Recipes Using Graham Crackers

Steps:

• Place both flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Add the molasses, milk and vanilla extract and process until the dough forms a ball, approximately 1 minute. Press the ball into a 1/2-inch thick disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Unwrap the chilled dough and place it onto a large piece of parchment paper and top with a second sheet of parchment paper. Roll the dough out until it is 1/8-inch thick. Slide the rolled dough and parchment paper onto a half sheet pan. Remove the top sheet of parchment paper and cut the dough, using a rolling pizza cutter into 2-inch square pieces, by making vertical and then horizontal cuts all the way across the dough. Trim off any excess. Using a fork, poke holes all over the top of the dough. Leave the crackers on the pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 25 minutes or until the edges just start to darken. Remove from the oven, set the sheet pan with the crackers on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Once completely cool, break into individual crackers and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Process the graham crackers and sugar in a food processor to a fine crumb. Add the melted butter and pulse until moist. Press the crumbs into a 9-inch pie plate and bake until firm, 12 to 15 minutes. Let the crust cool completely on a wire rack before filling.

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, cream together the shortening and brown sugar. Stir in the vanilla. Combine the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, stir into the creamed mixture alternately with the milk. Cover and chill dough until firm.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut into rectangles. Place 1/2 inch apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until crisp. Edges will be golden brown. Remove from baking sheet to cool on wire racks.

Steps:

• Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter or margarine, and cinnamon until well blended . Press mixture into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate.
• Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 7 minutes. Cool. If recipe calls for unbaked pie shell, just chill for about 1 hour.

Steps:

• Arrange the empty cardboard cereal or cracker box upright on a piece of aluminum foil-covered cardboard (you can tape it down to secure it). Tape the top flaps of the box together to form a pitched roof. Frost the whole box with chocolate frosting and then stick on the graham crackers onto the sides and roof of the box. Fill in the cracks by squeezing the frosting through a pastry bag with plain tip (you can also use a plastic bag with a small hole cut from the corner). Draw crooked windows with the frosting and board them up with graham cracker scraps. Shingle the roof with candy corns. To add a porch, glue with the frosting a graham cracker horizontally to the side of the house and support it with licorice or candy sticks. For a backyard graveyard, flatten the marshmallows, snip off the side with scissors and use frosting to stand them up and decorate with "R.I.P.". Add a crooked walkway of Necco wafers and a "Keep Out" sign with a wafer written in frosting. Sprinkle crushed chocolate cookies to fill in the yard and decorate house with candies.

Steps:

• If you're not making the s'mores right away, just pipe the marshmallow directly onto powdered sugar covered cookie sheets and let set until ready to use, at least 1 hour or overnight. If you're serving them right away, lay half of the graham crackers on a cookie sheet. Top with chocolate pieces to cover, then pipe "kisses" of marshmallow to cover the chocolate. (If using store-bought marshmallows, place 3 marshmallows on top of the chocolate layer. Leftover homemade marshmallows should be stored in airtight containers.) Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bake until the marshmallow is puffed and golden brown, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the remaining graham crackers, pressing down slightly to make a sandwich. Serve immediately, while still warm.
• Combine the water, the corn syrup, and the sugar in a saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer. Bring to a boil and boil to "soft-ball" stage, or about 235 degrees F.
• Meanwhile, whip the egg whites until soft peaks form. Sprinkle the gelatin over the 2 tablespoons cold water and let dissolve. When the syrup reaches 235 degrees F, remove it from the heat, add the gelatin, and mix. Pour the syrup into the whipped egg whites. Add the vanilla and continue whipping until stiff and mostly cooled. Transfer to a pastry bag with a large plain tip.
• In a food processor or the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the cold butter and mix or process until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the honey, molasses, water, and vanilla. Mix until the dough comes together in a ball.
• Between 2 sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap, roll the dough 1/2-inch thick. Chill for 1 hour, until firm. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Lightly flour the dough and roll 1/8-inch thick. With a sharp knife or cookie cutter, cut into 2-inch squares. Arrange the crackers on nonstick or parchment lined cookie sheets. With a fork, prick several holes in each cracker. Bake for 15 minutes, until lightly browned at the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix all ingredients until well blended.
• Press firmly onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F/165°C Have ready two baking sheets, with parchment to match.
• Whisk dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until crumbly.
• In a separate bowl, stir the honey into the milk to dissolve. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry, tossing with a fork until it comes together. If it seems to require more liquid to come together, add a little extra milk.
• Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and fold it over gently 10-12 times until smooth (I found a metal bench scraper to be quite helpful here). Divide the dough in half, and form each half roughly into a rectangular shape. Work with one half at a time, keeping the other half covered.
• On the counter, lightly flour one of your parchment sheets and a rolling pin. Roll one piece of dough on the parchment, adding a little more flour as necessary, into a rectangle about 10″ X 14″ (almost the size of your parchment). The dough should be about 1/16″ thick. Trim the edges to make a clean rectangle and dock evenly with a fork.
• Using a pizza or pastry wheel, cut the dough into 16 rectangles. Lift the parchment onto your baking sheet. There is no need to separate the cookies- they will bake together, but will break apart easily along the pre-cut lines when slightly cooled.
• Repeat the last two steps for your other half of dough.
• Bake for 15 minutes, or until medium gold all over (mine took a little longer). Let the crackers cool on the pan until just barely warm. Carefully snap crackers apart and cool them completely on a rack, before wrapping them tightly for storage.

Steps:

• In a small bowl whisk together milk, honey and vanilla, set aside.
• In a large bowl combine all-purpose flour, brown sugar, whole wheat flour, baking soda and salt. Using a pastry blender cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. You can you a fork to do this. Add milk mixture and stir until just combined. If necessary, knead dough gently to form a ball. Divide dough into fourths. Wrap each portion in plastic wrap and chill for about 1 hour or until easy to handle. On a lightly floured surface, working with 1 portion at a time, roll each portion to a 10-inch square. Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut each square into sixteen 2 1/2 inch squares. Place on ungreased cookie sheets. Poke tops of cutouts with a fork. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 6 to 8 minutes or until edges are firm. Remove and cool completely on wire racks. Makes 64 crackers.
• To store: Layer crackers between waxed paper in an airtight container. Cover.
• Prep time does not include chill time.

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse or mix on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off on and off, or mix on low, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, milk, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture and pulse on and off a few times or mix on low until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.
• To prepare the topping: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon, and set aside.
• Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be sticky, so flour as necessary. Trim the edges of the rectangle to 4 inches wide. Working with the shorter side of the rectangle parallel to the work surface, cut the strip every 4 1/2 inches to make 4 crackers. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place the crackers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets and sprinkle with the topping. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.
• Adjust the oven rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more flour and roll out the dough to get about two or three more crackers.
• Mark a vertical line down the middle of each cracker, being careful not to cut through the dough. Using a toothpick or skewer, prick the dough to form two dotted rows about 1/2 inch for each side of the dividing line. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.
• Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the tough, rotating the sheets halfway through to ensure even baking.

Steps:

• Put the all-purpose flour, wheat flour, wheat germ, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl and gently whisk until all the ingredients are incorporated and there are no visible lumps.
• Beat the butter in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment at high speed until it is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
• Add the brown sugar, crumbling it with your hands as you add it to remove any lumps, and mix on medium-high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the honey and mix until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl using a rubber spatula halfway through mixing to ensure that the ingredients are combined.
• Add approximately half the flour mixture and mix on low speed just until the flour is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Repeat with the remaining flour. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure the flour is fully incorporated.
• Empty the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently push it together. Form it into a flat disk 1 to 2 inches thick. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes or up to 4 days.
• Once the dough has chilled, it can be rolled and used as directed (see Rolling Dough, page 10), or frozen in sheets (wrapped tightly with plastic wrap on a sheet pan or piece of cardboard) until needed or for up to 2 months.
• If baking immediately, preheat the oven to 350˚F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper or spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
• Place the dough on a piece of parchment paper or on a lightly floured flat surface. Lightly flour the top of the disk and begin rolling the dough. Lift and rotate the dough between each roll to prevent it from sticking. Repeat the process until the dough is between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick.
• Using a paring knife, cut the dough into 2-inch squares and place them about 1/2 inch apart on the prepared pans.
• To coat, combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and toss lightly with a fork. Sprinkle the dough with the sugar mixture.
• Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, rotating the pans once halfway through, until the cookies are a dark golden brown color. Remove the cookies from the oven, let them cool slightly on the pans, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
• Serve the cooled cookies immediately, or keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
• Polish your look
• These graham crackers also taste great when coated in dark chocolate. Simply bake them without sugar and cinnamon on top, then follow the directions to dip the cookies from Chocolate Mint Cookies (page 63) or Dipping in Chocolate (page 17).

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Using an electric mixer, cream butter, brown sugar, and honey until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. With mixer on low speed, add egg, and mix until combined, Add flour mixture, and mix until combined.
• Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Roll between two sheets of parchment to a 1/8-to-1/4-inch thickness. Remove top piece of parchment paper and place dough on a baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Using a fluted pastry wheel, cut dough into 2 1/4-inch squares and prick dough with a fork to create dotted lines. Transfer to two parchment-lined baking sheets and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees with racks in upper and lower thirds. Bake graham crackers until golden brown, rotating sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer crackers to a wire rack to cool completely.