Homemade Graham Crackers

When I hear the word graham cracker the first thoughts that come to mind are smores, cheesecake with a graham crust, or my favorite as a child, grahams topped with honey & served with a warm beverage. Now that I have a kiddo of my own, I think of messy, sticky graham cracker faces as they munch them down with delight. Instead of my typical quote on the subject of homemade graham crackers, I found a sweet poem describing such a scene, with sticky graham cracker kisses.

I’ve noticed a common scene at parks, play gyms, and other kiddo gathering spots… ever flowing snacks. The kids are grazers. They run, play, snack, run, play, snack, and so forth. Many of the snacks I see frequenting these places are processed, pre-packaged gummy fruits, chips, crackers, cookies, dried fruits, yogurt covered goodies, and most of all graham crackers. I know my son will want what he sees from other children.  I’ve got to do my best to provide him comparable snacks that I can feel good about him eating.  I look to the ingredients on the back of the box. I say to myself… I CAN MAKE THESE… I can make homemade graham crackers! I’m off to the interwebs to find a version I can work with, that he’ll like, and I can feel good about giving to my family.

After much searching, the ingredients from various recipes looked to be the same; flour, brown sugar, honey, and vanilla. I could make this work! The best version I’ve found so far is from smitten kitchen. I’ve used her guidance through measurements and technique but I’ve made minor adjustments to the ingredients.

After a few tests with all butter, all tallow, all buttermilk, all cream, honey vs. agave vs. molasses this version is the winner. Like most recipes, it’s up for interpretation. The thicker the roll on the dough, the more cookie like your graham will be. You also have the option of having shape fun with this dough, using any type of cookie cutter shape.

No more are the days of store-bought grahams… only homemade graham crackers from here. I can’t wait to enjoy smores on these bad boys… but until then, we’ll enjoy them as a quick snack on the go!

* = organic
^ = local

Homemade Graham Crackers
350 (f) degrees for 8 minutes / 24+ grahams

2 cups graham flour * (can be replaced with all-purpose or whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour *
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons chia or flax seeds * (optional)
6 tablespoons butter, chilled *
3/4 cup brown sugar *
1/3 cup raw local honey ^ (you can also use molasses or maple syrup)
5 tablespoons cream *^
2 tablespoons vanilla *
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon granulated sugar * (optional for topping)

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 350 (f) degrees. In a food processor or stand mixer combine flour, salt, baking soda, sugar, flax/chia seed (optional), cinnamon, and butter. Process until you have a fine crumble. While the food processor or mixer is still running, add in vanilla, honey, and cream. Do not over process. Stop the machine as soon as the dough comes together.

Step 2: Form a ball, place in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to overnight.

Step 3: Take your dough out of the refrigerator and rest for 5 minutes before rolling. Prepare a lightly floured surface and rolling-pin. Roll dough out on floured surface, 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick.

Step 4: Dab your cookie cutter device into flour and then cut out your graham shapes, transferring each shape to an ungreased cookie sheet. Keep each cookie at least an inch apart on the cookie sheet. The thicker you roll the dough the chewier your cookie will be. You can take this time to decorate your cookie with some fork pricks for the ‘traditional’ graham look. Place in a pre-heated 350 (f) degree oven for 8 – 10 minutes (the longer cooking time will result in a crisper cookie).

NOTE: You will have leftover dough as you cut out the crackers.  Don’t waste!  You can gather all of the scraps, reform a ball, and roll & cut some more.  In the end, if you use all of your scraps, you will have used about 99% of the dough… no waste and lots of delicious graham crackers!

Step 5: When cooking time has expired, remove grahams from the oven and let rest for a minute before removing them from the cookie tray. Optional, you can sprinkle a light amount of sugar (organic) on the top before removing for the cooling rack. After a minute transfer your grahams to a cooling rack. Enjoy your homemade graham crackers!