Graham Crackers

Yield:24

Who doesn't love graham crackers? Though typically used as a treat for children, I still like graham crackers a lot. Dipped in chocolate or spread with chocolate ganache, they make a nice grown-up treat as well. Once upon a time, graham crackers used to be healthy, whole-grain crackers. The graham crackers that are purchased in the stores now have little whole grains left in them. As a special treat, I used to like to get mint-chocolate dipped graham crackers from a local coffee house. When the mint chocolate grahams were discontinued, I needed to figure out how to make them myself. This recipe comes from an old King Arthur Flour Baking Sheet and it's very delicious, even when not dipped in chocolate. For fun, the crackers can even be cut out with cookie cutters instead of the usual rectangles. They are actually quite easy to make and pretty healthy compared to cookies.

1 cup (4 ounces) whole wheat pastry flour 1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour 1/4 cup (1 3/4 ounces) granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 large egg 1/4 cup canola oil 1/4 cup honey 2 to 3 tablespoons low fat milk

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a food processor and pulse 2 or 3 times to combine.

2. In a separate bowl, beat egg and then mix in the oil, honey and 2 tbsp. milk.

3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients in the food processor. Pulse the food processor repeatedly until the dough is combined and starts to hold together. Add additional milk if the dough seems dry and pulse more.

4. Empty the dough onto a sheet of wax paper and press the dough together into a disk. Wrap the dough well and refregerate at least an hour or overnight.

5 Preheat the oven to 375°. Lightly grease or cover cookie sheets with parchment paper.

6. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out on a well-floured surface. The dough should be about 1/8 inch thick.

7. Cut the dough into rectangles (or use cookie cutters) and move the crackers to the baking sheets. Prick several times with a fork.

8. Bake for 10-20 minutes (depending on size of crackers, so check regularly) until the crackers are lightly golden. Remove baked crackers from the pans and cool on wire racks.

Variations:

Cinnamon Grahams: Brush the crackers with some milk and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar before baking.

Chocolate-dipped Grahams: Using chocolate chips or Wilton Candy Melts, melt the chocolate gently in the microwave or over a double boiler. Transfer melted chocolate to a pie plate. Dip cooled cookies in melted chocolate and move to a sheet of wax paper to set up. If using flavored chocolate (such as mint), reduce the amount of cinnamon in the cracker.

Sandwich Grahams: Spread chocolate frosting or ganache between two graham crackers and press gently to stick them together. Serve immediately.