Homemade Graham Crackers

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by pastrywithjenn • jenn yee (@pastrywithjenn)

 

I’m thrilled to share the recipe for the Miette graham crackers from Pastry Chef and Owner Meg Ray. The San Francisco patisserie has been around since 2001 and truly no other shop is quite as charming. Whenever I pass by the Ferry Building location, I can’t help but look at the latest curation of candies, all perfectly packaged, but my sweet fix for candy seems to have gone away in my adulthood. Instead, I opt to go to the stand-alone freezer for one of the ice cream sandwiches, specifically the graham cracker with creme fraiche ice cream.

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The cookies have a lovely cinnamon-y honey flavor that pairs with the slightly tart ice cream. As mentioned in the cookbook headnote below, the cookies are used in the patisserie’s tarts and cheesecakes. I think they would be great for s’mores, too! Note: it’s not mentioned in the recipe, but at the patisserie cuts, before cutting the dough into rounds, it’s docked with this stainless steel roller, so the crackers look more like the ones you’d typically buy at the grocery store.

Miette Pastry Shop’s Graham Crackers
Makes about twenty 3 1/4-inch cookies, two 7-inch tart shells, or twelve 3 1/2-inch tartlette shells

Graham is a type of whole-wheat flour that tends to have a coarse, uneven texture, so we don’t use it. Instead, we make our dough using regular whole-wheat flour to produce a smooth, crisp, butter cookie, flavored with a touch of honey.

This dough might be the most versatile in the bakery. The Miette Cheesecake calls for these cookie crumbs in its crust. The Lime Meringue Tart calls for the dough to be rolled out (like a tart dough) and pressed into the pan before baking. You can wrap extra dough in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost at room temperature.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups (6.9 oz / 196 g) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (1.5 oz /43 g) whole-wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Generous 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup (6 oz / 170 g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1/2 cup (3.5 oz / 100 g) firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey

Preparation:
Sift together both flours, the salt, and cinnamon into a bowl. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the butter, brown sugar, and honey and beat until fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in three additions, beating just until combined after each addition. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling, or for up to 2 days.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Unwrap the dough and place between two sheets of waxed paper. On a clean work surface, roll out to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Using a 3 1/4-inch round cookie cutter with a scalloped edge, cut out the graham crackers. Arrange on the prepared baking sheet, placing the cookies about 1/2 inch apart. Bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. They should snap crisply when cooled.

Gather up the dough scraps, preroll, and cut out to make more cookies. Bake as directed and let cool. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Graham Cracker Crumbs
To make enough crumbs for cheesecake, place 12 of the baked and cooled graham crackers in a food processor and pulse at 5-second intervals until fine crumbs form, four to five times. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Makes about 1 1/2 cups crumbs.

Graham Cracker Crust
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and unwrap. Divide the dough to make the portions you need and again pat gently into discs. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out each dough disk into a round about 1/4 inch thick and about 1 inch greater in diameter than the pan you are using (8 inches for a 7-inch pan; 4 inches for 3 1/2-inch tartlet pans).

Drape the rolled-out dough into the tart pan(s), gently pushing it into the bottom edges and against the pan sides to make a strong and straight shell. Trim the edges flush with the rim of the pan(s) using a sharp knife, or roll the rolling pin over the edges to cut off the excess dough. Prick all over the bottom with the tines of a fork and place in the freezer to firm up for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

To fully blind-bake the shell, line it with parchment paper and weight with dried rice, dried beans or pie weights. Place in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before proceed with the recipe.

Re-printed with permission from Meg Ray of Miette: Recipes from San Francisco’s Most Charming Pastry Shop (Yellow Pear Press, 2023).




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