The Betty Crocker Project : Whole Wheat Cheesy Pesto Biscuits (Crackers)

So last night it occurred to me that I might be watching too much Star Trek when on the drive home from dinner I started a sentence by saying "Well during The Klingon Civil Wars...".

Yeah I did that but in my defense I also baked these adorable vegan Cheesy Pesto Biscuits/Crackers for Dan to eat with the soup he brings to work for lunch. This recipe makes around 20 of these little fellows, are pretty easy and are tasty enough to make even my most ridiculous tangents seem charming... Hopefully.


Whole Wheat Cheesy Pesto Biscuits (they're more like crackers than those doughy wonders you'd want with gravy)

• 2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour 
• 2 1/4 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast 
• 1 Tablespoons Sugar
• 3 Teaspoon Baking Powder 
• 1 Teaspoons Salt
• 1/3 Cup Vegetable Shortening ( there are a lot of vegan versions - just read your labels to makes sure) 
• 3/4 Cup Soy Milk
• 1/2 Cup Fresh Basil 
• 1 Tablespoon Raw Pine Nuts (you may want to set a few aside to decorate with)
• 2 Cloves of Garlic (minced) 

Heat oven to 450.

In a your much loved food processor or blender, blend Basil Leaves and Pine Nuts until they make a chunky paste. Then in a bowl mix the Basil and Pine Nut puree with the minced Garlic. Se them aside. We'll be coming back to them later.

In a medium bowl, mix Flour, Sugar, Baking Powder, Nutritional Yeast and Salt. Then with a handy held pastry blender mix in the Shortening until the mix looks like little fine crumbs. Then with a large spoon mix in Soy Milk and the Basil Pesto Mix.

on a lightly floured surface, knead the Pesto Dough something like 10-12 times. Roll the dough to the same thickness you would a cookie... not super thin but kinda thin. I would estimate 1/8 of an inch.

Using your favorite cookie cutter, cut out your biscuits and then place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Here's a little tip if you don't already do this - but I think it is helpful when using cookie cutters on thin dough. Cut your biscuits out first and then lift and remove the dough around the cut out biscuits and then move the cut out biscuits with a spatula. This is when you press a few Pine Nuts in the top if you're feeling creative. I made one batch with the Pine Nuts and one without and they are both pretty lovely.

Bake for around 5-8 minutes. You'll want to pull them out one they start to get a bit golden. Serve with your favorite Soup! We have a lot of suggestions.