How to Make Homemade Graham Crackers
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Aug 12, 2024 • 4 min read
Graham crackers are a type of semi-sweet whole wheat cookie flavored with hints of honey and cinnamon. While store-bought graham crackers are perfectly acceptable in s’mores or pie crusts, homemade graham crackers can bring a more nuanced dimension to this classic dessert.
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What Are Graham Crackers?
Graham crackers are crispy, semi-sweet cookies made with whole wheat graham flour, brown sugar, honey, and cinnamon. Graham crackers were created in the late nineteenth century by Sylvester Graham, a minister and pioneer of the temperance movement. These cookies are made with whole wheat dough, which Graham associated with a pious and chaste lifestyle. Today, these crunchy rectangular treats are most commonly used in desserts like s’mores and pie crusts or simply eaten on their own. Graham crackers have a sweet, almost spicy flavor (from the cinnamon) and a crunchy, hearty texture.
4 Ways to Use Graham Crackers
Sweet, coarse graham crackers complement a variety of desserts. They can be ground up to create a crunchy, sweet crust for pies or simply used to sandwich other sweet ingredients together. Here are four desserts that use graham crackers.
- 1. S’mores: The most common use of this classic cookie is to make s’mores. S’mores are sweet sandwiches consisting of chocolate and melted marshmallows sandwiched between two graham crackers.
- 2. Pie and cheesecake crust: Graham crackers can be crushed into crumbs in the food processor and combined with butter to create a crust for cream pies and cheesecakes. One of the most common uses of a graham cracker pie crust is the classic key lime pie.
- 3. Ice cream sandwiches: Graham crackers can be used to make easy DIY ice cream sandwiches. Simply press the ice cream of your choice between two graham crackers and place the sandwich in the freezer for 10–15 minutes to set.
- 4. Icebox cake: Use crushed graham crackers to make the crusts of icebox cakes. Icebox cake is a no-bake dessert made by refrigerating cookies and whipped cream until the cookies soften and the cake is sliceable. These cookies are a common ingredient in a mango float, a popular Filipino icebox cake consisting of layers of graham cracker, whipped cream, and diced mango.
4 Tips for Homemade Graham Crackers
Graham crackers are a classic dessert, but there are a few that will help ensure your cookies turn out perfectly cooked and delicious.
- 1. Use high-quality ingredients. The simplicity of graham crackers helps the flavor of each ingredient shine through. High-quality ingredients like freshly ground cinnamon and high-fat artisan butter will yield the best possible cookies.
- 2. Chill the dough. Graham cracker dough tends to crumble easily when rolled out if it hasn’t had enough time to firm up beforehand. Allow the dough to chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of two hours before you roll it out to give the whole wheat flour time to hydrate.
- 3. Experiment with additions. Add additional ingredients like chocolate chips, creamy peanut butter, and cocoa powder to your dough for novel twists on this classic cookie.
- 4. Store the crackers properly. Cool your graham crackers completely before you store them. Keep them in an airtight container to store up for a week. The baked cookies will keep fresh in the freezer for up to a month.
Homemade Graham Cracker Recipe
makes
24 graham crackersprep time
40 mintotal time
2 hr 50 mincook time
10 minIngredients
- 1
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, and salt.
- 2
Add the butter to the flour mixture. Using your hands or a food processor, incorporate the butter into the flour until your mixture takes on the texture of coarse breadcrumbs.
- 3
In a measuring cup or small mixing bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, honey, and vanilla extract.
- 4
Add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. If the dough is too tough to mix, add an additional ½ tablespoon of milk at a time the dough is smooth and pliable.
- 5
Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- 6
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 7
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it in half.
- 8
Using a floured rolling pin on a well-floured surface, roll out each portion of the dough into a long rectangle that is about ⅛ inch thick.
- 9
Using a ruler and knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough into 4-inch rectangles. Trim off any uneven edges to create straight sides for your cookies.
- 10
Use the knife or pizza cutter to make a scoring line through the center of each rectangular cookie. Make another line in the opposite direction across the middle of the cookie.
- 11
Make four evenly-spaced prick marks with a fork on either side of the center line of each cookie to replicate the traditional graham cracker design.
- 12
Transfer the cookies to a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat or piece of parchment paper sprayed with nonstick spray. Use multiple baking sheets, or bake the cookies in two batches.
- 13
Bake the cookies until they are golden brown and cooked to your preference which should take about 10–12 minutes. A shorter cooking time will produce a chewier cookie, while a longer baking time yields a crispy texture.
- 14
Remove the graham crackers from the oven. Transfer the graham crackers to a wire rack to cool completely. Store the graham crackers in an airtight container until ready to serve.
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