This weekend I completed my Daring Bakers Challenge for January. While I can’t tell you what the recipe was until Wednesday (the DB reveal date), I will tell you that graham crackers were an ingredient.
Can you believe I made homemade graham crackers? They were actually quite easy and very tasty. Though I think they turned out more like a wheaty shortbread cookie rather than crispy graham crackers from the store. (Or at least mine did…though I am thinking I should have rolled them a hair thinner and maybe baked them for a minute or two longer…that could make all the difference.)
The verdict? Good, but not rock-my-world-good. If you’re just looking for something to smash a store bought marshmallow between, I think store bought graham crackers are just fine. But I will say that the complementing recipe in The Craft of Baking (where I got this recipe) looks amazing = completely homemade s’mores: coconut infused marshmallows with a layer of chocolate ganache positioned between two homemade graham crackers. See the picture below…but realize that your apple may no longer seem nearly as fulfilling as your healthy snack this afternoon.
I will also say that these graham crackers are fabulous – FABULOUS – dunked in coffee.
Crisp Honey Grahams
from The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMasco and Mindy Fox
Makes 3 dozen.
Ingredients –
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
- 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup honey
Directions –
1. In a bowl, sift together the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, dark brown sugar, granulated sugar, and honey. Mix on medium speed until well combined, about 1 minute. In two additions, add the dry ingredients, letting the first fully incorporate before you add the second. (Note: I do not have a stand-up mixer nor any sort of paddle attachment. I just used a regular hand mixer and it worked well.)
3. Flatten the dough into a rectangular shape, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, about 30 minutes or up to 2 days. The dough can be frozen, well wrapped, for up to 1 month. (My dough was still too sticky to work with after 30 minutes in the fridge. I ended up leaving it for a few hours before being able to properly roll it out.)
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
5. Unwrap the chilled dough, and on a lightly floured surface, roll it out into a rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. Using a ruler and a pastry cutter or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1-1/2-by-3-inch rectangles; use a spatula to transfer the rectangles to the prepared baking sheets as you go. Reroll the scraps of dough once, and cut out more cookies. Using a fork, pierce each rectangle with two rows of four to six marks.
6. Bake the graham crackers, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until they are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. (Make sure they are browning around the edges if you want a more traditional cripsy graham cracker.)
The graham crackers will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
My finished result….
Karen DeMasco’s elegant s’mores…
