Product Review - Nairn's Oat Crackers and Cookies

Nairn's oat crackers with cream cheese and a variety of toppings:
cucumber, green olives and chives, smoked chili pepper jelly,
Kalamata olives and basil, cranberries.

When Nairn's offered me a chance to review a variety of their line of Scottish oat crackers and cookies I immediately signed up!

I received a big box of seven of Nairn's products:

• Roughly milled oat crackers
• Cheese oat crackers
• Organic oat crackers
• Sunflower seed oat crackers
• Stem ginger oat cookies
• Dark chocolate chip oat cookies
• Mixed berries biscuits oat cookies

What's in a name?

Don't go in thinking these are North American crackers. If you do, you'll be disappointed as they aren't  as crispy and snappy as a typical cracker. They are really somewhere between a cracker and a biscuit. My son noticed that on their website the crackers are called oatcakes. Now that made more sense. I wonder why they changed the name for the North America market? I wish they had kept the original name as it describes the product better but I'm sure their focus groups didn't agree with me!

Oatcakes are usually associated with Scotland and since I'm part Scottish (my grandmother and great-grandmother came from Dumfries, Scotland) I just had to give them another shot.

Pile it on!

They taste like....wait for it...oats! My favorites are the rough milled and the sunflower seed varieties - love the texture of each. If you want to eat them out of the box then I would recommend the cheese variety as otherwise they may be rather plain tasting. But that also makes them perfect for savory toppings and because these are nice and thick they can handle layers - think strong cheese, tuna, olives, chives, peanut butter, apples, hummus, cream cheese, smoked salmon, pepper jellies etc.

Kids will love them!

Once school starts up again I will be using them in my kids' lunch boxes. They get so tired of sandwiches but love it when I give them separate containers of crackers, spreads, cheeses, veggies, fruit, etc. that they can put together on their own. Nairn's oatcakes will be a perfect and healthier substitute for regular crackers. I think they will fill the kids up a bit more and give them a bit more energy compared to regular saltines.

Don't forget the cookies!

I loved the cookies! Perfect for dunking in tea or coffee. The chocolate cookies were my favorite - the little bits of dark chocolate were perfect little bites to satisfy my sweet tooth without being too sweet. I'm saving the stem ginger ones  to make a crust for a pumpkin cheesecake - I think it will make a great substitute for the graham crackers I normally use.

Overall

Pros:

• wheat free (NOT gluten free though)
• easy to grab and go for lunches/snacks  as there are 4 packs of 6 crackers in each box
• vegetarian friendly
• low GI
• stand up to heavier toppings and flavors
• contain fibre
• no artificial colors, preservatives or flavors

Cons:

• wish the packs had only 4 per pack as sometimes 6 is a bit too

I will definitely be buying more of these when my stash runs out!

For more info check out Nairn's sites:

• website
• Facebook
• Twitter

Note: Nairn supplied me with product but all opinions are my own.

Five seed cracker recipe

Are they all they’re “cracked” up to be?

Homemade crackers are easy and pretty impressive…after all how many times have you been served homemade crackers…not many I bet.

Generally, ingredients are minimal, simple and quick to come to together so if you are just beginning to make your way around a kitchen or want an easy recipe to make with the kids this is the way to (google homemade goldfish crackers for kids!).

This recipe is stuffed with nutritional goodness thanks to five varieties of seeds – pumpkin, poppy, sunflower,flax and sesame!

They are great topped with flavoured cream cheese and also go well with bits of fresh bococcini and basil leaves. But really the sky is the limit... of course, they are also good on their own.

Tip: If you don't need to make all the crackers at once, just freeze any unbaked dough. It will last at least a couple of months in the freezer.

adapted from LA Times recipe

Ingredients

¼ c hulled sunflower seeds

¼ c hulled pumpkin seeds, unsalted

¼ c ground flax seeds

¼ c sesame seeds – the tan coloured ones + more for garnishing – about an extra 2 tbsp

¼ c poppy seeds + more for garnishing – about an extra 2 tbsp

2 c whole wheat flour

¾ tsp salt

2 tbsp honey

2-1/2 tbsp vegetable oil

¾ c water

Egg Wash

1 egg

½ c water

What to do

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Using a coffee grinder or blender, grind the sunflower, pumpkin seeds into a fine powder (but not so much it turns to nut butter).
3. Using a stand mixer, combine all of the seeds (except for garnish), flour, salt, honey and oil on low speed to combine.
4. Add the water and mix on low until the dough turns into a firm ball.
5. Lightly flour your work surface and knead the dough for about 30 seconds to make sure everything is combined. The dough will be tacky but definitely not sticky. If it is, add more flour.
6. Line three baking sheets with parchment.
7. Divide the dough into three portions.
8. Roll out one portion at a time so it is paper thin i.e. less than 1/8 of an inch! The smaller  the cracker, the crispier it will be.
9. Tip: Keep moving the dough a little as you roll it out. If needed dust work surface with more flour to prevent sticking.
10. Cut rolled dough into squares or diamonds… or any other shape you want!
11. Move the cut dough onto the baking sheets.
12. Tip: these crackers don’t spread so they can be placed very close together.
13. Repeat with each portion of dough.
14. Mix the egg with ½ c of water and brush over the tops of dough.
15. Sprinkle lightly with sesame and poppy seeds.
16. Bake crackers (you can bake each pan separately if needed) for 10 minutes.
17. Rotate sheets and bake another 10 minutes.
18. Rotate again and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes.
19. The crackers should be golden brown, looking dry and crispy.
20. Cool the crackers on their pans.
21. They can be stored at room temperature for a week.