graham cracker-ness

After a long night of studying last night and a long day of test-ness today, I had to bake something.

I chose graham crackers. I've made these before, but not in a long time. And I have no idea why, they're delicious! They really have that distinct graham cracker taste. The cinnamon ones are great for snacking.

Gluten Free Graham Crackers

1/2 c. brown rice flour
1/2 c. sorghum flour
1/2 c. potato starch
1/2 t. xanthan gum
2 T. brown sugar
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
6 T. cold butter (smart balance works fine)
2 T. honey
2-3 T. milk (non-dairy will work)

Mix the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or a fork until it's nice and crumbly. Add the honey and mix in the milk until you get a dough.
Roll it out, cut into crackers, and prick them with a fork.
Bake them on an ungreased sheet at 350 for 12ish minutes. If they start to puff up too much, after 5 minutes I take them out and re-prick them.

They make the house smell absolutely wonderful.

[It helps to roll these out on wax paper, cut and prick, then invert them onto the cookie sheet.]

You know what I'm going to use these for? Besides stuffing my face, I mean. And besides S'mores.

Graham cracker cheesecake crust. You know, the kind I haven't eaten in ages, the kind I've tried to replicate with GF flours but couldn't get quite right? The only thing that tastes just like graham cracker crust... is graham cracker crust. I have high hopes and confidence that these will deliver.

it's still HOT here

I like how I'm starting to read about how it's turning into cooler, fall weather and people are making soups, chowders, and stews.

While here in Houston I'm sweating like crazy walking from class to class hoping my deoderant holds out, for the sake of the person who has to sit next to me.

Then I get home, defrost a bagel (best toasted), smear it with cream cheese and strawberry jam, and contemplate what to eat for real dinner. Using the oven does not appeal and there is a serious lack of ingredients in this place. Bean & cheese burritos are lookin' reallll good right about now. (btw, beans and corn [or rice] paired together supply all the amino acids our bodies do not produce. Not a complete protein, but good for you. This is good news for bean & cheese burritos.)

Meh, we'll see what I come up with.

Oh oh OH. Did you SEE when you clicked on the link above for bagels that they're coming out with graham crackers? And did you get as excited as I did? I thought so.

gluten free "granola" bars and graham crackers

Today was a "snack" recipe trying day. I'm still looking for portable snacks to take to class.

I kind of made up the recipe for the bars from looking at a variety of other recipes. It's sweet rather than wholesome, and is actually more like a dessert bar. I'm going to keep looking for one that's less sweet and more like a granola bar. The graham cracker recipe was found in a forum after googling it.

Snack Bars:

2 c. cereal (puffed rice, or I used Perky O's)

2 c. oats (didn't have any so I used puffed corn cereal)

1/4 c. almonds (I used walnuts too)

1/4 c. sunflower seeds (salted are ok since this is so sweet)

1/2 c. shredded coconut

1/2 c. dried fruit

1/2 c. peanut butter

1/2 c. honey

1 t. vanilla

Combine dry stuff in a bowl. Heat up peanut butter, honey and vanilla (don't boil). Pour over cereal, coat and press into a 9x13 pan. Let cool.

Graham Crackers:

2 3/4 cup flour mix

1/4 c. dark brown sugar

3/4 t. xanthan gum or 1 t. guar gum

1 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

3/4 c. butter

1/4 c. honey

1/3 c. milk

Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry stuff, then cut in butter. Add honey & milk. Mix into a dough. Roll into small balls and flatten to 1/8" thick on an ungreased cookie sheet. (I used parchment paper). Prick them with a fork, bake for 12-15 minutes. I sprinkled half with cinnamon and sugar. Makes a pretty big batch.

Happy Snacking! I'm totally making s'mores tonight.