Thursday, June 9, 2011

Homemade Graham Crackers


I can't tell you how many times I've headed to the pantry in search of Graham Crackers to make some sort of crust only to find that a certain 14 year old boy has beaten me to the punch leaving only the empty box as a reminder.  Time and again I've kicked myself for not buying two boxes, one for him and one for me.  However, the thought of actually making graham crackers at home never crossed my mind... until recently.

Martha Stewart's site had a wonderful photo of Homemade Graham Crackers that piqued my interest.  Upon further investigation though, the one cup (two full sticks!) of butter in the recipe left me less than excited.  Further research brought me to the Honest Cooking site and a far more appealing recipe posted by Brooke Dowdy of Plum Pie.  Filled with whole grains, far less butter, milk and warmed with a touch of molasses, these grahams captivated me on sight.

Making a recipe the day I find it doesn't happen all that often, but before I knew it the dough for these biscuit-like crackers was made and I was scoring the cracker sheets and topping them with raw sugar.  Holes and a seam to break the crackers kept these grahams traditional, but unfortunately without graham flour on hand my "grahams" really should be called "spelts".  Graham flour seemed to be more readily available in the past, but I haven't seen the flour in my recent travels, hence we subbed spelt flour with great success.  The teff flour, used to achieve a bit of a crispness in the cracker as well as a lovely mahogany color, was readily available in the flour section of my local Henry's, a natural food store.

Crisp, not too sweet, and rich in flavor, these Homemade Graham Crackers will have you reaching for more.  After a somewhat suspicious taste test the kids gave the homemade grahams two thumbs up with Liv preferring the more sweet cinnamon sugar version.  I think we're hooked!



Homemade Graham Crackers
adapted from a post on Honest Cooking by Brooke Dowdy          Printer Friendly Recipe 

1 cup spelt flour (Use Graham Flour if you can find it!)
1/2 cup (75 grams) teff flour
3/4 cup (105 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (112 grams) dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
6 Tbs unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 cup (3 ounces) honey
1 tablespoon unsulphered (not blackstrap) molasses
1/3 cup (80 mL) whole milk

Topping
1/4 cup (56 grams) sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
OR
raw sugar 

Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl, pouring back any bits of flour or other ingredients that may remain in the sifter.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, honey, molasses, and milk.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir into a moist cookie dough. Press the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and chill for a minimum of 1 hour or up to 3 days.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line baking sheet with silicone mat or spray lightly with cooking spray.

Dust a work surface with flour. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it in half - working with one half while keeping the other half chilled.  Use your hands to flatten the first half until it is 1/2 inch thick.
Dust the counter and both sides of the dough with flour. With a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it is 1/8-inch thick. Move the dough around frequently to make sure it isn’t sticking. If it is, slide a pastry scraper under the dough and dust the counter or the dough with flour.

Use a sharp floured knife to cut the dough into 5-by-2.5-inch rectangles and transfer the shapes onto the baking sheets. “Score” these rectangles into traditional quarters using a knife without separating them (this keeps the lines showing after baking). Using a fork or a skewer, press holes into the surface of the cookies.

Stir the cinnamon and sugar together and sprinkle each cookie with a few pinches of the mixture.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. The grahams are ready when the edge is a darker shade of brown than the rest of the cookie. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on a rack so the grahams become crisp.

Repeat with the remaining half of the dough.

These cookies are best eaten once cooled. They will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days (if they last that long!).

Note:  I did find Graham Flour at King Arthur

(6/10/11) Edited to note:  Evan at Sweets by Evan has made Graham Crackers and was told that the whole wheat flour would be a good substitute!


45 comments:

  1. If there is one thing I have never thought of baking myself, perhaps it would be graham crackers - what a great job they look so professionally made -

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  2. A great post....we thank every recipe that gives the chance to save some money...and the homemade are for sure healthy...

    Kisses,
    Rita

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  3. Your homemade graham crackers look divine! Great pictures too!

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  4. Those graham crackers look amazing, I must try this some time!

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  5. Kim, this is awesome. Your graham crackers look perfect. Now I've got another cracker recipe to try so I can add to my very limited repertoire. :-)

    Your comment about buying two boxes made me smile--I don't have a 14-year old but I do have a husband who likes to snack. It doesn't matter how much of anything I buy--once I get around to needing it, it's all gone! :-)

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  6. WOW! These look perfect! If I ever spot any of that elusive graham flour, I'll take a shot at these :)

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  7. You read my mind! I was just thinking about making graham crackers! Do you think they would taste okay if I subbed the spelt for whole wheat?

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  8. Mackenzie... I do think it would be fine. I would probably do 3/4 cup whole wheat and 1 cup A/P flour to start... spelt and graham are a little "lighter" than whole wheat. Give it a shot and let us know what happens!!

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  9. Once you start with homemade graham crackers there is no going back. So glad it is s'more season:) Best!

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  10. Aren't these pretty...love the raw sugar crystals on top! I wonder if King Arthur Flour's website might have graham flour you can buy?

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  11. They would make yummy s'mores! You should do a homemade marshmallow recipe next! :)

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  12. They look just so pretty! I think I would love to use spelt to make those too.
    Gotta google what teff is...

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  13. Yum - these look really good. Liking that you've used spelt flour (is Graham flour a brand or a particular type of flour?)

    They'd be delicious with cheese too.

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  14. It was that sprinkle of sugar on top that you captured so perfectly that first drew me in. I am a big fan of plain cookies (my favorite Aussie biscuit is called Nice and looks very similar)these look so good.

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  15. Hi Kim! The last picture looks like advertisement or picture from the magazine!!!! I never heard spelt flour or teff flour... Am I so amateur? =P Looks delicious. Such a luxury to eat homemade graham crackers!

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  16. I have to make these. It's on my top 5 things to do list. I love graham crackers and these look so perfect. thank you for sharing!

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  17. impressive! they look like they're store bought (it's a compliment).

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  18. I have never thought of making these myself!
    thank you for the recipe and the amazing pictures

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  19. Fantastic job, as usual. I'll have to go with the cinnamon version since it's has Liv's stamp of approval. Buzzed :)

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  20. Such perfect looking graham crackers. Mine never look this good. ;) Beautiful job.

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  21. Isn't it amazing when something that you eat all the time turns out to be so simple to make!? I made homemade graham crackers too.. I was also told you could sub the spelt flour for whole wheat

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  22. Liv! IMHO, you have nailed these graham crackers. The spot on photography captures the holes and sanding sugar beautifully, but it's your descriptive takes me to a wholesome, healthy place. It's about all I can do but go make a batch - I'm knee deep in another project today, but I want to spring these on my kids too! BTW, we're neighboring posts over at Dishfolio, and many thanks for voting for my burger!

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  23. So perfect! This is one thing I would never have even thought of making 2 months ago (pre-blog). But now, I really want to try it - they look amazing!

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  24. Every time I decide to make a cheesecake I discover I run out of graham cracker haha. Now this is going to change. I love this recipe (and the reduced amount of butter!)

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  25. These look fantastic! Am I wrong for wanting to bake graham crackers just to make smores? I hope not...

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  26. Nabisco will be pissed! These look waaaay better than theirs... beautiful job!

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  27. I've seen a few graham cracker recipes lately, I really need to try making my own.
    I think if you bought two boxes of graham crackers, a certain 14 year old would probably eat them both...

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  28. thanks for the tip on Graham flour, going to order some from King Arthur. haven't seen it in the store.

    your crackers looks prefect, simply perfect. love the sugar crystals on top.
    Thanks for sharing Kim

    Happy weekend

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  29. Great post! I've never considered making my own graham crackers, but you make it sound easy! Too bad most of those ingredients available here :( Thanks for sharing...

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  30. Sorry about double commenting, but I just wanted to let you know that I given you some awards on my blog. You can find it here - http://theharriedcook.blogspot.com/2011/06/homemade-boursin-some-awards.html

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  31. How yummy!! I love homemade everything, and I wish there was a way to make graham flour gluten-free...sigh... Fabulous photos :)

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  32. Kim- You're like the triple bomb-diggity! You are all kinds of sweet and kind and now you've made homemade graham crackers? Wowzers, I'm beyond impressed!! I hope s'mores are in your future!! :)

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  33. Your graham crackers look perfectly baked! Simply gorgeous! Looks really good! Would love to have some now...crunch, crunch, yum..!

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  34. Oh my- these look perfect! Your pictures are so lovely too!

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  35. I'm so impressed you made your own grahams! They look perfect!

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  36. Martha nor Nabisco have nothing on you!!! Yours look million times better and sound much tastier!! Amazing photos!!!

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  37. Your graham crackers look absolutely perfect! Wow! I've never made my own graham crackers before but now I really want to. Thanks for the recipe. :)

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  38. I've been wanting to make graham crackers forever!! And now I have no excuse :) Besides your lovely recipe my 1 year old is obsessed with them !:)

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  39. These look so spectacular, Kim! I'd love to make some, too, to keep in a jar to nosh on. That'd be a lot of noshing, haha. I'm so glad that they turned out well!

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  40. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
    Greetings from Milan (Italy)
    by Giulia
    http://cucinainmusica.blogspot.com/

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  41. Wow! Your graham crackers are beautiful! I might have passed up the original recipe when I found I had no graham crackers. Good for you!!

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  42. I'm testing homemade graham cracker recipies....this just made the list.

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  43. I have been looking for a good graham cracker recipe for a while - loving the look of these - Thanks!

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  44. These look amazing. I love the fact that they are not heavy on the butter. I won't feel too guilty now eating one too many.

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  45. Great recipe! Will be linking back to this in my post tommorow :)

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