Miette's Homemade Graham Crackers

How do homemade graham crackers sound?  Irresistible if you ask me.  That's why I ran straight to the kitchen to make them when I came across the recipe in the Miette Cookbook.   I had a lot of fun making them.  Flavor-wise they're scrumptious, although the original recipe calls for honey and the honey I used was very strong and a bit overpowering so the next time I made them, I substituted my favorite ingredient, Lyle's Golden Syrup, which adds a beautiful caramel flavor.  The dough can be made up to 2 days ahead and the baked cookies can be stored for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container.

*This post contains affiliate links.

Roll cookie dough between 2 sheets of waxed paper.  I find a ball-bearing rolling pin does the job best.  To ensure all the cookies turn out the same thickness and bake in the same amount of time, use 1/8-inch wooden dowels as a guide when rolling the dough.  

UPDATE:  Rolling guides work even better than dowels because they don't roll away from your work surface.    

Cut your cookies with your favorite cookie cutters.  I love my set of scalloped cutters and my message cookie cutters.

The message cutters are so fun to play with.

Transfer wax paper to a sheet pan and chill until dough is very firm.

When dough is firmly chilled, slide an offset spatula between the cookie dough and wax paper.

Transfer cookies to a parchment or silicone lined sheet pan OR…

After making several batches, I discovered I could speed the process along a bit faster if I chilled the cutouts in the freezer for about 5 minutes.

Partially freezing the dough firms it enough to peel the wax paper away easily.

And the partially frozen cutouts are easier to transfer to a prepared sheet pan for baking.

Keep cutouts chilled until it's time to bake them.  Before they go in the oven, sprinkle them with granulated sugar.

If cutting round shapes, use a skewer or toothpick to poke a few decorative holes - this will help the cookies bake evenly.  This step isn't necessary if you use the message cutters.

Eat 'em plain.

Or turn them into ice cream sammies.  Fun-fun!!

Items used to make this recipe:

(affiliate links)

• message cookie cutter set https://amzn.to/3yfyB2V

• Lyle’s golden syrup https://amzn.to/3EMJs6F

• heavy duty stand mixer https://amzn.to/3lRzeuz

• rolling guides https://amzn.to/3yh044d

• round dual-sided cookie cutter set https://amzn.to/3IHEzyf

• Miette: recipes from San Fran’s most charming pastry shop https://amzn.to/3h7ZOzQ

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Homemade Graham Crackers

makes two dozen 2.5-inch cookies

Printable Recipe 

Ingredients

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (6 ounces)

• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (4 ounces)

• 2 tablespoons Lyle's Golden Syrup (or honey)

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (7 1/2 ounces)

• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour (1 1/2 ounces)

• 1/4 teaspoon table salt

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• granulated sugar for sprinkling

Directions

To make the dough:

1. Sift dry ingredients together; set aside.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and golden syrup together for 5 minutes.

3. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined.

4. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days.

To cut cookies:

1. Using a rolling pin, roll dough between layers of waxed paper to 1/8-inch thickness.

2. Use 1/8-inch wooden dowels as a guide.

3. Cut shapes from rolled dough and chill well before transferring to sheet pan.

4. I used these scalloped round cutters and these message cookie cutters.

To bake cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Place chilled cookie cutouts on a cool parchment or silpat lined sheet pan and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

3. Bake in the center of a preheated oven for 10-13 minutes.

4. Cool completely.

5. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Note

• Measuring ingredients like flour and sugar by weight is much more accurate than measuring them by volume so weigh ingredients with a digital scale for the best results.

adapted from the cookbook Miette: Recipes from San Francisco's Most Charming Pastry Shop

(affiliate links)

Mini Crumb-Topped Sour Cream Banana Breads

This is a wonderful recipe that makes 10 mini loaves of cinnamon-laced, crumb-topped sour cream banana bread.  I love being able to pull one out of the freezer for a quick snack or gift.  I like to bake these in disposable foil pans so I don't have worry about my pans being returned.

Items used to make this recipe:

• baking spray https://amzn.to/3j0agXa

• mini foil loaf pans https://amzn.to/36mstJd

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Mini Crumb-Topped Sour Cream Banana Breads

makes 10 mini loaves (approx 5 1/2 x 3 1/4-inch)

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Banana Bread:

• 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

• 3 cups white granulated sugar

• 3 large eggs

• 6 ripe bananas, mashed

• 16 ounces sour cream

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

• 1 tablespoon baking soda

• 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Topping:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark)

• pinch of salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300F and place rack in center.

2. Spray loaf pans with baking spray.

3. Make the crumb topping in a small bowl by combining the melted butter and cinnamon, then stir in the flour, brown sugar, and salt; stirring until clumps form. Set aside.

4. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar; add eggs, bananas, sour cream, vanilla, and cinnamon.

5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

6. Stir the banana mixture and flour mixture together, just until combined.

7. Pour 1 cup of batter into each prepared mini loaf pan and sprinkle each with an equal amount of crumb topping.

8. Bake on center rack for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserting in the center comes out clean.

9. Loaves can be removed from the pan after cooling for 20 minutes. Cool completely before serving.