Makes: About 1½ dozen
Time: About 30 minutes
Nut flour is a fine alternative to grinding your own nuts, but I prefer the rustic quality of these crackers when you do it yourself. In the absence of any wheat flour, the dough is crumbly, but if you roll and bake it on parchment paper, it’s not too hard to handle. A teaspoon or so of chopped fresh rosemary or thyme is an excellent addition to these tender, delicate crackers.
1. Heat the oven to 350°F. If you’re using whole almonds, put them in a food processor and grind as finely as possible, watching closely so they don’t turn into nut butter. Add the salt and olive oil and pulse to combine; if you’re working by hand or with almond flour, pulse or stir until thoroughly combined. Add cold water a tablespoon at a time (you’ll likely need 2 to 3 tablespoons), pulsing until the dough looks like wet sand, just cohesive enough that you can form it into a ball.
2. Dump the dough onto a sheet of parchment and pack it together with your hands. Top with another sheet of parchment and roll it into a rectangle ⅛ inch thick. Peel off the top sheet of parchment and use a pizza cutter or knife to square off the edges (you can reroll the scraps into more crackers). If you like, score the dough into small rectangles or squares. Transfer the parchment with the dough to a baking sheet.
3. Bake, rotating the sheet halfway through, until golden, 12 to 15 minutes. If the crackers brown before they’ve fully crisped up, crack the oven door open, decrease the heat to 200°F, and continue baking until completely dried out and crisp, another 5 minutes or so. Cool on a rack, then carefully break the crackers apart. Serve at room temperature or store in an airtight container for up to a couple of days.