Thursday, February 28, 2013

Homemade Graham Crackers


In 1984, I was anticipating my 39th birthday (with mixed emotions) and about to give birth to my second child. It was around that time that I discovered Whole Foods For The Whole Family , a cookbook from La Leche League International.

My WFWF's pages are worn, some torn, some covered in clear plastic contact paper to preserve what is left of them, and many have pencilled-in notes telling when I made a recipe or what I discovered about it.

Graham Crackers are on page 100 of this 1981 edition of Whole Foods For The Whole Family, and I saw a note that I first made them in May of 1989, again in April of 1991... and most recently in February 2013.


GRAHAM CRACKERS
(Total calorie count - 2228)

Ingredients...

1/3 C. oil
1/3 C. honey
2 T. molasses
1 t. vanilla
2-1/2 to 3 C. wholewheat flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 to 1/2 C. milk
oil or butter for greasing

(T. = tablespoon and t. = teaspoon)

Directions...

1. Mix oil, honey, molasses and vanilla in large bowl.

2. Combine 2-1/2 C.flour with baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in medium bowl.

3. Add dry mixtures to liquids, alternating with milk; mix well. When the dough gets too stiff to mix with spoon, use hands.

4. If dough is too sticky, then add up to 1/2 C. more flour; form dough into ball.

5. Preheat oven to 300-degrees.

6. Grease cookie sheets with a little oil or butter.

7. Divide dough in half.

8. Roll dough directly onto cookie sheets, to cover entire sheet.

9. Use a knife to cut dough into 2-1/2 inch squares, but do not separate.

10. Prick surface of each cracker with fork or shampoo brush.

11. Bake for 15 to 25 minutes or until outer edges are slightly browned.

12. Remove cookies sheets from oven using potholders.

13. Let cool on cookie sheets.

14. When cool separate and remove with turner.

15. Store in air tight container.


(Don’t you love some of the wording above, such as “remove with turner”? Well, you have to remember that the book was published over thirty years ago.)

I didn’t grease or butter my pan, choosing instead to use parchment paper. I don't remember parchment paper being around in 1981, do you? We used to use wax paper for some of these oven projects--dangerous! I use parchment paper for so many baking projects now--a great product!

Also, I cut the parchment to the inside size of the pan, then placed the parchment on the back of the cookie sheet. There I rolled out the dough, cut the pieces (with a pizza cutter) and pricked it with a fork.

Next I easily slid parchment and dough onto the counter, turned the cookie sheet over and slide the parchment/dough into the cookie sheet.

As simple at that!


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You can go HERE to see a picture of my copy of Whole Foods for the Whole Family and to try out another recipe from the book.


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A REMINDER...

I discovered recently that my blog settings for Comments were incorrect and only allowed registered users to comment. Oh, no! I want everyone to be able to comment, even anonymously, if you want.

The settings are changed so, please, speak up. I would love to hear your opinions on the blog and the recipes. If you make any of the foods, let me know what worked for you and what didn’t.

13 comments:

  1. Great recipe Kathleen. This is great for cheese cake crust. As store bought is getting expensive.
    So is the total calorie count of 2228 for the whole recipe of per serving?

    Chef Randall

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    Replies
    1. Ha, ha, Randall! 2228 is the total calorie count for the whole recipe.

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  2. I forgot to agree on the parchment paper. It is great when you can to use it in place of greasing your pan. Yes wax paper is dangerous. The parchment comes in handy when making cheesecake using spring form pans. :)

    I even Goggled to see when parchment paper for baking was first invented or employed. I couldn't find the date. Though I did find a few that said 2011 and 2012 was their first time to use it. I think my first time was also 2011. When I made cheesecake at that time I could only find it in Wal-Mart. But now it is sold in all stores. So parchment paper is only recent to the Baking scene.

    Chef Randall

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  3. So glad you changed the comments settings!

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  4. Graham crackers are a favorite in my house ... I can't believe that I've never made them. Thank you for the recipe, I'm going to use it :)

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    Replies
    1. Let me know what you and your family think of them, Brenda. I'm trying to imagine what sweet goodies you'll turn them into--he, he!

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  5. I just started making crackers last Summer and was surprised how good they were. I bet your graham crackers will be so much better than anything store-bought. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

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    Replies
    1. You're welcome, John. They're a softer graham, kind of like store-bought after you open them and then don't store them airtight.

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  6. Your Enchiladas and Sesame Chicken with Lo Mein and Green Beans are perfect for my daughter and myself. Unfortunately our oven is out of order. I copy this recipe for future. Thank you Kathleen. Great post ever.

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    Replies
    1. I can't imagine being without an oven, Muhammad. Here's hoping yours returns to working order as soon as possible. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

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  7. This recipe made my day. Going to cook that tomorrow, now I must finish my work. My boss watching :)

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