Graham Crackers

I must be feeling more domestic lately. I've been working on my assignment for Thanksgiving dinner (more on that later) and just getting back into the kitchen. After having to keep my kitchen clean all summer for the house to sell and moving I'm enjoying baking and creating in the kitchen again.

So my attempt yesterday? Graham Crackers.

Yep. My own Graham Crackers.

You see David eats these as if they were going out of style. He's pretty specific about what brand he likes (Honey Maid) and how he eats them (dunked in milk) So when I saw an episode of Alton Brown's Good Eats where he made his own a few years ago, it's always been on my bucket list of things to cook.

And they were wonderful! They even passed David's dunk test. They reminded me of a crunchy textured gingerbread. I think next time I'll replace half of the molasses with honey for more of a honey graham flavor.

But you should give them a try. Just roll them REALLY thin. I thought I was about at the 1/8 inch mark, but now they're cooked they're a little thicker than I prefer.

I will make them again and I'm thinking next time I'll make some homemade marshmallows to go with them to create the ultimate S'more!

If you want to try I've included the recipe. If you don't have a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients here's a handy calculator that should change it for you. Oh I buy my graham flour on Amazon.com. Some health food stores carry it, and there are recipes out there that tell you how much wheat bran and germ you can add to white four to make it...just google it.


Ingredients
8 3/8 ounces graham flour
1 7/8 ounces all-purpose flour
3 ounces dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 ounces unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes and chilled
2 1/4 ounces molasses
1 1/2 ounces whole milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Place both flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon into the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles cornmeal. Add the molasses, milk and vanilla extract and process until the dough forms a ball, approximately 1 minute. Press the ball into a 1/2-inch thick disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Unwrap the chilled dough and place it onto a large piece of parchment paper and top with a second sheet of parchment paper. Roll the dough out until it is 1/8-inch thick. Slide the rolled dough and parchment paper onto a half sheet pan. Remove the top sheet of parchment paper and cut the dough, using a rolling pizza cutter into 2-inch square pieces, by making vertical and then horizontal cuts all the way across the dough. Trim off any excess. Using a fork, poke holes all over the top of the dough. Leave the crackers on the pan and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 25 minutes or until the edges just start to darken. Remove from the oven, set the sheet pan with the crackers on a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Once completely cool, break into individual crackers and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Raspberry French Toast with Custard Sauce

Raspberry French Toast with Custard Sauce

4 oz Neufchatel Cheese (1/3 less fat cream cheese)

1/2 c sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp ground cinnamon

2 eggs plus 2 egg whites

5 cups fat free milk divided

1 French Baguette, ends trimmed cut into 20 slices

1 pkg (12 oz) frozen unsweetened raspberries (I didn't use them all)

1 pkg (4 serving size) vanilla flavored instant pudding

First: Beat cream cheese sugar vanilla and cinnamon with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs and egg whites one at a time mixing well after each addition. Gradually add 2 cups of milk, beating until well blended.

Second: Arrange the baguettes in a greased 9x13 baking dish (my baguette was really skinny and so all 20 pieces fit, if your is bigger you may not get quite as many pieces in it) Sprinkle the frozen raspberries on top. Pour cream cheese mix on the bread. Let stand for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350.

Third: Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile bring remaining 3 cups of milk just to a boil in a saucepan; gradually add the dry pudding, whisking well until blended. Remove from heat; let stand for 5 minutes.

To serve: Cut french toast into serving slices. Serve topped with the custard sauce and any extra raspberries you may have.

To make this ahead of time assemble everything as directed. Cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight. When ready to serve, bake uncovered at 350 for 40-45 minutes, prepare custard sauce and serve as directed.

Kathy's Breadsticks

I got this recipe from my mom's friend Kathy and it's so wonderful and easy! But I keep loosing it so I'm posting it here so I can stop calling my mom and asking for it!2 Tbsp Yeast
4 Tbsp Sugar
3 Cups warm water
Mix gently and then let it work for 10 min.

Add:
2 tsp Salt
7 Cups Flour
Mix for 10 Min.
Let it rise for 10 -15 min or until doubled in size.
Divide in 1/2 and roll out into a rectangle shape about1/2" thick.
Cut into strips with pizza cutter, fold strip in half and twist together.
Place on cookie sheet that is coated with melted butter.

Brush on top with melted butter. Sprinkle with garlic salt, parmesean cheese, sesame seeds, and salad supreme.
Let rise.
Bake at 400 for 15-20 min.

Baking Powder Breadsticks

In my family these were always known as Nonavee's Bread Sticks, I guess because my mom got the recipe from my aunt. They are still to this day my favorite breadstick, they're easy and tasty!

1/4 c butter melted in 8x8 pan
2 t sugar
2 t baking powder
1 1/4 c flour
1 t salt
2/3 c milk

Mix dry ingredients and add milk. knead. Roll into an 8 inch square. Cut dough in 1/2 strips. Dip in hot butter on both sides. Squish them in the pan if you need too. Cook at 450 for 15-20 minutes, until golden.