Chocolate Graham Crackers... and a Valentine Treat

I can't believe Valentine's Day is next week. Really? How did that happen? I always have these great intentions for fun, crafty projects at every holiday for decorations or games for my kids or just fun stuff. Yet, it never seems to happen because holidays seem to sneak up on me so quickly. I should start now for next Valentine's Day, but...  that will never happen so on with the recipe!

The Princess loves graham crackers (and I do too). I remember making them with my Grandma when I was a little girl. So, when I came across some recipes for homemade graham crackers, I was so excited to try them out. These chocolate ones were one of our favorites. I mean really, combining two of my great loves... chocolate and graham crackers, is bound to be a winning combination. Now, these aren't the easiest things to make - they require a little patience when working with the dough. But they are definitely worth it!

Chocolate Graham Crackers

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup wonder flour (or other whole grain flour)

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup sucanat (or brown sugar)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup butter, chilled and cubed

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees F.

In a food processor or mixer, combine first 7 ingredients and mix until incorporated. Add cubed butter to the mix and pulse/mix until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add honey and water and continue to mix until it all combines.

Remove and shape the dough into a flat disk and place between two rolls of parchment paper - and trust me, you will want the parchment paper for this!

Roll the dough out until it is about 1/4 inch thick. Cut into crackers or shapes with a cookie cutter. *

Place grahams onto a silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for approximately 15 minutes.

Cool and serve.

* If you would like to freeze the grahams, after rolling and cutting the dough, place shapes on a baking sheet and freeze for 20 minutes. Remove, place in a ziploc bag, label and freeze for up to 4 months. When ready to bake, follow the remaining steps, adding an additional 1-2 minutes baking.

And, I forgot to take a picture of the grahams all by themselves, so you will have to use your imagination... or just make some for yourself.

Now, for the Valentine's treat. When cutting the grahams into shapes, use a heart cookie cutter (it is best to use a medium to large cutter). When grahams are completely cool, scoop a generous serving (how generous depends on how big your grahams are) of ice cream** (we used vanilla) onto a graham and smash between another graham. Tada! Homemade ice cream sandwiches!! I found that my ice cream did not need to be super soft, just soft enough to be able to scoop and mold to fill the entire graham shape. I rolled mine in some red sprinkles (but that is optional). 

** If there is a dairy allergy, you prefer homemade ice cream or you are vegan, check out this recipe for dairy free homemade ice cream. I had plans to make this and use it on our ice cream sandwiches but I ran out of time. At least I had good intentions.

These are best served right away or wrapped in saran wrap and put in the freezer for later use.

Recipe adapted from Weelicious

Jana