Graham Crackers I

I’ve been looking for a cracker recipe that my teething 7-month old can safely eat. Safely being that it does not contain the known ingredients he’s allergic to (soy, milk, eggs) and he can put it in his mouth without choking. Finding a recipe for puffed rice stars and cheerios isn’t going so well so I’ve started looking for other soluble, allergy free solutions.

Enter Baby Food Experiment  #1 – Graham Cracker I

I chose this graham cracker recipe because it came from a trusted source (thank you Andrea for referring me to Two Peas and Their Pod) and this recipe contained more whole grain flour than any other recipe I looked at.

These crackers were easy to make and really delicious. I made three different versions, one with butter (for my other kids – which I cannot vouch for because I couldn’t eat it), one with coconut oil and one with butter-flavored palm shortening. The difference between the coconut oil version and the butter flavored palm shortening were negligible so next time I’ll use whichever is least expensive. 

All eaters of these crackers loved them including the little man they were made for. He gummed and gummed on one for about 15 minutes and was perfectly content and happy while doing so. YAY success!! Uninterrupted time to get started on dinner! Woopsie, spoke too soon…. After he gummed at his cracker long enough to “bite” off a chunk, he started to gag. The piece was still too big and too hard for him to get it safely into his tummy. Bummer.

Although meeting 2 out of the 3 criteria isn’t bad for the first experiment I'm determined I can find exactly what I'm looking for. Until then, just in case someone is looking for an alternative to store bought graham crackers (and doesn't have to worry about tiny ones choking)  then I’m posting this recipe for you.

Graham Crackers I

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Makes a dozen 3 x 3-inch crackers

Ingredients:

¼ cup all purpose flour


1 cups whole-wheat flour


2 tablespoons sugar


¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking powder


½ teaspoon cinnamon


¼  cup butter flavored palm shortening*, cut into small pieces and chilled

1 tablespoon honey


1 ½ teaspoons molasses


2 – 4 tablespoons water

Directions:

1. Combine all the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Cut in the shortening/oil until the texture is dry and crumbly.
2. In a small bowl, mix the honey, molasses, and water. Mix with the dry ingredients until blended in the food processor. Pulse the dough until it forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
4. On a floured surface, roll the dough out thin (1/8” thickness or thinner) and cut with cookie cutters. Or you can do the traditional graham cracker shape. If you do this cut them into rectangles and poke each cracker with a fork. Place them on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat. If desired sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon
5. If desired, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon and bake for 15 minutes or until they are golden brown and crisp. Once crackers are completely cooled, store them in an air tight container.

Notes:

*Equal measure of coconut oil or unsalted butter can be substituted for the butter flavored palm shortening. If using butter, your dough will be moister than the dough with palm shortening or oil and will therefore need less water. I used a full ¼ cup of water in the batches that contained coconut oil and palm shortening.

This recipe is for a small batch and can easily be doubled. I choose to make small batches to be sure that it all gets eaten before it goes bad.

Source: Two Peas and Their Pod via My Life and Good Times

Gwenevere