I was never really a big fan of graham crackers. Not until recently that is. I can’t get enough of them now! But back in the day I really hated any kind of store bought cookie. They’re almost always hard, or crunchy rather, and that just didn’t fly for me when I was a kid. I guess I just compared them to a baked chocolate chip cookie, which was soft and chewy in my mind. And my Dad always used to buy those generic “creme sandwich cookies”. Not Oreos, but the store brand vanilla or chocolate ones, ya know? Yeah, those really weren’t my thing. So in the end neither were graham crackers. However, now that I am older and can appreciate some serious crunch to a cookie, I always keep a box of graham crackers in the house. It doesn’t hurt that my daughter loves to snack on them either.
So, just like making your own homemade Oreos, it was only a recent realization to me that you could make your own graham crackers. And of course they aren’t going to come out identical to what you buy, but they will at least resemble what you know and they may even be better!
I made these for the second part of the July Daring Bakers Challenge. I also made some homemade cheddar cheese crackers, similar to Goldfish. Those were SO yummy! Since we had to make two crackers though, I wanted to go a little sweeter on the second one. It just so happened to work out well for me because I have been wanting to experiment with homemade graham crackers for a while now. I was even able to find graham flour in the local grocery store the other day! A feat that I really wasn’t expecting. If you can’t find graham flour yourself then don’t worry- there are many recipes available that just use a little whole wheat flour and no graham flour OR you can buy it online if you’re so inclined.
As far as how these turned out, I really can’t say enough about how goooooood they were! I was thoroughly pleased with them. The texture was crisp and the flavor was sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. And there was a nice hint of honey.
I actually tried two recipes. The first one I rolled WAY too thick and they just didn’t come out well. Plus I didn’t like how everything was measured in ounces. When it came to the liquid ingredients I assumed they were by volume and not by weight but there was no real way to know. So I went with this one as seen on Brown Eyed Baker and they were super easy to put together and they rolled out beautifully.
Can you tell which one I messed up. Whoops, oh well! I’ve given you the recipe for the thinner cookie, which I enjoyed better. But if you want to check out the thicker one, here is that one as well.
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 & ⅓ cups graham flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, the baking soda and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar and honey, and beat at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until blended and the dough comes together, about 30 seconds.
- Transfer the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, press into a 7-inch square, and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or up to 5 days.
- When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a ⅛-inch thickness and cut into 3-inch squares. Transfer to the baking sheet, spacing the crackers at least ¾-inch apart, gather any scraps, re-roll, and cut out more cookies.
- Bake the cookies for 10 minutes and then rotate the baking sheet. Bake for another 6 to 8 minutes, or until the cookies are dark golden brown and just firm to the touch. Let cool for a minute on the baking sheets, then transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool completely (they will crisp up as they cool). Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
