2020-05-22

These graham crackers are SO good that I’ve made two batches this past week. Disclaimer: our yellow lab did a very bad thing and knocked the first round on the floor. He happily polished off all but one before my daughter caught him in the act.

He would honestly eat anything, so don’t hold any stock to his enthusiasm. I knew this recipe was worth a re-bake and a share when both of my teenagers bemoaned the fact that they only ate them for one s’more each. And when I baked the second batch, my husband kept trying to steal some before I was able to make them look pretty for a photo.

My daughter compared these crackers to the “old fashioned” cinnamon grahams I used to buy the kids at Trader Joe’s. They’re on the thicker side and much heavier on the cinnamon than a traditional packaged graham cracker. They have the perfect crunch while still being slightly chewy (if that makes any sense at all!)

What they don’t have, however, is any gluten or dairy in them. I adapted the recipe from Erin McKenna’s Babycakes Covers the Classics cookbook. We love to visit the Disney Springs branch of her Babycakes bakery; you would never guess the lineup of treats is allergy-friendly!

I’ve made a lot of Erin’s recipes, from donuts to black & white cookies. I have to say, this is probably my favorite one to date. It does take a little time, but they’re not particularly tricky to make and it’s a high-yield batch.

Definitely chill the dough before rolling out or it will be too sticky. Also make sure to check if the gluten-free flour blend you’re using contains xanthan gum. If that’s the case, don’t add more or it will mess with the texture of your cookies.

We had a little difficulty making the edges of the these as straight as we liked, as they tended to get a little misshapen when transferred from counter to baking sheet. My easy solution? Trim them a little with a knife after baking. My husband was SUPER excited to eat all of the scraps…

These cookies make a great s’more but are super tasty on their own. Hope you like the recipe as much as we did.

Gluten-Free & Vegan Cinnamon Graham Crackers
adapted from Babycakes Covers the Classics

1 cup organic cane sugar, plus 1/3 cup for sprinkling**
3 tbs. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups white rice flour, plus about 1/2 cup for dusting
1 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose baking flour
2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. xantham gum (only if your flour blend doesn’t contain it)
1 tsp. salt
3/4 cup melted coconut oil or canola oil, plus 1/4 cup for brushing
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 tbs. vanilla extract
1/2 cup cold water

In a small bowl, whisk together 1/3 cup sugar with 1 tbs. cinnamon and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups rice flour, the all-purpose flour, remaining sugar and cinnamon, ginger, xanthan gum (if using) and salt. Add the 3/4 cup coconut oil, agave nectar and vanilla and mix with a rubber spatula until a thick dough forms. Gradually add the cold water and continue to mix. The dough will begin to become quite sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

While the dough is chilling, line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 325.

Dust a clean work surface with more of the remaining 1/2 cup rice flour. Place dough in the center and roll it around in the flour to thoroughly coat it. Sprinkle rolling pin with flour and roll the dough out to 1/4-inch thickness. Use a knife to cut the dough into 3-inch squares. Use a metal cookie spatula to carefully transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets. Leave about 1 inch between the cookies.

Brush cookies with remaining coconut or canola oil, then sprinkle each with the cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the baking sheets and bake for 5 minutes more. Let stand on baking sheets for 10 minutes. before transferring to a wire rack. The cookies will firm up as they cool.

**if you want to cut down on the sugar in the cookies, you can use 1/2 cup of a low-carb and calorie-free blend such as Steviva in lieu of the 1 cup of sugar.
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