The Best Homemade Graham Crackers
When calling these homemade graham crackers the "best", I hesitated. Since I haven't tasted all the homemade graham crackers in the world (would that I could) is it fair to dub these superior over all others? Guys, that hesitation lasted about 2 seconds as I sunk my teeth into yet another chewy square. These are life changing!! And I know you're thinking, seriously?! Graham crackers?!! Has she gone off the deep end into food blogging melodrama?!! And I totally get it because until I tried these, graham crackers were a take-it-or-leave-it kind of ordinary cookie for me and I had only made them because my husband is a fan. But now, I think these may just be my favorite cookie of all times!! Bold statement? Yes. But me and these homemade grahams are soul mates and I know I will be fighting the urge to make them many, many, many (did I say many?) times! You have got to try them!
These are chewy and crunchy all at the same time, with a little hint of cinnamon and a melt-in-your-mouth buttery consistency. No dry, sort of stale and kind of tasteless come-in-a-sleeve cookies are these! They are absolutely amazing just on their own, sinfully good dipped into a hot cup of tea and mind-bogglingly stupendous as the base for s'mores (if you really want to take these over the top, you can even make your own homemade marshmallows).
And the best, or should I say dangerous part, is that they're easy to whip up too. You start by making a simple dough which gets rolled out and measured into 2-inch squares.
Then if you have a pastry docker (I don't) you roll it over the dough to create the signature "graham cracker holes" or you can use the end of chopstick which works nicely too.
The smell of these cookies baking will fill your kitchen with happiness! Really, I wish I could send each and every one of you a little baggie of these, but unfortunately, you're just going to have to bite the bullet and make a batch of your own. And if you're doing that, invite me over. I'm on a graham-cracker baking moratorium right now--my willpower against these is negative 1 million and I just can't have them in the house!
The Best Homemade Graham Crackers
Makes about 18-24 large cookies
Prep Time: 25 minutes; Bake Time: 8-10 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup honey
The Recipe
1. Preheat oven to 350ºF and line 2 rimmed cookie sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Into a large bowl, sift together the flour, graham crumbs, baking soda, cinnamon and salt and set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and honey on medium to high speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl as necessary with a rubber spatula. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until fully combined.
4. Lightly flour a board or work surface and turn the dough out onto it. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to about 1/4-inch thick. If you have a pastry docker, roll it over the dough now to create the little holes. Otherwise, you'll do this later with a chopstick or fork after the cookies have been cut out.
5. Use a small sharp knife to cut the dough into 2-inch squares. Use a metal spatula to transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets, placing them about 1-inch apart. If you haven't used a pastry docker, use a chopstick or the tines of a fork to make rows of holes on each square.
6. Bake cookies for 8-10 minutes or until puffed and lightly golden. Cookies will flatten and harden as they cool, so don't over bake or they won't be chewy. If when you pull the trays out of the oven, you notice that the holes have sort of disappeared, go over them once again with the chopstick or fork while they're still soft and hot.
7. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet on a cooling rack until completely cool. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.
Enjoy!
Note: Recipe adapted from Butter Baked Goods by Rosie Daykin.
