Graham Crackers with Sucanat & Honey
In my last post, I made Berry Graham Cracker Bars with Sucanat and as I noted I wanted to share the recipe for the homemade graham crackers naturally sweetened with Sucanat and honey with you. These crackers are of course great on their own or can be used in graham cracker crusts like I did with those berry bars. I had never made homemade graham crackers before but it is actually pretty easy to do so and I have a feeling this is going to become a pretty regular recipe in my rotation. In addition to being easy to make, I like that I can add natural sweeteners to these graham crackers, which isn’t something you’ll find with store bought ones.
In this recipe, we’re using two natural sweeteners - Sucanat and honey. There is just a small amount of honey so the taste of it is subtle but it helps to bind the dough together. You could add 30-50 grams more of honey if you want to get a little bit more of that flavor though. The Sucanat adds such a nice nutty sweetness to these graham crackers that makes it hard to resist eating just one! Just as a reminder Sucanat is an abbreviation for “sucre de canne naturel” or natural cane sugar and is a less processed, more natural sugar in comparison to granulated white sugar/brown sugar. Due to the minimal processing involved in producing Sucanat, it retains more of its nutritional properties as well. The minimal processing does mean that the granules of Sucanat are larger and not uniform though so when adding it to recipes, you will need to grind it in a coffee or spice grinder first so that it can better incorporate in with the the rest of the ingredients.
Yield: About 32 crackers
Ingredients
270 g whole wheat flour
85 g Sucanat, ground in a coffee/spice grinder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
70 g honey
1 tbsp. whole milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Directions
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the flour, Sucanat, baking soda, and salt to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is broken down into small pieces, about 25-30 times.
In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, milk, and vanilla extract. Pour this mixture into the food processor and blend until a smooth dough forms.
Scrape out the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, pat into a disk, wrap up and place in the refrigerator to chill until the dough is firm, about 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat liners. Lightly flour a work surface. Unwrap the dough and divide it in half (it’s just a bit easier to work with a little at a time!). Lightly flour the rolling pin and roll out the dough to about an 1/8 inch. [This dough is a bit tough to roll out to start but once you put a little elbow grease in and the dough warms up a touch then it should be smooth sailing from there.] Use a pizza cutter or thin, sharp knife to cut 2-inch squares or, if you have them, feel free to use cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Place the cut crackers on the baking sheets as you go.
Bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges are firm and slightly golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. These cookies will keep for about a week or two in a sealed container at room temperature.
