Homemade Graham Crackers

Here is the recipe for homemade graham crackers I mentioned in the Nanaimo Bars post:

I wasn't particularly fond of them. I think I should have added some cinnamon sugar or something.  They weren't terrible, but I prefer the store bought brand :P

Homemade Graham Crackers

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup Dark Brown Sugar, Lightly packed
• 1 teaspoon Baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• 7 tablespoons Unsalted Butter (Cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen)
• 1/3 cup Honey, Mild-flavoured such as clover.
• 5 tablespoons Whole Milk
• 2 tablespoons Pure Vanilla Extract

1. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal. If making by hand, combine aforementioned dry ingredients with a whisk, then cut in butter until you have a coarse meal. No chunks of butter should be visible.
2. In a small bowl or liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, milk and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.
3. Turn the dough onto a surface well-floured and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours, or overnight.
4. Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be quite sticky, so flour as necessary. Cut into 4 by 4 inch squares. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place wafers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill until firm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.
5. Adjust the rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
6. Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more sweet rice flour and roll out the dough to get a couple more wafers.
7. Prick the wafers with toothpick or fork, not all the way through, in two or more rows.
8. Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating sheets halfway through to ensure even baking. Might take less, and the starting location of each sheet may determine its required time. The ones that started on the bottom browned faster.

Nanaimo Bars

So I decided to join the Daring Kitchen where you can become a Daring Baker and/or Daring Cook with new challenges every month with specific reveal dates.  The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca.

I did not make the gluten-free graham wafers as I do not have the money to buy all the flours & I will probably never use them again and I'm really trying not to waste stuff anymore!

Anyway, I am going to post the Nanaimo Bars here and the graham cracker recipe here because you will be able to use store bought graham crackers if you wish (but if you have the time, try the graham crackers, even though I wasn't a huge fan).

The bars themselves were good--but VERY rich!  I would suggest using only one cup of powdered sugar in the middle layer.  If I make these again I am also going to use rice crispies instead of coconut in the bottom layer.  I may also try using peanut butter in the middle layer instead of the custard as well, since I think that is where the richness REALLY came from.

Also, for the top layer, make sure you have a HEATPROOF BOWL or a double boiler.  I thought my bowl was heatproof and I was wrong.  Everything turned out okay, but I need to be careful using that bowl from now on ;)  Now finally to the recipe (sorry for the long post):

For Nanaimo Bars — Bottom Layer

• 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
• 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
• 5 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa
• 1 Large Egg, Beaten
• 1 1/4 cups  Graham Cracker Crumbs-I just put the crackers in the food processor, you can also do this by putting them in a ziploc bag & smashing it :) 
• 1/2 cup Almonds (Any type, Finely chopped)
• 1 cup Coconut (Shredded, sweetened or unsweetened)--here is where I would substitute rice krispies

For Nanaimo Bars — Middle Layer--here I am thinking of substututing peanut butter or pumpkin

• 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
• 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons Heavy Cream
• 2 tablespoons Vanilla Custard Powder (Such as Bird’s. Vanilla pudding mix may be substituted.)
• 2 cups Powdered Sugar--personally I think only 1 cup is necessary if using a custard middle

For Nanaimo Bars — Top Layer

• 4 ounces Semi-sweet chocolate
• 2 tablespoons Unsalted Butter

Directions:
1. For bottom Layer: Melt unsalted butter, sugar and cocoa in top of a double boiler. Add egg and stir to cook and thicken. Remove from heat. Stir in crumbs, nuts and coconut. Press firmly into an ungreased 8 by 8 inch pan.

2. For Middle Layer: Cream butter, cream, custard powder, and icing sugar together well. Beat until light in colour. Spread over bottom layer.

3. For Top Layer: Melt chocolate and unsalted butter over low heat. Cool. Once cool, pour over middle layer and chill.