Homemade Graham Crackers Recipe - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (2024)

FAQs

What gives graham crackers their flavor? ›

What gives graham crackers their flavor? Most people think it is the nutty graham flour. However, it is primarily the combination of honey, cinnamon, and vanilla extract that gives graham crackers their signature flavor. Enjoy as a snack or use in your favorite recipes.

If your graham cracker crust turns out a little harder than you'd like, you may have added too much butter, which firms when chilled. You may have also packed the crust too hard when forming it in the pie plate. Pack the crumbs just enough that the crust feels firm yet not too solid.

Prevent Your Graham Cracker Crust From Falling Apart

Use your hands first: Press the bottom and around the sides with medium-firm pressure until the crumbs aren't moving around anymore—you don't want any loose crumbs.

INGREDIENTS: GRAHAM FLOUR (WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT FLOUR), UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID), SUGAR, SOYBEAN AND/OR CANOLA OIL, MOLASSES, PALM OIL, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE), SALT. CONTAINS: WHEAT.

Unlike so many crackers that are either bland and dry, salty or laced with savory flavorings, grahams are sweet, toasty and flavored with a magical trio of ingredients: honey, cinnamon and vanilla. For decades, the brand that has ruled the category is Nabisco's Honey Maid.

But with graham cracker and other cookie crusts, you really don't need to, as the unbaked crust holds together well after simply chilling or freezing. Our recipes for Easy Ice Cream Pie and Vegan No-Bake Chocolate Cream Pie each feature a cookie crust that skips the oven and still turns out great.

If you have too much butter, the crust will sink down into the pie plate while baking. Third, always use a little sugar. You can use as much as 1/4 cup sugar if you like it sweeter, or the 2 Tablespoons I suggest. The sugar helps the crust bind together when it bakes.

No-bake graham cracker crust: If you don't want to (or cannot) bake the crust, you could chill it for several hours in the refrigerator, to the point that the butter becomes hard enough to hold the crust together.

2 Cups of graham cracker crumbs (approx 12 full sized graham crackers) 10 Tbsp butter, melted (1 stick plus 2 tbsp)

What is a good substitute for graham cracker crust? ›

Go with speculoos or crisp ginger snaps for a spicy kick that works well with cheesecake or cream pies, vanilla wafers or animal crackers if you want something more subtle, or chocolate wafers or even Oreo cookies for something dark and chocolate-y.

FAQ's. How many sheets of graham crackers is 3/4 cups of crumbs? I think the sizes are slightly different for every brand of graham crackers but in general, I would say 6 sheets should make 3/4 cup.

Line an 8x8 or 9-inch round casserole dish or pie pan with parchment paper hanging over the edges, if desired. Press the graham cracker mixture into the bottom of the pan, creating an even layer, and up the sides as desired.

Place the sheet on the middle rack of a 225-degree oven for 15 to 25 minutes (the timing will vary, depending on the item), until the food is crisp again, stirring (or flipping, in the case of cookies) halfway through baking.

For a slightly richer tasting crust, brush lightly with melted butter. Refrigerate until firm before filling the crust as desired. Repeat the dusting and rolling process with the second crust, and drape it over the pie filling.

The flour in graham crackers is different from ordinary whole-wheat flour. A big reason graham crackers have maintained their reputation for wholesomeness is their distinct, rustic, grainy texture — even mass-produced, hyper-sweetened graham crackers have a bit of bran in them to contribute to their flavor and crunch.

INGREDIENTS: UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), GRAHAM FLOUR (WHOLE GRAIN WHEAT FLOUR), SUGAR, SOYBEAN AND/OR CANOLA OIL, MOLASSES, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF HONEY, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE), SALT, ...

Most Graham crackers are almost always made with no dairy, but some graham crackers contain honey.

It's not just the shape of them that sets the Stauffer's animal crackers apart, though. It's the slight tinge of nutmeg that does it for me, the barest hint of artificial vanilla not even mentioned in the ingredient list, and the cheap white flour-ness of the whole thing.