Sweet potato crackers recipe – easy, healthy recipe for kids

Try this delicious sweet potato crackers recipe! I’ve been making this sweet potato crackers recipe again and again since Thanksgiving’s sweet potato leftovers and I think it’s high time I passed along this yummy kid-friendly recipe.

Elise has become my official cracker-making helper and #1 taste taster and she loves them! I couldn’t even take these photos without her reaching into the sweet potato crackers bowl and dipping her little hand into my shot…

Once you make these easy, healthy-esque sweet potato crackers, you’ll be floored at how few ingredients are in a box of store-bought crackers. You’re truly paying for packaging.

I found a sweet potato crackers recipe from the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission and tinkered and tested and made some ingredient changes. This kid-friendly sweet potato crackers recipe is so good …you can’t even tell that these sweet potato crackers have vegetables in them. I love eating them, and my little recipe taster Elise totally agrees.

++++++

Ingredient for making this sweet potato crackers recipe:

Makes the equivalent of about one box of crackers. Recipe adapted from the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission.

1-1/2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter (or solid coconut oil)
1 cup of sweet potato puree (about 1 large sweet potato, see directions below)
Coarse salt for sprinkling on top

IF YOU WANT MORE FLAVOR: Add optional spices for more flavor (choose one): 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

NOTE: After reader feedback and re-testing, I drastically lowered the baking powder amount to 1/2 teaspoon. The original North Carolina recipe uses way too much!

++++

Supplies for making this sweet potato crackers recipe:

• KitchenAid Mixer
• Rolling pin with rolling pin rings
• Heart Cookie Cutters or other mini cookie cutters
• Jelly roll pans
• Parchment Paper
• Airtight storage container
• Wire rack
• Silicon ice cube tray and Ziploc freezer bags (to freeze extra puree to store for the next batch)

++++

Recipe for baking this sweet potato crackers recipe:

Step 1: Prepare the sweet potato puree

The original recipe suggests boiling the sweet potato in water. I like to peel the sweet potato, cut it into cubes, and steam it in my steamer until very soft. Or you can roast it in a 400-degree oven for about 45-50 minutes. Roasting is easy: Place a potato on an aluminum-foil-lined jelly roll pan and that’s it. You can bake it while you’re making other food, and roast more than one potato and freeze the purée in silicone ice cube trays, store it in Ziploc freezer bags, and then just thaw it whenever you want to make some crackers (I learned this trick from making Elise’s baby food purees).

Let the cooked sweet potato cool, remove the skin, and place the flesh in a food processor. Blend until smooth. You may need to add a little bit of water. Try to not add too much water, though. I’d start with less than a tablespoon and continue to add by tablespoons until you get a puree.

Set the cooled sweet potato puree aside. You will need 1 cup of sweet potato purée.

Step 2: Mix butter (or solid coconut oil) with flour

Sift 1-1/2 cups of the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a large bowl or KitchenAid Mixer. Cut the butter into small pieces and sprinkle on top of the flour. Using the KitchenAid Mixer’s regular mixing attachment (or by rubbing it between your fingers), mix the butter into the flour mixture until it becomes a coarse meal texture like this:

Step 3: Add sweet potato puree and let rest

Switch your KitchenAid Mixer’s regular mixing attachment to the dough hook attachment. Add the sweet potato puree and let it stir until it turns into one big clump like this.

The amount of flour needed to make the dough varies on how much water is in your sweet potato puree. Add up to 1/2 cup more flour if needed to make a dough. Roll the cracker dough into a ball using your hands. Divide dough into 4 pieces and flatten into discs. Chill in a covered bowl for 30 minutes for easier rolling, or wrap the discs in plastic wrap if you plan to chill for longer.

Step 4: Roll out and cut sweet potato crackers using cookie cutters

Turn out the sweet potato cracker dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll each very thin. Seriously, as thin as you can roll it. If you can use rolling pin rings then you should use the thinnest rings and then roll it even a bit thinner. THIN!! Try to ensure that you roll the dough out evenly so that the sweet potato crackers bake evenly, too.

Cut using small cookie cutters. Here I’m using heart cookie cutters but I’ve also used these great mini-cookie cutters. Place on a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Short on time? Then just slice the crackers into rectangles with a pizza cutter.

You can sprinkle with salt, sesame seeds and a little cayenne, if desired. I skip it for the kid crackers.

Step 5: Bake sweet potato crackers

Bake in a preheated 350-F degree oven on an ungreased parchment paper-lined jelly roll pan or cookie sheet for 10 minutes until bottoms are slightly browned.

Flip them over and bake until they’re crispy, another 8-12 minutes. You want them to be crispy, not chewy. Just don’t let them get too brown. Be sure to keep an eye on them because they can go from done to burned pretty quickly.

Here’s what the sweet potato crackers look like when they’re done:

Cool on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container. Remember there aren’t any preservatives in these crackers so you should probably snack them up within a week. Here comes Elise again to grab some crackers from my photoshoot!

++++

Be sure to pin this Sweet Potato Crackers recipe for later

—

Like it? Share it!
The nicest way to say you like it is to pin it on Pinterest, post a comment, follow Merriment Design on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram or sign up for monthly emails. Enjoy! 

Copyright stuff: You’re more than welcome to use this free project and tutorial for personal use. Contact me for commercial use and Etsy sales.