Graham Cracker Recipe
This graham cracker recipe is easy to make with just a few simple ingredients. These homemade graham crackers taste so much better than store bought!
You are not going to believe how easy it is to make homemade graham crackers! With just about 20 minutes of prep time, you’ll have delicious honey graham crackers ready to bake in your oven.
I cannot make this recipe often enough because my kids love graham crackers and together can devour a whole box of them in a day. When I make this recipe, I know they are getting a healthier unprocessed alternative to store bought crackers.
This graham crackers recipe is made with everyday pantry ingredients, including whole wheat flour, brown sugar and honey. Cinnamon and cloves add a hint of spice and make these crackers completely irresistible. They’re perfect for afternoon snacks and school lunch boxes!
These graham crackers freeze well. You can make a batch on the weekend and then keep them in your freezer to enjoy throughout the week. Eat them plain, with a glass of milk or spread with a little peanut butter.
Graham Cracker Ingredients
If you have a well stocked pantry, you probably have everything you need to make graham crackers from scratch!
- Whole Wheat Flour: I like to use white whole wheat flour because of it’s milder flavor, but you can also use regular whole wheat flour. You can make this graham cracker recipe with all purpose flour but the crackers will taste more plain.
- Brown Sugar: Brown sugar adds sweetness to the graham crackers. This recipe calls for 1/4 cup of brown sugar, just enough to lightly sweeten the graham crackers. You can reduce the amount if you want a lower sugar snack. I recommend using light brown sugar.
- Baking Powder & Salt: Baking powder leavens the crackers, making them rise just a bit. Adding salt to baked goods helps to bring out the flavors.
- Cinnamon & Cloves: These warm spices give the graham crackers the best flavor.
- Butter: Use cold butter, straight from the refrigerator, for best results.
- Milk: Cold milk moistens the dough and brings the dry ingredients together into a dough.
- Honey: Honey adds sweetness and that classic honey graham cracker flavor that we all love. It also helps the dough come together.
Why don’t we use graham flour?
I use whole wheat flour in this recipe for a couple of reasons. Most people don’t keep graham flour on hand in their kitchen, and whole wheat flour is easier to find. When testing this recipe, we enjoyed the full flavor of whole wheat flour!
How to Make Graham Crackers
You can make this easy graham cracker recipe by hand or with a food processor. I prefer using a food processor because it is faster and easier, but both methods work well. I’ve left a note at the end of the recipe card below about how to mix up the dough by hand.
Step 1: Make the Graham Cracker Dough
To start, add the dry ingredients to your food processor. Pulse a few times to combine.
Next you’ll cut the cold butter into 1/2-inch cubes. Add the butter to the food processor and pulse 10 times to work the butter into the dry ingredients. The largest pieces of butter should now be the size of small peas.
The final step to making the graham cracker dough is to add the milk and honey. Then pulse the food processor until the dough starts to come together in a ball.
Step 2: Roll out the Graham Crackers
Take the dough out of the food processor and divide it in half. Working with one half of the dough at a time, shape the dough into a round ball. Then flatten the ball slightly and press your hands against the sides to form a square shape.
On a lightly floured piece of parchment paper or silicone baking mat, roll out the dough until it is a rectangle that is 3/16-inch thick. Be sure to flour the rolling pin to prevent the dough from sticking to it.
Once the dough is rolled out, cut it into graham crackers of your desired shape and size. I use a pastry/ravioli wheel to cut the crackers. A pizza cutter or knife also work well. Do not separate the crackers yet – you will separate them after they bake and cool.
If desired, prick each cracker a few times with a fork. Then transfer the parchment paper or baking mat with the crackers to a baking sheet.
Step 3: Bake the Graham Crackers
Bake graham crackers in a 350° F oven for 12 to 15 minutes. The crackers are done when the outer edges begin to brown.
Let the crackers cool on the baking sheet and then separate them into individual crackers before serving or storing.
Tips for this Graham Cracker Recipe
- If you have a food processor, using it makes this graham crackers recipe much faster and easier.
- Use cold butter and cold milk. Just like when you make pie dough, cold ingredients will give your graham crackers light, flaky layers.
- When rolling out the dough, do your best to roll it into a rectangle shape. It helps to start by forming the ball of dough into a square before rolling. You can trim the uneven edges of the dough after rolling it out, for more evenly shaped crackers. I usually don’t bother because the crackers taste delicious regardless of their shape.
- I recommend storing your homemade graham crackers in the freezer for maximum freshness.
More Snack Recipes
Graham Cracker Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups white whole wheat flour, or regular whole wheat flour
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- ¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon cold milk
- ¼ cup honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Place the white whole wheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cloves in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to mix. (See note for how to make the dough without a food processor.)
- Add the butter cubes to the food processor and pulse 10 times to cut in the butter. The largest butter pieces should be the size of small peas.
- Add the milk and honey to the food processor. Pulse until the dough comes together.
- Remove the dough from the food processor and cut it into two equal parts.
- Shape each half of the dough into a ball and then flatten it a bit, shaping it into a square. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper or silicone baking mat until it is 3/16 of an inch thick. You want the rolled out dough to be in the shape of a square or rectangle as best you can. If desired you can cut off the uneven edges of dough and then re-roll them.
- Use a pastry/ravioli wheel, pizza cutter or knife to cut the dough into graham cracker shapes. Do not separate the crackers until after baking.
- Using a fork, gently prick each cracker a few times. Keeping the crackers on the parchment paper or baking mat, carefully transfer them to a baking sheet.
- Bake crackers for 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly browned on the edges. If baking two pans of crackers at once, rotate the pans from top to bottom halfway through the baking time.
- Let crackers cool on the baking sheet and then separate the individual crackers.
Notes
- If you do not have a food processor you can mix up the graham cracker dough by hand. Use a whisk to combine the dry ingredients, a pastry blender to cut in the butter, and a fork to mix in the wet ingredients until the dough comes together. You may need to use your hands at the end to bring the dough together.
- Store crackers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
I have always wanted to try making homemade graham crackers and marshmallows.
I made this recipe specifically for a Graham cracker pie crust. But, my kids got to the crackers before I got the pie crust made! So I had to make a second batch. Very easy to put together and a hit with my family.
If subbing graham flour, would you replace all of the we flour or just a portion?
I haven’t tested this recipe with graham flour, but I would suggest replacing half of the whole wheat flour with graham flour.