Homemade Graham Crackers

One of our favorite snacks used to be graham crackers dunked in milk, and since they don't have graham crackers here in New Zealand my kids have really missed that. I came across the recipe for homemade graham crackers a while ago and it sat on my pinterest board for quite some time. I don't know if it was because I thought they would be time consuming or because I thought they would be just another pinterest fail, but for whatever reason I never got around to making them. Well, one of my new year's resolutions is to choose healthier snack options for me and my kids, so I thought I would give these a try and now I am kicking myself for not making them earlier! Think of all those months that we could have been nibbling on these, I'm definitely making up for lost time. They don't take any longer than a batch of cookies to make and they are seriously so good and so much healthier. Even when we do move back to the land of graham crackers and $1.89/gallon milk, I think we'll still be making these. My kids were in heaven and thanked me profusely as they drowned them in a glass of milk. And then their friends came over and finished off the batch because they were so good, so of course they're begging me to make more tomorrow. I think I can do that.

1 cup whole wheat flour
1½ cups all purpose flour
½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon wheat bran
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup butter, room temp
¼ cup honey
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
*optional: for cinnamon graham crackers, sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on dough before baking

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together wheat flour, all purpose flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, wheat bran and baking soda. Cut butter into flour mixture until course, add honey, water and vanilla then use beaters to mix together until evenly distributed. Shape dough into a ball then roll flat (about 1/4 inch thick) on a floured surface. You don't want it to be too thick or too thin, see the middle picture above as an example. Use a pizza cutter to cut into squares then use a fork to make the design in the center. Place on a Silpat or parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10-13 minutes. Cool and serve with a cold glass of milk.

*Source: Love to Be in the Kitchen