You should eat more graham crackers. They are whole wheat and contain honey so they are healthy, right? Well maybe not healthy but these homemade graham crackers will steer you away from all those grocery store graham crackers with unpronounceable ingredients (yes even chemists know those chemicals are unpronounceable). Graham crackers get their unique taste from graham flour, a mix of whole wheat and all purpose flour. I use a fifty fifty mix but a sixty all purpose forty whole wheat is more common. Because these crackers have more whole wheat flour the dough is a little more difficult to roll but it’s really worth the taste.

These crackers can be made with either honey, molasses or a combination of the two. As the consistency of the dough will be similar, it’s a straight substitution if you would rather use smokey molasses. I normally use a combination of honey and molasses but I was in the mood for a change so I just used honey this time.

Graham Crackers (about 5 dozen, 3-inch crackers)

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder (this is one case where it must be powder, soda will not make an even trade)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 -1/2 cup water or milk

Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. In a large bowl beat the eggs until light and fluffy. Add the butter and honey, mixing until smooth. Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, mixing well after each addition. It will end up a mealy texture. Gently add the milk in a constant stream while mixing at medium low speed until you have added the first 1/4 cup. Wait a minute while continuing to mix before adding any more milk. If the dough does not come together add more milk by the tablespoon allowing for 30 seconds mixing between additions. Be careful not to add too much milk as it will make the dough harder to roll out later.

Separate the dough into 2 or 3 sections and wrap in saran wrap or wax paper. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and possibly up to a couple days (if you let the dough go for longer than a couple hours put it in an airtight container to prevent dehydration). Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Roll the dough out to a 1/4 inch thickness and cut into whatever shape you wish (here I use my linzer cutter for the pretty scalloped edges). Place the cut outs on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 6-10 minutes until firm in the middle (baking times will vary based on size of the cracker). Remove cookies from the oven and allow to cool.