Old Fashioned Cinnamon Graham Crackers Recipe

Join my sweet son Ben and me as we share this Old Fashioned Cinnamon Graham Crackers recipe from my bestselling book, The Modern Pioneer Cookbook.

Easy to Make Graham Crackers

These graham crackers are easy to make, just like my famous Whole Grain Cowboy Cookies, and best of all, they are better than anything you can buy from the store since they are made with whole grain flour and a healthy sweetener.

We love cookie recipes, especially during the holidays, including chewy Molasses Cookies, my mom’s Italian Ricotta Cookies, and, of course, this graham cracker recipe made with whole grains.

Graham Cracker Video Tutorial

If you want to see the steps for making Old Fashioned Cinnamon Graham Crackers, be sure to watch my recipe video, where Ben and I start with the ingredients below and walk you through the process for making healthy and tasty graham crackers in your own kitchen. It’s easy, and you control the ingredients!

If you enjoyed this video for Graham Crackers, consider subscribing to my YouTube channel (P.S. Be sure to click the BELL icon when you subscribe so you can be the first to know when I post a new video.) Thank you for subscribing!

Ingredients for Cinnamon Graham Crackers

Find the full printable recipe with ingredients below.

For the Dough

• Flour – Use graham flour or whole wheat flour.
• Sugar – Use unrefined whole cane sugar.
• Cinnamon – Gives a touch of spice.
• Baking powder – Provides a leavening agent.
• Baking soda – Provides a second leavening agent.
• Salt – Balances the sweetness.
• Butter – Make sure it’s cold and unsalted.
• Honey – Use a pourable variety.
• Vanilla extract flavoring – Makes the perfect complement to the cinnamon. (Learn how to make homemade vanilla extract.)
• Milk – Use whole milk, which helps to create a malleable dough.

For the Graham Cracker Topping

• Cinnamon – Creates a flavor topping.
• Sugar – Use white cane sugar since unrefined whole cane sugar may burn.
• Milk – Helps the sugar cinnamon to stick to the dough.

How to Make Cinnamon Graham Crackers

Find the full printable recipe with measurements below.

To Make the Dough

1. Whisk dry ingredients – Whisk together the flour, unrefined whole cane sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. Add butter to dry ingredients – Using clean hands, work the butter into dry ingredients until the mixture looks like wet sand.
3. Add in remaining ingredients – Pour in the honey and vanilla extract.
4. Mix well – Form the dough into a ball.
5. If the mixture looks dry – Add milk to create a malleable dough.
6. Divide the dough in half – Flatten it into 2 disks. Wrap disks in plastic wrap and transfer them to the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.

To Prepare and Bake the Dough

1. Prepare parchment paper – Cut 4 pieces of parchment paper to a size that will fit on a standard baking sheet.
2. Roll out dough – Place 1 cookie dough disk from the refrigerator onto 1 piece of floured parchment paper. Flour the disk, cover it with a second piece of parchment paper, and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough to 1/4″ thickness. Transfer the cookie dough and parchment paper pieces to the baking sheet.
3. Chill rolled dough – Transfer the dough to the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
4. Repeat – Continue the same process with the remaining dough disk.
5. Preheat oven – After chilling the dough for 30 minutes, place the oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
6. Score rolled dough – Remove the first baking sheet from the refrigerator and peel off the top layer of parchment paper. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, score the dough to create 12 even square or rectangle shapes.
7. Create holes – Use a fork to poke small holes in the rolled dough to create an even pattern. (The holes will help the crackers remain flat and bake to a crisp texture.)
8. Make the topping – Mix together the cinnamon and white cane sugar in a small bowl.
9. Brush the dough – Use a pastry brush or the back of a spoon to brush the dough with the milk, and then sprinkle a small amount of the cinnamon-sugar mixture onto the dough.
10. Bake – Place the baking sheet into the oven. Bake the crackers for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges begin to appear golden brown and the crackers feel somewhat firm to the touch.

The Best Flour for Graham Crackers

Graham crackers, as the name implies, were originally made with graham flour. Sylvester Graham developed a technique to coarsely grind whole wheat flour, hence the name graham flour. You can create a whole wheat flour that is very similar to graham flour by milling whole wheat berries on a coarse setting.

If you want to use freshly milled coarse whole wheat flour in this recipe, it’s easy to do if you have a grain mill. When it comes to electric grain mills, after I did A LOT of research, I decided to buy a Mockmill. And am I so happy I did! The Mockmill is a very affordable but beautifully crafted German-made mill that stone grinds grain with settings ranging from 1 to 10—fine to coarse ground grain.

Learn more about Mockmill electric grain mills for making fresh flour and their Flake Lover’s Flaker that flakes whole grain in minutes. (This is not a sponsored post, I bought the Mockmill products I show you, and I’m a happy user of their devices in my kitchen.)

• Mockmill 100 Grain Mill unboxing
• Get the Mockmill 100 Stone Grain Mill (Same product I show in my unboxing video.)
• Flake Lover’s Flaker from Mockmill in action

Storing Homemade Graham Crackers

To keep the graham crackers nice and crisp, store them in an airtight container tucked into a cool, dry pantry or cupboard. They will stay fresh for about 1 week.

If, for any reason, you find that your graham crackers have softened, you can easily re-crisp them in an oven set to 200°F (93°C) for about 5 minutes. Once allowed to cool, the graham crackers should be as crisp as the day you baked them.

Common Questions

Which Sugar is the Best for Graham Crackers?

In my graham cracker recipe and video tutorial, I make my graham crackers with unrefined whole cane sugar, also known as Sucanat. This type of sugar has more nutrients than refined white sugar. But if you’re at the beginning of your traditional foods journey, you can still use white sugar in this recipe. (However, I’d encourage you to try incorporating more natural sweeteners in your recipes when possible.)

Be sure to watch my Which Sugar is the Best? Essential Sugars for Your Prepper Pantry video and read the accompanying blog post to learn all about the different sugars available to you and which ones you should store in your Four Corners Pantry.

Make Ahead Tips

Refrigerate – You can make the graham cracker dough in advance and refrigerate it, well-wrapped and placed in an airtight container, for up to 4 days in advance of baking it. However, cookie dough becomes drier the longer it is refrigerated, which may create a cookie that is slightly more crumbly than if you had immediately used the dough.

Freeze – To maintain the best quality of cookie dough that will create the finest results once baked, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends freezing cookie dough for up to two months.

More Cookie Recipes

For Christmas or any festive occasion, it’s nice to make a selection of cookies for your family and friends to enjoy. You’ll love making the following cookie recipes and including them on your dessert tray with your homemade graham crackers. Plus, I also show you how to create make-ahead mixes so you can make your next batch of fresh cookies in no time.

• Whole Grain Cowboy Cookies
• Healthy Molasses Cookies
• Italian Ricotta Christmas Cookies
• 5 Make-Ahead Cookie Mixes
• Baking Pantry Checklist
• Gluten-Free Flour Mixes with Free Checklist (includes a cookie mix)

My Long Awaited Cookbook is Here!

If you’re looking for a printed book full of my traditional foods recipes that shows you how to create a traditional foods kitchen, be sure to order your copy of my new bestselling book, The Modern Pioneer Cookbook.

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The Modern Pioneer Cookbook

Seasonal ingredients, traditional techniques, and nourishing recipes. Over 85 traditional, from-scratch recipes! Discover for yourself how you can use simple ingredients and traditional techniques to cook the modern pioneer way.

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The Modern Pioneer Cookbook Recipes

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What is The Modern Pioneer Cookbook?

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How To Make Stovetop Beef Bone Broth

This easy bone broth recipe is perfect for beginners.

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Use this technique to create a light and airy sourdough bread.

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Old Fashioned Cinnamon Graham Crackers Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Prep: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Cook: 15 minutes mins

Total: 1 hour hr 45 minutes mins

Yield: 24 cookies

Author: Mary Bryant Shrader

Print Recipe Save RecipeSaved Recipe Rate Recipe

These Old Fashioned Graham Crackers are easy to make and are better than anything you can buy from the store since they are made with whole grain flour and healthy sweetener.

Equipment

• ▢
  1 half-sheet size baking pan
• ▢
  4 sheets non-stick parchment paper for baking

Ingredients

FOR THE GRAHAM CRACKER DOUGH

• ▢ 2 cups graham flour or whole wheat flour plus additional for dusting
• ▢ 1/3 cup unrefined whole cane sugar
• ▢ 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1/2 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 1/4 tsp baking soda
• ▢ 1/4 tsp fine ground sea salt
• ▢ 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into small pieces 1/2 cup butter = 1 stick
• ▢ 1/3 cup pourable honey
• ▢ 2 tsp vanilla extract flavoring
• ▢ 1/4 cup whole milk

FOR THE GRAHAM CRACKER TOPPING

• ▢ 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1/4 cup white cane sugar (Do not use unrefined whole cane sugar since it may burn.)
• ▢ 2 tbsp whole milk

Instructions 

TO MAKE THE COOKIE DOUGH

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, unrefined whole cane sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Add the cold butter. Work the ingredients with your fingertips until the mixture looks like sand. Pour in the honey and vanilla extract.
• Mix until the batter comes together into a ball. (If the mixture looks dry and does not come together into a ball, add the milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough reaches the proper consistency. The dough should feel malleable to the touch and not dry.)
• Divide the dough in half and flatten it into 2 disks. Wrap both disks in plastic wrap and transfer them to the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.

TO PREPARE AND BAKE THE DOUGH

• Cut 4 pieces of parchment paper to a size that will fit on a standard baking sheet (also called a half-sheet pan). Place 1 piece of the cut parchment on a flat surface. Set the other pieces of parchment aside.
• Remove 1 cookie dough disk from the refrigerator and unwrap it.
• Use your hands to lightly dust the parchment paper with whole wheat flour. Place the unwrapped cookie dough disk on the dusted parchment paper.
• Using floured hands, begin patting down the dough, flattening it to the point where you can switch to using a rolling pin. Dust the top of the dough very lightly with flour, smooth the flour across the dough with your hands, and then place a second piece of parchment paper on top of the dough. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough until it is quite thin and within about 1 inch (2.5 cm) of the edge of the parchment paper.
• Transfer the cookie dough and parchment paper pieces to the baking sheet. Transfer the baking sheet with the dough to the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
• Continue the same process with the remaining dough disk.
• After chilling the dough for 30 minutes, place the oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
• Remove the first baking sheet from the refrigerator and peel off the top layer of parchment paper.
• Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, score the dough to create 12 even rectangle shapes.
• Use a fork to poke small holes in the rectangles to create an even pattern. (The holes will help the crackers remain flat and bake to a crisp texture.)
• Make the topping by mixing together the cinnamon and white cane sugar in a small bowl.
• Use a pastry brush or the back of a spoon to brush the rectangles with the milk, and then sprinkle a small amount of the cinnamon-sugar mixture onto each rectangle.
• Place the baking sheet into the oven. Bake the crackers for 10-12 minutes or until the edges begin to appear golden brown and the crackers feel somewhat firm to the touch. (This can take up to 15 minutes.)
• When the graham crackers are finished baking, remove the baking sheet from the oven and place it on a heatproof surface. Using a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut along the original score lines with a knife. (This will make it easier to break apart the crackers once they cool.) Allow the graham crackers to completely cool to room temperature on the baking sheets.
• Remove the second baking sheet from the refrigerator and repeat the baking process. Once cool, break apart the homemade graham crackers. Store them in an airtight container in a cool, dark pantry or cabinet to keep them crispy. They will stay fresh for approximately 1 week.

Video

Notes

Find this recipe and video at https://marysnest.com/old-fashioned-cinnamon-graham-crackers-recipe/

For more traditional foods recipes and a guide to build your traditional foods kitchen, get my bestselling book, The Modern Pioneer Cookbook, at https://marysnest.com/my-cookbook/

Free and comprehensive lesson plans to teach traditional food recipes and kitchen techniques to students K-12, download The Modern Pioneer Cookbook Curriculum at https://marysnest.com/cookbook-curriculum/

Copyright © 2023 Mary’s Nest, LLC, All Rights Reserved

Nutrition

Calories: 104kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 77mg | Potassium: 49mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 126IU | Vitamin C: 0.04mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 0.4mg

Course: Baked Goods, Cookies

Cuisine: Americana

Calories: 104

Keyword: graham crackers, whole grain graham crackers

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