordic and Norwegian products, as is the case with Wanderlust Sea Salt.   This small U.S. based company was founded by a couple with family in Norway, and offer a variety of gourmet Norwegian sea salt products, from plain salt to flavors like lemon-dill, onion & roasted garlic, zesty pickle and smoky portobello mushroom flavored salts. I mean, how awesome does that sound?

I was fortunate enough to receive some samples from Wanderlust a while back, and have been waiting on a perfect occasion to showcase their salts, because just throwing them in a post of stew seemed like a waste. I’ve been experimenting with making several vegan cheeses lately and pairing them with vegan wines, which has been super fun, but one thing I’m always looking for is good crackers.

So if you can’t really find ones that you are super thrilled with, the solution is to make it yourself, right? I did just that. These crackers have added fresh rosemary, and is topped with Wanderlust‘s plain Nordic, flaky sea salt.   Salt actually happens to be my favorite spice. I find that it adds so much depth and flavor to food, when used properly and the salt is of high quality, as is the case here.

Make these crackers for your holiday parties, slather them with your favorite vegan cheeses or dips and serve up as an appetizer with a glass of bubbly, or you can crumble them into soups for some added texture. I added them in a potato chowder I made the other day and they were absolutely delicious!  Super simple and quick to make too. Another added benefit is they have very few ingredients, and not a million additives as you often find in store bought crackers.  Just make sure you roll out the dough on either a cooking mat like a silpat or parchment paper, because you need to roll it out super thin and it will be hard to transfer to the cookie sheet or sheet tray if you don’t.  I use a pizza slicer to cut the crackers into squares before going into the oven.

You can double this recipe to make extra (because you’ll regret not making more), they store well in an airtight ziplock bag for several days.

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NORDIC SALT & ROSEMARY CRACKERS

1 and ½ cups (200g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil
½ cup (125ml) water
Extra sea salt for topping – I recommend Wanderlust Sea Salt!

Preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit (250 degrees Celcius).

Combine flour, salt, sugar and rosemary in a bowl.  Stir in the water and oil and whisk until well mixed together.
Turn dough out onto a silpat or a lightly floured piece of parchment paper
Roll the dough until it is about ⅛th of an inch thick. I add a little flour because the dough is quite sticky. Try to keep the thickness as even as possible.
If you want, trim the edges as they are often thinner and will burn in the oven before the rest of the crackers are done.

Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into squares at a size you prefer.  Brush with a little water and sprinkle with flaky Norwegian sea salt. Use a fork to prick each square a few times so they don’t puff up in the oven.

Transfer the dough, still on the parchment paper, onto a baking sheet and place it in the oven. Immediately reduce heat to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (210 degrees Celcius).

Bake for about 15-17 minutes, or until crackers are slightly golden.