DIY Graham Crackers - Everyday Annie

It’s news to no one that I’ve been on the DIY bandwagon for quite some time. Though my homemade efforts have been primarily of the culinary sort, I have been trying my hand at all sorts of other domestic pursuits as well, and thoroughly enjoying it. However, as much as I love to make things the homemade way, graham crackers are one item I honestly never expected to make from scratch. Since we use them primarily for crumbling up and using in various desserts, it seemed sort of pointless to go to the trouble of making them if they were going to be destroyed instantly.

Andrew’s camp out-themed birthday party finally gave me the nudge I needed. For a truly killer s’mores bar, even the graham crackers should be fancy, right? Now it’s time for the usual refrain: I should have done this sooner. The dough for these babies comes together in mere minutes and they were very easy to make. They somehow simultaneously taste exactly like the store-bought kind we all know, but, you know, way better. I’ve made them a few times now and I’m definitely converted. A couple quick notes – I found that weighing the ingredients for this dough made for a perfect texture versus a dough that was a bit harder to work with when I measured by volume. If you don’t have a kitchen scale yet, I promise it’s worth the investment. Also, the original recipe indicates using a portion of whole wheat flour as a suggestion. I found that the whole wheat flour gave these that perfect graham cracker-y flavor, so that’s what I call for below. The cinnamon sugar topping is, of course, optional, but who can resist a good cinnamon sugar graham cracker? Not I, my friends. Not I.

Stay tuned next week for a truly fab dessert that uses this recipe. In fact, just go ahead and get the dough ready now because I know you’re going to want to try it!

Yield about 4 dozen 2-inch squares

Ingredients

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (300 grams) all-purpose flour
½ cup (75 grams) whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup (176 grams) brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tsp. (6 grams) baking soda
¾ tsp. (4 grams) kosher salt
7 tbsp. (3½ oz. or 100 grams) unsalted butter, cut into cubes and frozen (at least 20-30 minutes)
1/3 cup (114 grams) mild-flavored honey
5 tbsp. (77 grams) milk, whole preferred
2 tbsp. vanilla extract

For the cinnamon-sugar topping:

3 tbsp. (43 grams) sugar
1 tsp. (5 grams) ground cinnamon

Directions

01
To make the dough, combine the flours, brown sugar, baking soda and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Pulse to blend. Add in the butter and pulse in short bursts until the mixture has the texture of coarse meal. (This can also be done in a stand mixer or with a pastry cutter if you don’t have a food processor.) In a liquid measuring cup, combine the honey, milk and vanilla. Whisk to blend. Add the liquid to the flour mixture and process just until a dough has come together. The mixture will be fairly sticky. Transfer the dough to a piece of plastic wrap, form into a dish, cover tightly and chill until firm, at least 2 hours.
02
When you are ready to bake the crackers, line baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper. Generously flour a work surface. Place the dough on the work surface, flour the dough, and roll out into an even layer about 1/8-inch thick. Re-flour as needed since this dough is quite sticky. Use a cookie cutter or pastry cutter to cut the dough into your desired shape. Transfer the cut outs to the prepared baking sheets, spacing an inch or two apart. Re-roll (and re-chill) additional dough scraps as needed. Chill the cut-outs once more until firm, about 30-45 minutes in the fridge or 15-20 minutes in the freezer.
03
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Combine the sugar and cinnamon for the topping in a small bowl and whisk to blend. If desired, use the blunt end of a wooden skewer to poke a dotted pattern in the top of the crackers. Bake until evenly browned and just crisp, about 15-17 minutes total. About two minutes before the crackers are done baking, sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture, if using. Let the crackers cool on the pans briefly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Source

barely adapted from Smitten Kitchen