Graham Crackers

One theme for this summer seems has been "labor intensive and worth it".
In celebration of my new bundle of unconditional love, I've been working on recipes that incorporate the ingredient, olive oil.

Olive

Since her arrival, we've been having lots of visitors, so I've been cleaning entertaining more than usual. I'll have lots of great olive oil recipes to share in the coming weeks.  She's been an inspiration and tons of fun. Olive is labor intensive and worth it, and these graham crackers follow in her 10 week old pawprints.

No olive oil in these - only butter. (She's teething, regressing some in her toilet training, and can go up but not down stairs, so butter is akin to revenge calling the babysitter and taking the night off.)


Just like my pup, these cookies are labor intensive and worth it.

Bob's Red Mill's whole wheat graham flour is the ticket.
Most graham cracker recipes call for plain old whole wheat flour.  But this flour uses hard red wheat, and I think this product renders these Grahams as Martha's and not Billy's. (But, if you simply can't get this great stuff in time to start rolling, substitute a good quality whole wheat flour, preferably stone ground. (It's a texture thing.)

If you don't buy Bob's Red Mill stuff locally, you can through Amazon, or go directly to their site.

Graham Crackers

Adapted from Marion Cunningham’s The Fannie Farmer Baking Book

By Blue Heron Kitchen

Graham Crackers
Blue Heron Kitchen

Not all projects are worth the labor.  A few that come to mind are children (or pets) if you have them, homemade puff pastry, and these crackers.  

You’ll need to buy graham flour.  Bob’s Red Mill is a great resource for this (and a ton of other flours, ground nuts, grains, cereals – go to their site and see for yourself).  You’ll also need a fluted pastry cutter.  

I bought mine at Broadway Panhandler.  But you can get the one I bought there online. 

Your dark brown sugar has to be soft and fresh, and I like Golden Blossom Honey, no kidding.

Ingredients:

4 oz. unsalted butter, softened

2 eggs, size large, room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

¾ cup dark brown sugar, very fresh and moist, tightly packed

8 Tbsp. (or, if you want to use a measuring cup, 2 ½ oz., liquid or 100 ml.) honey

1 tsp baking soda

4 tsp. water

1 tsp. kosher salt

3 c. graham flour

1 ½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour [Play around and use 1 c. all purpose and 
   1/2 c. spelt flour. More nutrients and less gluten for a softer product.]

Procedure:

Þ   Preheat oven to 350º F., Line several cookie sheets with parchment paper.  You’re gonna have lots of cookies.

Þ   In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the two flours and the salt.  Set aside.

Þ   Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of a Kitchen Aid, fitted with your Metro Design Beater Blade (or another type of stand mixer), until well combined.  Add the eggs and beat until batter is lighter, smooth and creamy. Add vanilla extract.

Þ   Add honey and blend. 

Þ   Dissolve the baking soda in water and add to the batter.  (Don’t be concerned if it looks separated or curdled.)

Þ   Dump in the combined dry ingredients and blend completely.  The dough will come together. 

Þ   Dust a clean, flat surface with graham flour and roll a manageable hunk of dough into a rectangle, about 1/8" thick.  

Þ   Using your fluted pastry cutter, cut into 2 or 2 1/2 “ squares.

Þ   Prick each square 3 or 4 times with the tines of a fork and with a spatula,

carefully transfer the separated crackers to the lined cookie sheets. (They don't spread much, but leave an inch between them.)

Þ   Bake for about 8 minutes and (Here’s more to do, if you’re not already cursing and muttering why hadn’t you bought those small batch, handmade, artisinal graham crackers at Whole Foods.) remove sheet from the oven and turn the crackers over.  Return them to the oven to bake for another 6-8 minutes, or until they’re nicely brown and baked through.

Þ   Remove from oven and cool on racks.

Þ    When completely cooled, store in airtight tins, lined with wax paper. (I ♥ wax paper)

Yields 5-6 dozen crackers (Plus a baker's dozen dolphins*)

Serving suggestion:  Go out and buy those small batch artisinal marshmallows at Whole Foods (or just a bag of Campfire, which is what I’d do), Get yourself some top shelf chocolate bars. (I love Valrhona.) 

S’mores.  

Or call them Artisinal S’mores. 

Or S’mosts.

In the words of the immortal Satchmo,

S'all

peace, and love,

jane and olive