Even the Graham Crackers Are Homemade

Every year, the holidays come at me like a freight train. I get a little overwhelmed because all the “other” holidays (i.e. kids’ birthdays, our anniversary, the in-laws’ birthdays) are all in that same 90-day period. Since I am a total Rachel Ray/Martha Stewart wannabe, I just HAVE to make everything from scratch—even the treats for the kids’ daycare holiday party. It is a sickness, I know.

I like to sneak something mildly healthy in. Sometimes I drizzle dried apples with a little white chocolate, or provide stomach-settling salt-free pretzels with peanut butter.

I am pretty sure I am the only mom who does this.

On Halloween, when I dropped the kids off at daycare, I counted no fewer than 10 bags of puffy Cheetos, 12 bags of candy, 4 flats of store-bought cupcakes, cookies, Little Debbies, chips, popcorn, etc….

My stomach churned a little. I was also a little jealous.

Not that I am perfect. In addition to my homemade treats, I brought in a box of 50 Dunkin Donut Munchins. (All with sprinkles to prevent toddler meltdowns). Every kid deserves sprinkles on Halloween.

Anywhoo — on to the homemade treats. I made peanut butter cookies with tombstone sprinkles, and homemade graham crackers. The graham crackers I did in two batches, since it was a new recipe. The first batch was tasty, but a tad bland. They were reminiscent of hard tack, and the kids ended up chucking them at each other. They had excellent discus-like flying power.

The second batch, I added WAY more cinnamon, and a couple of tablespoons of sugar. I rolled them thinner, and cut them with a pizza cutter. Rather than transferring them to a new pan, I rolled and cooked them in the same greased pan.

I wanted SOME of the crackers to look like I had made an effort, so I squished some into the muffin pan that lives in the oven (because it is too big to fit anywhere else).

Success! And they were WAY yummier than the first batch’s graham pucks.

How to make Homemade Graham Crackers:

3 cups whole wheat flour*
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup honey

Sift together flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and cinnamon into a bowl.

Melt together the butter and honey.

Pour into dry ingredients; mix with a fork, then push the dough together with your hands. Don’t knead or over mix.

Place the dough on a well-floured surface, and roll it with a well-floured rolling pin to 1/8 inch thick.

Cut rectangles (approximately 1 1/4 x 3 inches) with a knife, and prick them with a fork.

Place on a lightly-greased baking tray. Bake for just 10 minutes in a 375 degrees F oven**. Cool on a rack.

*If too wet, add a bit of flour until it looks right.

**For softer crackers, cook at 350-degrees for 10 minutes.

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Graham Crackers.

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