I thought I might talk about graham crackers today. Perhaps you love them as much as I do?
When I was little, my mother rarely bought sweets. A die-hard Co-op shopper, she encouraged whole grain toast smeared with peanut butter, fresh or dried fruit, or a handful of her homemade granola as snacks. Chips and cookies were for special occasions only, and the latter were almost always homemade.
Graham crackers were the exception. The familiar blue box was almost always on-hand and we were allowed to have them for afternoon nibbling anytime. My dad almost always sandwiched them with peanut butter, but I loved their true flavor unaltered with a glass of milk alongside (at least until summer camping and s’more weather came around).
In this month of healthy, portable food posts, it seems high time for a sold dose of graham cracker comfort, but in a form that can be enjoyed by almost everyone. I’m talking almond flour “grahams” that are gluten-free, grain-free, and seriously satisfying.
If this is your first attempt at homemade crackers of any sort, prepare yourself: they are a breeze to mix and make. The lack of gluten actually has a major advantage: you can roll and re-roll the dough as much as you like and the dough will not become tough.
I like to take these out of the oven when they are light golden brown, just beginning to darken at the edges. They may look slightly soft, but they will crisp up as they cool.
Happy nibbling!
Easy Paleo Graham Crackers {gluten-free, grain-free, almond flour}
- Prep Time: 45 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 20 1x
Description
Gluten-free, grain-free graham crackers made with almond meal
Ingredients
- 2–1/4 cups almond flour/meal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil, melted
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk the almond meal, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
- Add the egg, coconut oil and maple syrup, stirring until blended into a cohesive dough (you can also do this in a food processor).
- Cover the bowl and chill the dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325ºF and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. Transfer the chilled dough to a large sheet of parchment paper; top with a second sheet of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough to 1/8-inch thickness.(not too thin–mine were actually between 1/8 and 1/4 inch).
- Using a knife or pizza cutter, cut into 2.5-inch squares; transfer squares to prepared sheet.
- Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown (they will still look slightly soft–will harden as they cool). Cool on the pan 5 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Notes
**If you are not concerned about these being Paleo, feel free to use an equal amount of honey, brown rice syrup or molasses in place of the maple syrup.
**An equal amount of melted unsalted butter can be used in place of the coconut oil.
- Category: snack, crackers, dessert
Can these be made with an egg substitute?
Hi Anne Marie! Yes, chia egg or flax egg should work perfectly 🙂
Thank you! This recipe is awesome! It turned out to be so delicious!!!
we made a fall inspired graham crackers from this recipe:
https://sprinkleofvanillasugar.wordpress.com/2016/10/30/ginger-honey-graham-crackers-gf-paleo-dairy-free-refined-sugar-free/
and even also a macau sawdust pudding (GF, Dairy Free, Refined Sugar Free)!]
https://sprinkleofvanillasugar.wordpress.com/2016/11/07/macau-serradura-or-sawdust-pudding-木糠布丁gf-paleo-dairy-free/
THANK YOU THANK YOU! 🙂 It was perfect!
Thank you so much for this beautiful recipe! My sister and I have missed eating graham crackers for a long time. We made it over the weekend with some adaptations – skipping the oil and adding some ginger in to make it fall-inspired!
Thank you absolutely fabulous recipe. Here are pictures we took of it: https://sprinkleofvanillasugar.wordpress.com/2016/10/30/ginger-honey-graham-crackers-gf-paleo-dairy-free-refined-sugar-free/
WOW!!! Looks so great , Zoe! We are sympatico, I adore ginger. What a great addition! 🙂
I followed natalie’s addition of nutmeg and extra cinnamon and replaced the maple syrup with date syrup. instead of graham crackers, though, I rough cut them into 1/2″ pieces and baked them an additional 15 minutes at 300. I’m thinking they will make. the perfect crunchy dry cereal. some sliced strawberries or fresh blueberries, homemade nut milk and…hey, baby!!! can’t wait to try it out tomorrow morning!
Oh my goodness, that sounds sooo good, Annalea! I am going to have to try–thanks so much for sharing your adaptation! 🙂
Can I substitute coconut flour for the almond meal?
Hi Julie,
No, the two flours are very different. I’ll work on a coconut flour version–promise!
These are ridiculously good! I added
1 teaspoon of nutmeg and doubled the cinnamon. I also used a little more salt and used coarsely ground pink Himalyian salt. I’m hooked.
Terrific! Love the spices you added, Natalie 🙂
My current favorite whole grain food is Hodgson Mills Multi-grain with quinoa and flax hot cereal. Since I discovered it I have been eating it almost every day–sometimes for breakfast and lunch…
Thank you for a great recipe. I substituted the maple syrup for raw honey and they turned out great. I may decrease the salt next time though. But, overall very tasty and easy to make! I made them a bit smaller too so they would be crispier.
Wonderful! 🙂