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Make your own (Copycat) Trader Joe's Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps! They're way easier than you think and actually taste better!
These Copycat Trader Joe's Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps are so good and (even though Trader Joe's is much more reasonable than the gourmet grocery stores) will cost a fraction of the price!
If you've never had the opportunity to try the delicious, fall-inspired, Copycat Trader Joe's Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps you're in for a wonderful treat! They're perfect on a cheese tray, with dips and can make a fabulous side for soups and salads.
I love that they're a healthy alternative to traditional crackers, with pumpkin puree, whole grains, oatmeal, sunflower seeds, flax seed, dried cranberries and buttermilk in the ingredient "star" roles.
Make these crackers for a fraction of the cost!
Like I said, at Trader Joe's, a small box (5.3-ounces) of this type of cracker is more reasonable than Whole Foods ($3.99) but still a bit pricey. Guess what? You can throw together a BIG batch of these Copycat Trader Joe's Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps for less than $2.00.
Your family/friends will be over the moon when you bring a bag of these crackers tied with a pretty ribbon and a wedge of yummy cheese as a hostess gift. This would also be a wonderful treat for neighbors, teachers, hairdressers, postmen , etc.- anyone you want to say "Thanks", "I care" or "You're the best" to.
Trader Joe's Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps are baked in small loaf pans, producing a square-shaped cracker. I decided to do something fun and a bit different - I made my crackers round by spooning my batter into small, well-greased straight-sided Mason jelly jars. I really like the round look on a cheese tray, but feel free to use the small loaf pans or even clean tomato paste cans (8-ounce size).
After baking, these crackers are cooled and placed in the freezer for an hour. This makes it super easy to cut the round loaves into thin slices. The slices are then placed on a sheet pan and baked a second time till super crisp (and crazy-delicious).
How did I come up with the recipe? I simply bought a box of the TJ crackers and studied the list of ingredients. It's no secret that companies are required to list ingredients according to the quantity that's contained in a particular item. For example; if flour is listed in the beginning of the list, you know that there's a decent amount of flour in the finished product. If flour is one of the last ingredients listed, there's most likely, a minuscule amount of flour included.
After that, I just played around with proportions till I got, what I think is, pretty darn close. One thing I couldn't replicate was the "pumpkin powder" used in the TJ crackers, but I actually like using real pumpkin puree better, so I spent a bit of time figuring out how to make that work.
Check your pantry right now and figure out what you need to make these fun and delicious Copycat Trader Joe's Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps. You'll be all set for fall entertaining and gift giving!
Café Tips for making these Copycat Trader Joe's Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps
- These crackers are double baked. First they're baked in small glass jars, cooled and the little logs are placed in the freezer for an hour. The freezing makes it easy to slice the crackers nice and thin. After the first baking, you can keep the logs in the freezer if desired for several months. When ready to slice and bake, just remove them from the freezer to thaw a bit before slicing.
- These Copycat Trader Joe's Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps can also be baked in clean empty cans. The 8-ounce cans that tomato paste comes (or similar size cans) in would be perfect. Small loaf pans can be used too. The crackers will have a rectangular shape.
- Depending on the humidity, sometimes the crackers will loose their crispness after being stored for awhile. If that happens, just pop them back in a 350˚F oven for about 5 minutes. They'll be fresh as ever. I noticed Trader Joe's crackers will do that too after the box is opened.
- If preferred, you can use 1 cup of all-purpose flour (instead of a combination of all-purpose and whole wheat) or just 1 cup of whole wheat flour.
- Feel free to substitute difference types of nuts and seeds according to your own taste.
- This recipe calls for just 3 tablespoons of Pumpkin puree. If you're wondering about what to do with leftover pumpkin, check out this post.
If you've tried the delicious Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps from Trader Joe's, you're going to be thrilled to be able to make them yourself - for a fraction of the price! If you haven't tried them, you'll be thrilled - when you take the first bite of these Copycat Trader Joe's Pumpkin Cranberry Crisps!
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ¼ cup sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup flax seed
- 1 ½ teaspoons fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree
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Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. Generously spray 4 8-ounce glass Mason-type jars (like this or this) with cooking spray. Set aside.
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In a large bowl combine the flour and dried cranberries. Rub mixture with your fingers to separate dried cranberries, till there are no large clumps. Add baking soda, oats, sunflower seeds, flax seed, spices, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
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Combine buttermilk, brown sugar and pumpkin purree. Stir till well blended. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir, just until flour disappears.
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Spoon the batter into prepared jars, filling ⅔ full then place the jars on a sheet pan. Bake for 25-28 minutes until golden and springy to the touch. A toothpick inserted in the center should come back clean or with just a few crumbs. Allow to cool in jars for 10 minutes then remove by inverting and gently shaking the jar. Cool completely on a wire rack.
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When the loaves are cooled, place in freezer for 1 hour. This will help you to slice the crackers nice and thin.(If you end up freezing them longer than an hour, no problem. Just let them sit for about 10-15 minutes before trying to slice them.)
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Preheat oven to 300˚F. Cut loaves into ⅛-inch slices and place slices on prepared sheet pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until crisp. Crackers will get even crisper as they cool. Store in an airtight container or freeze in zippered bags.
jeri says
I just made these in the 8oz jars, they turned out great. I used parchment paper cut to size instead of spraying the jars. I did spray the bottom after putting the paper in the jars, but just the bottom. They just sprang out of the jars, so easy and clean.
They are in the freezer now but couldn't wait to tell you my tip. They look really great.
Jeri
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Jeri! That's great to know. Hope you enjoy the finished product!
Tracey says
Just made these and they are yummy
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks for letting us know, Tracey!
Kimberly says
I’d like to ask how you bake the jars in the oven and how do you remove the roll from the jar? I love the round shape over the rectangle or square. Thank you in advance
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Kimberly, I use small straight-sided jam/jelly jars like these: https://amzn.to/3toRpJc Just make sure to spray the jars with non-stick spray.
After baking, let them cool for 10 minutes then you can gently shake the loaves out of the jars. I bake the jars on a sheet pan.
JENNI JONES says
Hi Chris,
Really enjoying your blog - a window on your world, many miles from Edinburgh, Scotland.
Thank you for this recipe, with Halloween fast approaching we have pumpkins in the shops, I have to be quick about buying them because they all disappear afterwards until the next year!
I had a trial bake last week and they are very tasty. Nutritious, too, packed with good things.
Three queries, if you wouldn’t mind me bothering you: first, could the sugar be omitted? I am trying to cut down on our sugar intake.
And second, I’m having trouble with the slicing and getting the slices consistently thin enough. My wrists are not so strong as they used to be. Do you think a food processor could slice them? I happen to have a Kenwood, not your KitchenAid, but they both have a slicing disc. I suppose the log would have to small enough to slide down the feeder tube?
And lastly, could sweet potato be used as a substitute for pumpkin?
As a wee aside, we would call these cracker biscuits (literally bis-cuit, or twice cooked) .
Our Crisps are razor thin sliced potatoes or other vegetables that are deep fried, so I need to watch out how I name them here!
Chris Scheuer says
Hello, Jenni, all the way to Edinburgh! I'm reading a book right now about a girl who lived in Edinburgh so I can picture it and would love to visit some day.
Regarding your questions:
I think you could omit or at least decrease the sugar. The sugar does combine with the other ingredients to add a complex flavor.
I'm not sure it would work to use a food processor but I know an electric knife works well to cut these.
I think mashed sweet potato could definitely be used in lieu of the pumpkin.
Haha! My daughter lived in London for 8 years and we visited frequently so I know the confusion of the crisps and the crackers and the biscuits. I think we're probably the ones that are all mixed up! 😂
Amanda Marie says
I've made these numerous times. I bake them in three mini loaf pans and always have at least one loaf in the freezer so I can bake a batch quickly. Every friend goes home with a baggie with the rest of the crackers and then I send them a link to your site. Love your recipes. Thanks!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks SO much, Amanda. I'm so happy that you have enjoyed this recipe and I think I want to be a friend at your house 🙂 ❤️ Chris
Claire Van Allen says
I have just made these and they are great. Made 2 in small loaf pans and 1 in a 8 oz mason jar. Bringing some to a dinner party as we celebrate Thanksgiving this weekend.
Again thanks for the work you put in so we look good.
Sheri says
Hi! This recipe looks wonderful! I've just started low carb. Would almond flour work with this recipe, and do you think it would lower the carbs? Thanks so much!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Sheri, I think this would work with either almond flour or whole wheat flour although I haven't personally tried either. I don't think these crackers, even with all-purpose flour, would be as high in carbs as other crackers because there are so many other great ingredients in the recipe. Also, the loaves are sliced very thinly so each cracker is fairly low in calories and carbs.
sheri says
Thank you, Chris! Have a great holiday week!
Sheri
KGMOM says
Do you think I could use pampered chef bread tubes for this? They would be very pretty.
Chris Scheuer says
Yes, they would work great!
Trish says
Hi, this look delish! I was wondering if you could send me a link are picture of the jars you used?? Love the shape of those its so elegant!! Thanks a head!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Trish, here's the link for the jars: https://amzn.to/2S6CNeS
They're small jelly/jam jars.
Deb holt says
Hello, I was wondering if I could use a dehydrator instead of the oven for the second bake. If it is just to dry them further
Chris Scheuer says
Yes, I think that would work fine, Deb. I can't give you an exact time though, as I haven't done it. Please share your results!
Marina says
Great recipe. Munching on them right. They turned out great. I will be trying them with spelt flour next.
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! Thanks for sharing your results Marina. Let us know how the spelt ones come out!
Lynda Chantler says
Pumpkin purée. I would like to make these pumpkin cranberry biscuits that call for pumpkin purée, in fact there are other recipes calling for this purée. I can not get it here in Spain but we have an abundance of fresh yellow squash. Could I make my own purée for these recipes , if so I am stupidly asking you how do I make it? Love your recipes but stumped with the ingredients. Roll on a shopping trip to London Christmas!! Thank you. Lynda
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Lynda, you could definitely use a squash puree in place of pumpkin puree! Here is a link for how to do it: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/roast-butternut-squash-puree
Any time you have trouble with any of the ingredients I use in a recipe, feel free to contact me and we can figure out a substitute!
Lynda Chantler says
Thank you so much for replying to my query. All I need now is to find the 8oz jars and I’ll be ready to make these little biscuits.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Lynda, you can make these crackers in small loaf pans too. I think that's probably what Trader Joes uses. I just make some and used 5 small loaf pans like these: http://amzn.to/2zFXqW3
I only fill the pans about 1/2 full so the crackers don't get too big.