Graham-Like Crackers

I loved deconstructing my s'mores as a kid. I know it's totally sacreligious to the camping set (of which I am decidedly not a member), but to me, there was nothing better than devouring a slightly charred, ooey marshmallow before licking the chocolate off the cracker and finally biting through the base. I ate my Viva Puffs the same way - nuke them for about 10 seconds, eat the marshmallow, then chocolate, then cookie. The cracker was always the best part of the s'more for me, the perfect light sweetness that just so slightly softened when you bit into it (especially if chocolate had melted onto it!). These days for me, graham crackers and I aren't the best of friends - but I'm loathe to shell out at the health food store for allergy-friendlier ones (although these ones are delicious!). When my classes were making batches of Key Lime Truffles for mother's day, the one other celiac in the school tugged on my heartstrings, and I decided that I'd try my hand at concocting my own, gluten free and (almost) vegan version.

I started with a solidly awesome recipe from Cara (Fork & Beans) and switched up a handful of things based on what I had around. My modifications resulted in slightly thicker crackers, needing slightly longer cooking time, but they were beyond worth it for the flavour (not to mention the solidity for double-stuffing smores... just sayin'). While they were completely nut free (a rarity I found with GF cracker recipes), the crispy treats were made with a rich-tasting blend of whole grain flours and ground flax for that "toasty, nutty" flavour. Sweetened with decadent honey and molasses, they're delicious on their own, in s'mores (or camperless ones!) and absolutely perfect for making crumbs!

Shared with Gluten Free Fridays 

Graham-Like Crackers
Makes ~40
1 cup brown rice flour
½ cup sorghum flour
¼ cup tapioca starch
¼ cup buckwheat flour
¼ cup teff flour
2 tbsp flaxseed meal
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
½ cup dark brown sugar
⅓ cup non-hydrogenated shortening
½ tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp fancy molasses
2 tbsp honey
⅓ cup unsweetened non-dairy milk (I used quinoa / rice)

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients together (flours, flaxseed meal, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and sugar) in a medium bowl.
3. With a pastry blender or fork, incorporate the shortening into flour until the mixture has coarse crumbs.
4. Add the vanilla, molasses, honey and milk and mix to make a workable dough.
5. Between two pieces of parchment paper, roll out the dough to no thicker than ¼'". Place on a baking sheet and peel off the top paper
6. Using a pizza cutter make cuts to form squares or rectangles.
7. Dock each cracker 2-3 times with a fork.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, or until browned.
9. Cool in the oven for 10 minutes, then cool to room temperature on the pan.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 62.4
Total Fat: 2.0 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 4.5 mg
Total Carbs: 11.5 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.6 g
Protein: 0.8 g