Graham Crackers (and Dandies!)
April 15th, 2009
Stumble it!
I always have trouble finding vegan graham crackers at the store. Nearly every single brand has honey in them. The one version that doesn’t is full of icky ingredients.
When I got my Dandies in the mail, I knew I had to make my own graham crackers once and for all. The recipe turned out really good. I’d like to perfect the texture a little (ideally, I’d actually like them to be more crumbly than they are), but the flavor is nice and mellow, and it really highlights the sweet, nutty taste of whole wheat without being overly sugary. If you like your graham crackers really sweet, add a bit more sugar than I call for.
Graham crackers are traditionally made with graham flour, named after Sylvester Graham, a really interesting (if slightly crazy) health nut from the 19th century. He promoted the vegetarian diet (yay!) to cure, among other things, sexual desires (I did say he was slightly crazy).
Graham flour is whole wheat flour. What makes it different from standard whole wheat is the ratio of endosperm to bran to germ. Sylvester Graham ground these parts of the wheat berry separately to preserve texture and then re-combined them in a specific proportion. You can find graham flour in some stores and online, or you can make your own. Wikipedia says “one cup of graham flour is approximately equivalent to 84 g (~2/3 cup) white flour, 15 g (slightly less than 1/3 cup) wheat bran, and 2.5 g (1.5 teaspoons) wheat germ.”
Or you can do what I did and just use stoneground flour and call it a day.
Actually, you can use whatever flour you like for these. I used stoneground flour because it has little flecks of bran in it, which adds some lovely texture to the crackers. I really recommend using at least some form of whole wheat, because it gives the graham crackers their traditional nutty flavor. Oh yeah, and it’s healthier. And rest assured it won’t mess with your libido. Sorry Sylvester.
Graham crackers are tasty, but they aren’t the sexiest food in the world. S’mores, on the other hand? Sexy. I made these with Chicago Soydairy’s latest vegan treat, Dandies vegan marshmallows. They are awesome! It’s my understanding that they’re being sold online, but sell out FAST. So if you see them available, scoop them up! They taste great, and they’re gelatin free, and they roast up just like the non-vegan version. Perfect for s’mores.
How about a little video before the recipe? Don’t forget all my videos are HD, so you can watch them full-screen!
Making Graham Crackers on Vimeo.
Graham Crackers
Makes at least 24 3×3″ Crackers
2 1/2 Cups Graham Flour or Stoneground Flour or Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Cup Earth Balance Margarine
1/4 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/4 Cup Agave Nectar (or a little more sugar mixed with water)
3/4 Cup Water
Mix the all the dry ingredients together. Cream together Earth Balance and sugar. Add vanilla and agave and beat with a whisk until smooth. Add a little of the flour and a little of the water to the earth balance/sugar mixture and combine. Continue adding in flour and water, a little at a time, until all flour and water is added. Work the dough with your hands until everything is evenly combined.
Divide dough in half and cover. Let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Preheat oven to 325º F. Roll out the dough into a rectangle that measures approximately 11″x15″. Trim edges. Using a knife or a pizza cutter, cut the dough into squares or rectangles (I cut mine into 3′x3′ squares). Prick the squares with a fork.
Bake for 30-40 minutes at 325º F or until the crackers are turning golden brown around the edges. You can sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top of the crackers during the last 10 minutes of baking if you like.
Remove from the baking sheet and let cool on a wire rack. See the video above for visual directions.
For S’mores
Place the crackers in multiples of two on a baking sheet and preheat the oven to broil. Add chocolate to one cracker and vegan marshmallows to another until all the crackers are topped. Broil for less than 1 minute, watching constantly, until the marshmallows are golden and melty and the chocolate has softened.
Remove from oven, assemble the s’more, and eat! The graham crackers are also great plain, or topped with cream cheese frosting.
Entry Filed under: baked goods, dessert, how to, recipe, video
71 Comments Add your own
1. Megan | April 15th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
OH MY! Those are lovely! Would love to bake some before camping trips this summer. :)
2. Brenda | April 15th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
These look wonderful. I’ve been on the lookout the perfect graham cracker recipe. I’ll have to give these a try.
3. Alisa - Frugal Foodie | April 15th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
Graham crackers are on the top of my baking list right now! Those look great.
4. Emily | April 15th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
I’m confused…doesn’t chocolate have milk in it? Is there vegan chocolate?
Dark chocolate is almost always vegan, but it’s a good idea to check the label for milk ingredients just in case.
5. Josiane | April 15th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
Fabulous! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! Thanks also for taking the time to make the video. I like how professional your videos are, and how carefully you edit them too: all the useful info is there, and yet it’s all packed in a few short minutes. Awesome job!
6. Wendy | April 15th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
I just printed out your recipe. I’m so going to make these this weekend. YUM!
7. Shelby | April 15th, 2009 at 6:18 pm
Amazing job! These look so delicious.
8. Charlotte (Music and Veganism) | April 15th, 2009 at 6:34 pm
That was the first video or yours that I watched. I liked it! These just might inspire me to bake again.
9. Vegan Woman | April 15th, 2009 at 6:57 pm
You are truly amazing! We are going to make these thanks to you. You pics are beautiful!
10. Andréa N. | April 15th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Amazing, as all your recipes!
11. Ricki | April 15th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Those look just perfect! I miss graham crackers. . . gotta try these!
12. Pearl | April 15th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
ahh! graham crackers.. :)
13. Macie | April 15th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
Wow Those are perfect!!!
14. Janelle | April 15th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Wow, I am very impressed! It’s so kind of you to share how to make them and the recipe as well. Your blog is very professional, I just love it!!
15. Anna | April 15th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
I’m still drooling over the apple cake and now here you are with the graham crackers and smores! It all looks delicious…and so beautifully photographed. Nice work.
16. Oh She Glows | April 15th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
What a fabulous video!!! How did you make it? I couldn’t read the writing at the very end.
You are so talented!
17. Vanessa | April 15th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
ummm… run away with me please.
you are so talented! wow. i love the video. what song is that?? so catchy!
18. Anneliese | April 15th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
This is an AWESOME recipe! I also love that song by the Blow! Great post! :-)
19. Kate | April 15th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
Lolo, my husband and I LOVE (love, love, love!!) your videos. You totally made my night. :D
20. snooky doodle | April 16th, 2009 at 12:50 am
oh these look delicious and so nice!
21. Rachel Cotterill | April 16th, 2009 at 1:53 am
Thanks for the great description of what a ‘graham cracker’ is – I’ve been wondering.
I had my first marshmallow just a couple of months ago, having spent most of my life looking out for the semi-mythical vegan ones! :)
22. naomi rose | April 16th, 2009 at 2:38 am
awww I wish I had a video camera to show how to make my recipes! You make the crackers look so cute <3
23. Debbie | April 16th, 2009 at 2:59 am
OMG!! Those look so delicious! I have to make these very soon. Where do you get your marshmallows from? I haven’t been able to find any I really enjoy.
24. Mihl | April 16th, 2009 at 3:37 am
Thank you so much for this post, it was very helpful. I always wondered how Graham flour was made exactly, but was too lazy to research it. Now I can make my own. :)
25. Happy Vegan Lady | April 16th, 2009 at 5:04 am
Brilliant! You never fail to impress, Lolo.
26. Mattie | April 16th, 2009 at 6:46 am
Nice Video! I’m guessing you did that on a Canon 5D Mk II? I love how it’s done and the smores look delicious. I just bought a video cam to do videos and if I can get them to be 1% as rad as yours I’ll be happy.
27. Kimi | April 16th, 2009 at 7:51 am
I love graham crackers! These are made much the same way as the whole wheat crackers I recently posted. Can’t wait to give these a whirl and order those Dandies. We do smores out by the chiminea all summer!
28. Steph (I am Bee) | April 16th, 2009 at 9:03 am
mmmm s’mores =)
29. Mindy | April 16th, 2009 at 9:30 am
I make s’mores with Sweet & Sara’s vegan marshmallows. They are sold in a bunch of stores (listed on her website http://www.sweetandsara.com), and also through vegan mail order stores. They come in vanilla and toasted coconut. And if you don’t want to go to the trouble of making your own graham crackers, Sweet & Sara also makes two flavors of S’Mores, regular and peanut butter! AWESOME!!!
30. amy (veganissexy) | April 16th, 2009 at 11:17 am
I can’t even tell you how perfect this post is!! I’ve been begging hubby (who is my personal breadmaker) to find a good vegan recipe for graham crackers! I’m so excited you nailed this one :) I will be making ASAP! Thanks :)
31. Bianca- Vegan Crunk | April 16th, 2009 at 11:35 am
Thank you so much for this! I have the same graham cracker issues. When I need them for a recipe, the ONLY brand I can find without honey are the Keebler kind. And yep, they’re loaded with crap (hydrogenated soybean oil anyone?). Ick. Now, I’ll just make my own. Do you know how long these keep?
32. Jodye | April 16th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
These look sooo good! I’m jealous of your Dandies – I signed up to be notified by vegan essentials when they come back in stock, and so far I’ve been notified 3 times, and by the time I got around to it (once only 30 minutes later) they were all sold out!
33. Celina | April 16th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
I just had a chance to watch your broccolini cherry tomato and butter bean udon video and it was SO beautiful. I didn’t have the sound on, but your cinematography reminded me of something I would have seen on Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers in the early 80’s–simple, instructive, clever, elegant. Very nice work. And the 5D Mark II seems like a must have. Gotta get me one of those!
:) CQ
34. food snob | April 17th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
your photos are amazing and your variety of food topics incredible. however, i never actually cook most of your recipes because they are full of crap ingredients like tons of sugar, earth balance and now…dandies. i’d love to see how you could modify a traditional meal not only for vegans but for a crowd that enjoys food that is actually, well…food. corn syrup, soy lecithin, the list is endless.
35. Joanie Simon | April 17th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
The broiler…duh! Why didn’t I think of using that for in-home smores!?!
36. kitchen activist | April 18th, 2009 at 9:30 am
I can’t find vegan graham crackers in my area either, thanks for this. Would your homemade crackers work well as crumbs like for say, a pie crust?
37. Zwegowani.pl | April 18th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
after we saw a movie, my man said: “nice art! wonder if ever we could do sth like that” i hope we’ll be able 2do it:) ps. nice song too :)
best wishes from Poland :)
38. Brandi | April 18th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
What kind of chocolate did you use?
39. caniche vagabundo | April 18th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
I always loved your photos, but these videos are absolutely fantastic! Amazing job with food! Congratulations!
40. LAIS G. | April 19th, 2009 at 6:20 am
CONGRATULATIONS LADY!!
I LOVED IT! GREAT IMAGES, NOT THAT HEAVY RECIPES, GREAT EXPLANATION, AND VEGAN!!!! MAYBE I FORGOT SOMETHING, BUT THAT’S OK!!
KISSES
41. Glauce | April 19th, 2009 at 6:46 am
Your site is amazing and so yummy! I’ll be back a lot ;o)
If you have the chance, just come to see my blog too!
42. DJ | April 19th, 2009 at 7:05 am
Brilliant post and perfect looking graham crackers! Gotta love the idea of vegan s’mores!
43. Dreaming about… &la&hellip | April 19th, 2009 at 11:27 am
[...] …S’mores for our trip to Colorado. [...]
44. Crista | April 19th, 2009 at 11:48 pm
looks yummy!
interesting information about Mr. Graham as well.
45. Sue | April 20th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
YUM! I can’t wait to make these. Thanks!
46. Ali | April 22nd, 2009 at 1:07 am
This looks so good, I can’t remember the last time I had marshmallows or S’mores for that matter. Beautiful pictures my mouth is watering!
47. Natalie | April 22nd, 2009 at 8:04 pm
I LOVE THE BLOW! And your simple step by step, self explanatory how to viddies :)
48. Hadley | April 23rd, 2009 at 10:47 am
Holy Crap! These look awesome!
49. veganlinda | April 26th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
This is probably a strange question, but we get invited to impromptu cookouts at the neighbor’s house where everyone else is making s’mores. Do you think these would freeze well so I could have them on hand when the need arises?
50. Kricket | April 28th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
You made your own graham crackers?! I’m impressed and I’m excited to give this recipe a try!
51. Susan | April 29th, 2009 at 9:40 am
I just got my Vegan Dandies in the mail! They are the most delicious vegan marshmallows ever!
I am going to make these graham cracker’s tonight and then enjoy some vegan s’mores with some delicious Belgian Dark Chocolate, the dandies, and this awesome graham cracker recipe.
Thanks for the recipe!
52. Tania | May 1st, 2009 at 9:02 pm
the recipes looks delicious, and it would be a great snack for my girls. I was curious what was the board you were using to roll out the dough? Seems versatile, you rolled everything out, cut it, and baked it all on the same board/cookie sheet?
53. Jeanette Sutton | May 3rd, 2009 at 11:32 pm
I thought you may be interested to know you can make fantastic vegan marshmallows at homemade.
My recipe uses agar agar and soy protein isolate which most commercial brands use too. The soy protein isolate makes a fluffy mix into which the jell mixture is beaten.
Follow the link below to be taken to my recipe
http://www.meatandeggfree.com/agar-marshmallows.html
54. Ivy | May 5th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Thank you so much! Can’t wait to try this recipe. I have the same problem finding vegan graham crackers.
55. ambie | May 11th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Oh my! These look fab! I went and bought sweet and sara’s vegan marshmellows just to make smores! I know my son will love these. And the video is always a cute add.
56. Ali | May 18th, 2009 at 11:23 pm
After weeks of contemplation, I’m going to dive in and make these. One question: can I use whole wheat PASTRY flour, or will I regret that decision?
Thanks!
57. Zoe | May 26th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Wow, you made your own graham crackers! I am so impressed. I just found your blog and your photos and recipes are fabulous!
58. Martha Downey | June 3rd, 2009 at 8:54 pm
vegan marshmallows that look like marshmallows!? wait whhhaaaa!?!!
59. SweetKaroline | June 5th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Hi! I just made these and let me just say that they turned out so well! I didn’t change a thing.
The only thing I can say is try to get your dough as even a thickness as possible from the center through to the edges when you are rolling it out. This allows all of the crackers to bake up evenly. You might also consider rotating your pan 180 degrees halfway through cooking time if you know that you have a hot spot in your oven.
Happy Baking!
SweetKaroline
60. Graham and Poolish! &laqu&hellip | June 6th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
[...] #1 Graham Crackers: [...]
61. reluctant veggie | June 10th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
these look amazing AND surprisingly free of any food that i cannot eat (stupid food intolerances).
thanks for posting the recipe!
62. The Devil Went Down to Ge&hellip | June 16th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
[...] recipe for graham crackers tweaked a little to make chocolate [...]
63. yasmin | July 12th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
what a great video! i loved it.
64. Zoé | July 24th, 2009 at 3:41 am
It seems so yummy!
65. Kelly | July 30th, 2009 at 10:57 am
Uh… This sounds really stupid, but what have you got against honey? Of course I know it is an animal product but it’s extremely environmentally friendly and bees have their freedom. If they weren’t happy they could leave the hive for a knew one. And I see you have nothing against sugar, plus eating local honey can help with hay fever allergies. So, even as a vegan (in every other way), I see no environmental, animal rights, or health reason to avoid honey. I’m not arguing, don’t get me wrong! I just don’t understand.
66. Allie | August 5th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
I tried making these…and failed :P
They turned out hard and flavourless – I ended up throwing them out. It was probably just me; I was still recovering from my wisdom tooth removal and probably overmixed them. Oh well ;)
67. Miel | August 19th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
So I made these exactly as you described, and my graham crackers taste nothing like the store bought graham crackers I ate growing up. More like a bland allusion of them. I’m thinking you need molasses. I’m not a hater though: your photos and videos are gorgeous. The only reason I’m so disappointed is because your recipes are usually so good!
68. Graham crackers revisited&hellip | October 12th, 2009 at 3:34 am
[...] I scoured the web for tips and info but settled with two of the highest ranking of recipes, one vegan and one not. There were elements of each that I liked but neither seemed to be exactly what I was [...]
69. nicole | October 28th, 2009 at 8:44 am
these look fantastic, i love graham crakers cant wait to make them
70. Christine | December 4th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Wow, those are lovely! I’m so excited by the prospect of vegan marshmallows, too!!! Have you ever tried making your own vegan marshmallows? I’ve come across a few recipes for marshmallows, and have been considering replacing the gelatin with a vegan substitute, but will have to try…
Just found you’re blog, it’s beautiful, and delicious. And I love the Blow!
71. nanaimo bars and graham w&hellip | January 27th, 2010 at 9:54 pm
[...] you can find in my original post here. For the graham wafers, I used this fabulous Vegan Yum Yum recipe. I opted to use wheat because that’s what I had on hand, but I hope to try Lauren’s [...]
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