It's camping season, friends and we have lived without good graham crackers for years. Honestly, these sweet treats turned out better than even I expected. The truth is, I thought this would be difficult with many versions of "not quite there" sweet crackers created and consumed, but not loved. Boy was I wrong. These crackers were not only exactly what we were looking for in the first round, but I tried them two ways with both versions being huge wins! You can even use them for a gluten free graham cracker crust if you are needing a gluten free pie crust.
Technically, graham crackers are made with graham flour. Graham Flour is a coarsely stone ground whole wheat flour, made from dark northern hard red wheat. It contains all the germ, oil and fiber from the whole wheat kernel. Unfortunately, that makes true graham crackers a no go for those of us that can't have wheat. Never fear! I've come up with a recipe that will have you questioning how these gluten free graham crackers made with gluten free flour could possibly taste like the real deal.
I'm giving you an alternate version of these sweet treats. The honey and cane sugar mixture tastes like honey graham crackers. It's a little sweeter than the brown sugar molasses version and the favorite in our house. The molasses and brown sugar version gives the crackers a richer less sweet flavor. These crackers are delicious, but more of a grown up flavor. Both are equally delicious and make the perfect s'mores. Nothing screams summertime quite like a graham cracker with a roasted marshmallow and some delicious chocolate.
We are a commercial bakery; we bake our own Graham crackers and are trying to come up with a Gluten-free recipe to put into production. Our "regular" Graham cracker recipe does not include egg whites, and as we attempt to simplify our list of ingredients, what is the purpose of adding egg whites to this recipe? Is this ingredient essential for a successful bake? Thanks in advance.
Great question! The egg whites in this recipe are used as a binder. We haven't tried them without the egg whites, but you could either use a whole egg, an egg replacer or flax egg in it's place. You could also test it with a bit more butter and leave out the egg. You will need some liquid in place of the egg white if you remove it all together.
Been wondering just how to do Graham crackers. I think I may have some other grain allergies as well because when I use gluten-free flour I still break out. I have cellulitis and it is seemingly triggered by wheat, soy, cashews and peanuts. Turkey to find all the right ingredients even going Wheatfree.
You may be right about grains affecting your digestion. I am no longer able to use GF flour mixes that contain rice flour. In addition, corn and corn related products upset me. I previously blamed coconut, almond, various other ingredients or thought I had been 'glutened' but all is fine now that I know.
These were fun to make! Typically I like to make things a little less sweet, so I added something short of a 1/4 cup of sugar, and I probably shouldn't have! They tasted cardboard-ish. Also, the flavor of the baking soda came through, so I'm wondering if a teaspoon was too much...? Additionally, I added 1 tsp. of vanilla extract, which I think was good for the flavor. I will try again next time with a few modifications!
Oh, and I did use flax meal with water instead of egg whites. I think the texture was fine for the dough (and baked fine), albeit a little dry, so I added some extra tablespoons of water.
I’ve made these twice so far and they’re wonderful!! It’s so nice to have a GF graham crackers that are not primarily sugar and fat! Both times I made them I used one egg white and the rest flax “egg”. I also used half molasses and half honey, coconut sugar instead of regular, and added one teaspoon of corn starch because I prefer to have them slightly soft and chewy.
My new favorite treat!!
I made these as directed. I also sprinkled a little cinnamon & sugar on top of some of them before baking. I used Miyoko’s vegan butter. I baked them on 325 degrees with the convection on in the oven. They were done in about 15 minutes. They were soft, but not gooey in the middle. The non-cinnamon topped ones were great with Nicciolata (an Italian dairy free hazelnut spread). Also tried them with Miyoko’s dairy free feta cheese (taste more like cream cheese) & sliced strawberries on top. I’ll try to molasses & brown sugar next time. I think the original recipe needs a bit more flavor & at least one of molasses &/or brown sugar would do it. These are worth making. Thank you for the recipe. Will be trying more.
I did a shortcut, direct to the cheesecake pan. (I substituted some stuff) Rolled oats ground to coarse flour, brown sugar, 1/2 tsp each baking soda and powder, 1/4 tsp each cinnamon and nutmeg, and no water. I melted the butter (like a graham cracker crust) and that probably made it all a little too wet. Oh, well. Worked great, Tastes wonderful, like an oat cookie crust.
Absolutely. Just make the crackers as indicated then use as you would in a graham cracker crust recipe. Enjoy!
I just made these and they are delicious. They were quick and easy to make. I substituted the molasses and brown sugar as noted at the bottom of the recipe. Mine did not come out like tough little planks. They are crispy and a little chewy in the centers. I will make these again! Thank you for the recipe.
My son is allergic to rice. Can I substitute the gluten free baking flour for the one called for?
Hi Melissa - we haven't tested this recipe using our Gluten Free All Purpose Flour. If you do, just remember you'll also need to add Xanthan Gum as the mix does not contain it. We recommend 1/4 tsp per cup for this type of recipe, so 1/2 tsp total.
If you try it, we'd love if you shared your results!
I make my own GF flour blend (using Bob's Red Mill) flours. How much xanthum gum should I add because of this?
Hi Gina, it's hard for me to say for sure since I don't know what your mix is made of. I would start with 1/2 tsp though. We have a chart on the back of our bag of xanthan gum that gives you guidelines for how much to use and for cookies it would be about 1/4 tsp per cup of flour in the recipe. Let us know how it turns out.
Hi Lori, that's a great question. I didn't test that exchange, but since you're looking for a crispy cracker, you should be able to exchange the egg with flax meal (egg replacer) with no problem. If I get a chance to test it soon, I will, but if you give it a try, will you let us know how it works for you?
Hi Jeannine! You can find one here. Enjoy!
Gluten Free Braided Bread (Gluten Free Challah)
I’ve been changing my recipes for about 25 yrs. It has been getting easier. Graham crackers I miss the most. I find using a scale works best for measuring, it’s more precise. It keeps recipes less dry. Going to try this recipe. Thanks for all your work making this allergy easier.