Suncoast Tea Bread and Crisps (Raincoast lookalikes)

 If you've ever had a Raincoast Crisp, you'll know what I mean when I say they are kind of addictive, and expensive. I used to indulge myself in a box or two from time to time, and every time I plunked down the money, I would cringe.

But...

Once I started eating them, I had to keep eating until the box was gone, and then, sigh I would have to search for them again, from store to store to store.

And if you think it's easy to find them when you live on the opposite coast from where they're made, you have another think coming.   

I got tired of that and decided to google the recipe.

You wouldn't believe how many recipes are out there.  And I want to acknowledge the blogs I read for inspiration. Most of the following blogs also cited Dinner with Julie
So I looked at Oh So Very Pretty's recipe.  And then I looked at Berry Nourished's recipe  and then there was the Wandering Fig's recipe. 

And...

Guess what, these crisps are almost WOOHOO!!! exactly like I remember them.  
But I did tweak the recipe a teensy little bit.
And along the way I discovered that you can eat these two ways.

Yup.

Don't feel like doing the twice bake thing?  You don't have to.  Just slice the little teeny loaves after you've baked them, just like you were making the crisps, and then serve them with a touch of butter or cream cheese and call them a tea cake.

And trust me on this, really, trust me, these are sooo good.

Recipe:  Suncoast Tea Bread and Crisps  Bake at 350 deg.  30-35 minutes
Makes 5 mini loaves and each mini loaf can be cut into about 18 very thin slices.

2 cups All Purpose Flour
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 cups Buttermilk
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Honey
1 cup Dried Cranberries or Golden Raisins
1 cup Walnuts or Pecans (original recipe called for 1/2 cup, but nuts are good for you anyway)
1/4 cup Sesame Seeds
1/4 cup Ground Flax Seeds
1 tablespoon chopped Fresh Rosemary (opt.)

Mix the flour, ground flax seed, sesame seeds, sugar, salt and baking soda together, add the dried fruit, mix, then add the nuts.   Add the honey and buttermilk and mix together lightly, just until moistened.  Kinda like muffins.
Pour or spoon batter into 5 mini loaf pans, liberally sprayed with non stick spray.    I use my ice cream scoop, as that can portion out the batter easily.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the cakes start pulling away from the sides a little.
Let cool for 5 minutes, then remove from pans and continue to cool.  
Serve thinly sliced with a piece of nice cheese or cream cheese or butter.  These make a lovely addition to the 'Tea Table'.
If making crisps from them, then slice the loaves as thinly as you can.  About 1/4 inch thick or less.  I found that freezing them, then slicing with one of my sharpest serrated knives was the only way to go on this.
Heat oven to 300 degrees.  Spread the thinly sliced pieces of tea bread out on an un-greased or parchment papered baking sheet, bake for 15 minutes, then turn over and bake an additional 10-15 minutes.  You're aiming for a nice crispy cracker.
Cool and eat, if you can wait that long.  Personally, I can't and have been known to burn my tongue.
These are super with some lovely cheese on top.  I've had it with some smoked gouda, and cream cheese, and just eaten them plain.
Never mind how many I ate, I'm not telling.

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Shared on Miz Helens's Country Cottage Full Plate Thursday