A Camping Staple: Graham Crackers

Thank you to Bob’s Red Mill for supporting this post through providing me the flour to make this tasty recipe along with these Oatmeal Cinnamon Pancakes, this Hiking Bread, and one more upcoming recipe as part of a series of gluten free camping friendly recipes.

In the realm of camping desserts, I’m serious about two things; simplicity and tradition.

While Dutch oven or skillet cobblers are certainly tasty treats to have while camping – I personally do not enjoy the clean up involved from making one of those dishes after a long day of exploring or hiking. Brownies and cakes baked inside orange peels are all the rage on Pinterest as a simple backpacking friendly treat, but that’s not what I grew up eating at camp.

When I think of camping desserts, there is really only one treat on my mind: good old-fashioned smores. Whether the marshmallows are roasted on a stick gathered nearby or on some fancy contraption made specifically for this purpose, I’ve always loved the campfire discussion (or debate) on what makes a perfectly roasted marshmallow. Are you a perfectly golden brown person or a flaming burnt marshmallow person? I used to be the later, but as I find my patience growing – I’m turning to into the former. 

These graham crackers have both a honey and light cinnamon flavor to them and hold up very well in the smore making experience. Far better than the pre-packaged ones I’d been buying at the store to make smores in my microwave (a terribly guilty pleasure of mine). The extra plus is that they’ll stay fresh and crisp, when kept in an air tight container for up to two weeks.

Graham Crackers (for Smores of course!)

Ingredients

105 grams sweet white rice flour

105 grams cornstarch

70 grams teff flour

70 grams sorghum flour

¼ cup sugar

1 tbsp psyllium whole husks

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

⅓ cup butter, chilled

½ cup honey

¼ cup goat milk (or other dairy or non-dairy milk of choice)

at least ½ cup gluten free all purpose flour (without gums) or sweet white rice flour to roll out the crackers

Make

Heat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

Transfer the mix to a food processor with the dough blade in.

Cut the butter into ¼ inch pieces and pulse in the food processor until the butter chunks are broken down into pea-sized crumbs.

Add the honey and goat milk, pulse until well incorporated.

Mold the dough into a sphere, place in a medium bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate while you prep for the next step.

Set up a SilPat or large square of parchment paper on a flat surface.

Sprinkle generously with gluten free all purpose flour or sweet white rice flour.

Prepare a baking pan with either a baking SilPat or parchment paper.

Pinch off about a cup of dough and roll out in a roughly square shape.

Using a knife, or in my case a pie crust flute wheel, make cut lines of about 1 ½ to 2 inch squares.

Using a spatula, carefully lift the cut crackers off your SilPat and place in the baking pan at least ½ inch apart from each other.

Continue until filling up the baking pan.

Place the baking pan in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Bake the frozen crackers for 15 minutes or until the edges just barely begin to brown.

Repeat with the remainder of the dough.

Makes about three-dozen graham cracker squares.

My recently realized favorite part about having smores for dessert while camping? Sitting back to watch my hubby build the perfect fire while our curious little pup looks on. Seriously, this made my heart just melt - such cuteness.

Tips

• If your dough does not come together well in the food processor, transfer into a large bowl and knead the dough together by hand.
• If your dough sticks to your rolling pin, sprinkle flour on top of the dough as you roll it out. If it still sticks, place a sheet of parchment paper over the dough as you roll it out.