Homemade Chocolate Graham Crackers

 How cute are these homemade chocolate graham crackers?  And they were pretty easy to make, too!  I cut them into hearts for Valentine’s day, but you could do any shape, or just leave them rectangular!  They tasted pretty close to the store-bought ones as far as flavor goes.  They weren’t quite as crispy, but I’m sure they’ll harden a bit more; they’re still pretty fresh out of the oven!  I think I can safely say I won’t be buying graham crackers again!

Chocolate Graham Crackers: (from The Kitchenarian)

• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons cold milk

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Cut two pieces of parchment paper to fit in your cookie sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, cocoa, sugar, and baking powder together. Cut the butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender.
3. Combine the honey and milk in a small bowl, stir until the honey dissolves completely in the milk.
4. Add the liquid into the bowl with the dry ingredients and mix in with a fork until the dough comes together. Add a little more milk if necessary.
5. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and fold it over gently 10 to 12 times, until smooth.  Divide the dough in half and keep the remaining dough covered in the bowl.  Transfer half the dough to a piece of parchment.
6. Roll the dough into a rectangle shape until it is 1/16-inch thick. (It will be approx. 10 x 14 inches.) Trim the edges and prick the dough evenly with a fork.  Place the rolled-out dough pieces on the lined baking sheet.  Repeat with the remaining dough. For the hearts, I rolled the dough, pressed the cookie cutter into it, and peeled up the scrap dough, and added it to the remaining half, which I shaped into a rectangle as instructed.
7. Bake the crackers for 12-15 minutes, or until you begin to smell chocolate. Halfway through baking, sprinkle top of crackers with sugar.
8. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with a little more sugar and immediately cut them into rectangles with a pizza wheel or knife if desired. Transfer to a cooling rack.

Notes: Be patient when cutting in the butter, don’t stop until it’s crumbly – it won’t stick together like a dough, but make sure the butter is well distributed.  I ran a pizza cutter gently across the top before baking so the paired pieces would break apart when cooled (and to make the break in the heart), and then cut them into squares after they’d cooled for a couple minutes.

About these ads