Making graham crackers at home is easier than you think and is like making cut-out cookies. The dough comes together easily and can be rolled out and cut into whatever shapes and sizes you like. The crackers are perfumed with cinnamon and lightly sweetened with honey, molasses, and turbinado sugar. They're crispy, crunchy, buttery, richer and so much more flavorful than storebought, for a fraction of the cost. They're wonderful eating as-is but even better when made into smores, which only take about 15 seconds to complete in the microwave.
1tablespooncinnamonuse 2 tablespoons if you love cinnamon
1teaspoonbaking soda
pinchsaltoptional and to taste
Cinnamon-Sugar Topping
⅓cupturbinado sugar plus more for sprinkling after bakingturbinado or 'chunky' sugar preferred; granulated sugar may be substituted
1tablespooncinnamon
Smores
To Make 1 Smores/Sandwich use
2graham crackers
3large marshmallowsor about 1 dozen mini marshmallows
1ouncechocolatechopped into 3 or 4 smaller chunks (I prefer dark chocolate)
Instructions
For the Graham Cracker Dough - To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter*, dark brown sugar honey, molasses, vanilla and beat on medium-high speed until very light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes (scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary). With the mixer on low, add the flours, cinnamon, baking soda, optional salt, and beat just until dough comes together, about 1 minute.Turn the dough out onto a piece of plasticwrap and shape into a 7-inch square. Wrap and refrigerate the dough to chill for at least 2 hours, up to 5 days.
Preheat oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with Silpats or parchment. Remove dough from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature for about 15 minutes before rolling it out. On a lightly floured surface (I push two Silpats together) roll out dough into a large rectangle, about 1/8-inch thick. I put two large pieces of plasticwrap over my dough before I roll it so it doesn't stick to the rolling pin.
Using a cookie cutter, biscuit cutter, pizza wheel, or fancier pastry wheel, cut the dough into desired shapes and sizes. I made 3-inch squares using a pizza wheel. Re-roll the scraps and cut out more crackers until all the dough is gone.
Use a spatula to transfer dough to prepared baking sheets, leaving about 3/4-inch space between them. They don't spread as much as cookies but they spread some. Keeping trays in the fridge and the dough chilled prevents spreading. My oven is temperamental and I get better results baking 1 tray at a time; and keep the remaining trays in the fridge. With a fork, dock (pierce) each cracker a few times to prevent them from puffing and inflating while baking.
*Although I have not tried it, I have a feeling you could keep these crackers vegan by replacing the butter with vegetable shortening or use a vegan butter substitute.
For the Cinnamon-Sugar Topping - Combine 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, stir, and generously sprinkle the tops of dough before baking.
Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown and firm to the touch. Rotate trays midway through baking. Baking time may need to be adjusted by a couple minutes depending on size of crackers made. Don't over bake; crackers will firm up as they cool. If desired, sprinkle crackers with generous pinches of sugar as they cool. Allow crackers to cool for a couple minutes on baking sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
For the Smores - To make 1 Smores/Sandwich, place one graham cracker on a microwave-safe plate, top with 3 large marshmallows or about 1 dozen mini marshmallows, top with 3 small chunks of dark chocolate, and microwave for 10 to 15 seconds. If making more than 1 Smores/Sandwich at a time, I microwave them one at a time rather than as a batch because the melting is smoother. Serve immediately.