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!