Graham Crackers

Homemade graham crackers make a wholesome addition to a lunchbox, or a satisfying after-school snack. They are quick and easy to make—the ingredients are blended in a food processor, and there’s no need to wait for the dough to chill before rolling it out. In fact, it’s a great recipe to make with your kids. They can help measure ingredients, cut out the shapes, brush the milk on the cookies, mix and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar, and poke holes in the cookies to make a pattern.

The texture of these graham crackers is somewhere in between a cookie and a cracker. They’re lightly sweetened with brown sugar and a touch of honey and of course they get their unmistakable texture from graham flour. Graham flour is a type of whole-wheat flour made by separating the three parts of the wheat kernel—bran, germ, and endosperm—and milling them separately before blending them back together. This milling process is what gives graham flour its unique nubby texture; whole-wheat flour (though you can certainly use it) is not the same.

Preparing meals and snacks at home with your kids encourages them to eat healthier. Not that they’ll need much prodding in this case—these cookies tend to disappear quickly.

Ann
Ann Clark, Ltd.

Graham Crackers
Makes about 10 large crackers

Look for graham flour in natural foods stores or in the baking aisle or “healthy” section of well-stocked supermarkets. If you can’t find it, you can use 1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour plus 1/4 cup toasted wheat germ, although the results won’t be quite the same.

Preheat oven to 350º.

Place in a food processor and process to blend:
1 1/2 cups graham flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Add and pulse until incorporated, about 12 pulses:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces

Whisk together, then add to dry mixture and process to blend:
6 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch mixture together; if it seems crumbly, add 1 more tablespoon milk. Turn out onto floured counter and roll to 1/4-inch thickness, then cut with your favorite Ann Clark cookie cutter. Place on cookie sheet, then brush with milk and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Prick each cracker a few times with a fork. Bake until firm, dry-looking and very lightly browned on the edges, about 20 minutes, switching and rotating pans halfway through baking. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes on cookie sheets, then place on wire rack and cool completely. (Graham crackers may be still soft when they come out of the oven but should firm up and become more cracker-like as they cool.)

My favorite shapes for Graham Crackers include the School Bus cutter, the Seashell cutter, and the Teddy Bear cutter.