Homemade Honey Graham Crackers

For the last several months, I have found ways to eliminate partially hydrogenated oils and corn syrup from our home diets. 

I've also worked to find ways to eliminate BPA products that our food is stored in. It is difficult with the canned goods - especially tomato products. I make all our own pizza and pasta sauces and use tomato puree. Though we had a wonderful garden of tomatoes, I neglected to freeze any because we ate them all! My local grocer was able to order some jarred, organic, strained tomatoes and though they are expensive, they work perfect!

One of the things I was surprised at finding partially hydrogenated oils in was graham crackers. Yes, I can buy the mealy Bunny Grahams but Aidan doesn't really eat them. So I turned to AllRecipes for a recipe. I found a nice one that is the perfect consistency and rolls out nicely. However, the taste - just ok. We found that letting them sit for a day improved the flavor but there is that overall wheat/dirt aftertaste. We found that they were a bit addicting, though. I think if I can boost the flavor, we'll have a real hit.

My plan is to make these again and either use less wheat flour or a white wheat flour to see if that improves the flavor. I may add a bit of cinnamon to the dough, too. Sprinkling the tops with cinnamon/sugar before baking is a must.

Aren't the shapes cute? They are from Williams Sonoma. I think they are just called Circus Animals. I don't believe they are carried by Williams Sonoma anymore.

Changes that I made to the recipe include substituting butter for the margarine and sprinkling the tops with cinnamon and sugar. I rolled the dough to about 1/4" and used LOTS of flour when rolling and cutting the cookies out. Future changes I'm mulling are using 2 cups white flour with 1 cup whole wheat our trying a white wheat flour. I may add cinnamon to the dough or a little more vanilla and honey.

Honey Graham Crackers
adapted from AllRecipes

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
cinnamon/sugar mixture

Directions

Sift together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and baking soda; set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the margarine, brown sugar and honey until light and fluffy. Stir in the sifted ingredients alternating with the milk and vanilla. Cover dough and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Divide the chilled dough iinto quarters. On a well floured surface, roll the dough out one quarter at a time iinto a 5x15 inch rectangle. Divide into rectangles using a knife. Place rectangles ointo ungreased cookie sheets. Mark a line down the center of each one, and prick with a fork. Alternatively, you can use cookie cutters. Sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar mixture before baking.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

Comments

[Melissa]

I think honey would be awesome if you can find a way to add it and not affect the consistency. After all, they DO call them "honey grahams". Good luck, can't wait to try them!