Last year, my grandma ended up in the hospital in critical condition. She’s doing better now (thank goodness!), but because of the results of her lab tests and the doctors’ grave prognoses, we immediately flew to Arizona to see her as soon as we heard the news.
Always an extrovert, Grandma noticeably perked up when we walked into the room, and at least one of us stayed beside her, chatting with her when she woke up from her naps and speaking to the doctors and nurses that consistently popped in to check on her, from sunrise until well after the stars came out at night. Within just a few hours, most of us had the hospital floor plan memorized… Or at least the nearest restrooms!
Although we briefly went grocery shopping on our first night to grab a few things for breakfasts and lunches, we didn’t know how long we’d be in town, so we didn’t buy quite enough snacks to last our entire trip. As a result, we often stopped by the vending machines and snack station in the hospital when our stomachs started growling in between meals.
The intensive care staff must have grown used to families doing the same thing because they always kept their snack station shelves crammed full of food, along with gigantic dispensers of black coffee, decaf coffee, and hot water for tea. They even stocked a mini fridge with juice and sodas, and they encouraged us to take as much as we needed whenever we wanted.
By the second day, we knew all the snack station’s offerings: bags of black and green tea, packets of sweeteners, packages of saltines and mini graham crackers, single-serving tubs of peanut butter and jam, Cup O’Noodles, cups of chocolate pudding… And plastic forks, spoons, and knives for enjoying them.
Because of the chilly winter weather, most of us brewed multiple small styrofoam cups of tea to slowly sip as we sat next to Grandma’s hospital bed. Then with our sweet and salty preferences, we usually reached for the peanut butter, saltines, and graham crackers when we needed a snack.
Most of us loved the smaller size of the graham crackers in those packets compared to the standard large sheets that you’d find at the grocery store… But we all agreed that those particular off-brand honey graham crackers tasted fairly bland. At least a schmear of peanut butter helped!
Since my parents recently visited my grandparents and shared updates on how they were doing, those hospital memories floated through my mind after our phone call… And I started wondering if I could bake my own graham crackers at home — ones that tasted lots better than those off-brand ones we ate last year.
The result? These amazing Healthy Homemade Mini Cinnamon Graham Crackers! They’re bursting with rich and cozy spice flavor, and they have the perfect amount of sweetness to balance it out. They don’t taste one bit bland — SO much better than those other ones!
These healthy homemade cinnamon graham crackers are also really simple to make! You just need 1 bowl and 4 ingredients (plus salt and water!)… But no eggs, butter, dairy, refined flour or sugar. And each serving is 100 calories!
WHAT ARE GRAHAM CRACKERS?
What are graham crackers? I’m so glad you asked! For those of you who don’t live in the US or haven’t grown up eating s’mores…
Graham crackers are thin, usually rectangular snack crackers made from graham flour. They often come in flavors like honey, cinnamon, and chocolate (I actually have a healthy homemade mini chocolate graham crackers recipe here!), and they typically have a sweetness level somewhere between plain crackers and cookies.
Throughout my childhood, we ate plenty of graham crackers for snacks… And we always used them to make s’mores when we went camping during the summers! Graham crackers are also commonly used to make crusts for cheesecakes — just grind them up into crumbs, add some melted butter to hold them together, and press that into the pan. (Much faster and easier than a traditional pie crust!)
WHAT’S GRAHAM FLOUR?
But what’s graham flour, might you ask? Well…
Graham flour is named after Sylvester Graham! He devised a special method for grinding wheat into flour. His method included keeping the wheat kernel’s outer bran layer, germ, and endosperm during the grinding process… Whereas all-purpose flour only includes the endosperm.
In other words… Graham flour is just a special type of whole wheat flour! It’s usually a bit coarser than most commercial whole wheat flours due to minor differences in their grinding and milling processes. However, just like whole wheat flour, graham flour includes lot of micronutrients (like extra fiber!) from the wheat kernel’s outer bran and germ, so graham flour and whole wheat flour have very similar health benefits!
HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY HOMEMADE MINI CINNAMON GRAHAM CRACKERS
Let’s go over how to make these healthy homemade mini cinnamon graham crackers! To make this recipe as easy as possible, you just need one bowl. (I’ve been totally obsessed with one-bowl recipes lately… I love having fewer dishes to wash!)
Because I’ve almost never seen graham flour in my local grocery stores, you’ll actually use white whole wheat flour to make these healthy homemade mini cinnamon graham crackers! Remember, as we covered above, graham flour is just a special type of whole wheat flour… And white whole wheat flour has almost the exact same flavor, just a finer texture, which I think makes these homemade graham crackers taste much closer to the store-bought ones!
And no… White whole wheat flour is not a combination of white (aka all-purpose) flour and regular whole wheat flour! Instead, it’s made by finely grinding a special type of soft white wheat (hence the name!), whereas regular whole wheat flour comes from a heartier variety of red wheat. They have the same health benefits (like extra fiber!), but white whole wheat flour has a lighter taste and texture… And that lets the sweet cinnamon flavor of your healthy homemade cinnamon graham crackers really shine!
Speaking of cinnamon… The type of cinnamon you use makes a BIG difference in the flavor! I buy my cinnamon online here (← it’s super affordable!), and it’s the only kind I now use in my baking. I’m obsessed! My favorite cinnamon variety has a stronger, richer, sweeter flavor than the “regular” cinnamon that you find at most grocery stores. This gives your healthy homemade cinnamon graham crackers an even better flavor!
Tip: If you’re not using the same cinnamon variety as I do, then you can slightly increase the amount of cinnamon to get a stronger flavor!
After whisking in a pinch of salt, make a well in the center of your bowl. Then pour in pure maple syrup, water, and a teensy bit of oil. Just about any type of oil will work! You only need 1 teaspoon, and that really helps keep your healthy homemade mini cinnamon graham crackers low calorie and low fat!
Unlike most store-bought graham crackers that depend on refined granulated sugar for sweetness (in addition to a small amount of honey!), you’ll skip that and just use maple syrup instead. You want the kind that comes directly from maple trees — not pancake or sugar-free syrup! It usually comes in thin glass bottles or squat plastic jugs (like this!).
Hint: By using maple syrup instead of honey, your healthy homemade mini cinnamon graham crackers are vegan!
Once you’ve mixed everything together, it’s time to roll out the dough! I use a silicone baking mat and a silicone rolling pin (← that’s the one I own, just in black!) to do this. Their nonstick silicone surfaces mean I don’t have to flour the rolling pin or my countertop!
You want to roll the dough to be very thin. Thick dough = chewy crackers… But thin dough = crunchy crackers!
It should take some time, effort, and maybe even some muscle to do this since the dough tends to be stiff, but I promise these healthy homemade cinnamon graham crackers are worth it!
After cutting the dough into squares, prick each square with a fork. This helps air escape while your healthy homemade cinnamon graham crackers bake, so the centers don’t puff up like pita bread!
But before you slide your baking sheet into the oven, separate each of the squares so none of the crackers are touching. This ensures they bake evenly, so all of your healthy homemade cinnamon graham crackers turn out perfectly crunchy!
Then after a quick trip to the oven, let them cool completely to room temperature on the baking sheet for maximum crunchiness, and…
Enjoy your deliciously crunchy snack crackers! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ????) I’d love to see your healthy homemade mini cinnamon graham crackers!
| Healthy Homemade Mini Cinnamon Graham Crackers | Print |
- 1 cup (120g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon (see Notes!)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 3 tbsp (45mL) pure maple syrup, room temperature
- 1 tbsp + 2 ½ tsp (28mL) water, room temperature
- 1 tsp coconut oil, melted
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, and salt. Make a well in the center. Pour in the maple syrup, water, and coconut oil (in that order!). Stir until all of the ingredients are fully incorporated. (It will take some extra effort at the end!)
- Transfer the dough to a silicone baking mat (see Notes!), and roll it to be 1/16” thick with a silicone rolling pin. Slice the dough into 1” squares using a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Prick the center of each square with a fork. Carefully separate the squares and arrange them so they aren’t touching each other (to ensure even baking).
- Bake the crackers at 350°F for 13-15 minutes or until crunchy. Cool completely to room temperature on the baking sheet before transferring to an airtight container.
Whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour. In a pinch, regular whole wheat flour may also be substituted, but the graham crackers may have a more distinct “wheat-y” flavor. (See my blog post above for more information on why I don’t call for graham flour for these homemade graham crackers!)
It’s very important to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale (← that’s the one I own!). Too much will dry out the dough. If the dough won’t come together after a few minutes of stirring and working in the ingredients, add additional water ½ teaspoon at a time until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated.
The type of cinnamon you use makes a BIG difference in the flavor! I buy my favorite cinnamon online here, and it’s the only kind I now use in my baking. I’m obsessed! It has a stronger, richer, sweeter flavor than the “regular” cinnamon that you find at most grocery stores. This gives your healthy homemade cinnamon graham crackers an even better flavor! If you’re not using the same cinnamon variety as I do, then increase the cinnamon by an additional ¼ teaspoon.
Honey or agave may be substituted for the pure maple syrup. For a sweeter flavor, substitute additional pure maple syrup (or honey or agave) for an equal amount of water.
Melted butter or any oil may be substituted for the coconut oil.
I highly recommend using a silicone baking mat and a silicone rolling pin. (← Those are the inexpensive ones that I own {just the rolling pin in black}, and they’re worth every penny!) The silicone material prevents the dough from sticking to both your work surface and your rolling pin, and it makes the whole process go so much faster!
If you don’t have a silicone baking mat and silicone rolling pin, then lightly flour your work surface and rolling pin before rolling out the dough in Step 3. Use parchment paper in place of the silicone baking mat. (If you slice through the parchment paper during Step 3, then use a fresh sheet to bake them on in Step 4!)
{gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, egg-free, clean eating, low fat}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Homemade Mini Chocolate Graham Crackers
♡ Healthy Homemade Chocolate Teddy Grahams
♡ Healthy Homemade Wheat Thins
♡ Healthy Quinoa Crackers
♡ Healthy Everything Bagel Quinoa Crackers
♡ Healthy Cinnamon Snickerdoodle Energy Bites
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy snack recipes!
Can’t wait to try these! They sound delicious!
Thank you so much Letha! I’m really excited to hear what you think of these homemade graham crackers! 🙂
Amy, this sounds like another *Recipe. About to try these and I will let you know how it goes.
Help its so dry. what can I do
My first batch was a little dry, I just added more water at a time.
Hello, I have made two batches of these and the consistency is like cardboard. The only way I can explain is if the graham crackers bought at the store went stale…Do you know what I can do to fix this? Do I need to bake longer than recommended?
Thanks!
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Brianna! That sounds really frustrating and not like how these graham crackers should turn out at all, so I’d love to help figure out what happened and how to fix it. 🙂 Did you make any modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section? How did you measure the flour, with a kitchen scale or measuring cups? If the latter, can you describe in detail how you used them to measure? How thinly did you roll the dough? Was it no more than 1/16″ thick? And finally, how long did you bake them?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but once I know your answers to all of them, I’ll have a much better idea of the culprit and how to solve those issues! 🙂
Hi, thanks for getting back to me. I followed exactly your recipe. No substitutions. I measured with a measuring cup and leveling off with a knife. I baked them for 17 mins and let cool on the cooking sheet. The thickness was prob around 1/4 thick. I am now on my third batch and saw somewhere else online to bake at 300 degrees for 10 mins and rotate at five minutes. Then bake for additional 18 mins and then turn off oven and open door to let most heat out. Then keep the graham crackers in over for additional 20 mins. Perfect crispness this time! I do wish these had more flavor. I agree with Mary on this one.
It’s my pleasure Brianna! I’m always happy to help! 🙂 The thickness would’ve contributed to the texture being off in your first two batches. As I mentioned in my blog post above the recipe, thicker dough leads to an undesirable graham cracker consistency and texture (I know it can be easy to miss that bit! 😉 ), which is why it’s so important to roll out the dough to the thickness measurement included in the Instructions.
Did you happen to use the measuring cup to scoop the flour directly from the container, by any chance? Also, did you use the same cinnamon that I did, or did you use regular cinnamon and increase the amount as directed in the Notes? Finally, how was the sweetness level?
I added more water a little at a time. I had to work it with my hands to get some to roll out. They were hard and had no taste. It was a fail for me. I hate wasting my ingredients but I’ll try again soon.
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Mary! That sounds really frustrating and not like how these graham crackers should turn out at all, so I’d love to help figure out what happened and how to fix it. 🙂 Did you make any modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section? How did you measure the flour, with a kitchen scale or measuring cups? If the latter, can you describe in detail how you used them to measure? How thinly did you roll the dough? Was it no more than 1/16″ thick? How long did you bake them? When you say that they were hard, do you mean crunchy — or past the point of crunchy and borderline tooth-breaking? Finally, what brand and type of cinnamon did you use?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but once I know your answers to all of them, I’ll have a much better idea of the culprit and how to solve those issues so you don’t waste any ingredients again! 🙂
Thanks for getting back to me Amy. I followed the instructions. Measured flour by leveling with a knife. It was soo dry it was like stirring crumbs. I added additional water until I was able to gather some to roll out. They were unable to bite into, tooth breaking for sure. I used Simply Organic Cinnamon. I always have success with even new recipes. Maybe not perfect each time but definitely edible. I can’t figure thisone out. Appreciate your guidance!
It’s my pleasure Mary! I’m always happy to help! 🙂 When you used measuring cups for the flour, did you dip them directly into the container of flour, by any chance before leveling with a knife?
I seem to be missing your answers to these questions that I previously asked. Knowing your answers will be SO helpful in determining what you should do differently next time! 😉 Would you mind sharing how thinly you rolled the dough? Was it no more than 1/16″ thick? How long did you bake your graham crackers?
If you’re using Simply Organic Cinnamon, rather than the cinnamon that I used, then I do recommend following the note in the Notes section to increase the cinnamon for better flavor! 🙂
I did as directed. I dipped the measuring cup into flour and leveled with a knife. I rolled them out as directed. I tasted one at the correct time and it was not done. I left a little longer and perhaps that was a problem , but the taste was just not there.
Thanks for sharing Mary! We’ve found the culprit — that method of measuring the flour is actually what caused the issue! When measured like that, you can end up with 1.5 times as much flour as when you lightly spoon and level, and that extra flour is definitely causing the dryness issues that you experienced! If you don’t own a kitchen scale, here’s what I recommend doing for measuring flour (and cocoa powder, oats, etc!): use a fork to “scoop” up flour from the container, and lightly shake the fork back and forth over the top of your measuring cup to transfer the flour into it. Once there’s a small mound of flour extending past the rim of the measuring cup, then place the flat back of a knife against the top of the measuring cup, and gently scrape it across the top to get rid of the excess flour. Never “pat” the flour down with the knife or fork. This fork method acts like a sifter (without dirtying another dish!) and guarantees you’ll add less flour to the batter, so you’ll end up with dough that’s the right consistency and graham crackers that are nice and crunchy (and finish baking in the correct amount of time!). Does that make sense? 🙂
Absolutely it does. I am definitely going to try your method soon. Will let you know how I do. Thanks Amy for taking the time to help me out on this.
It’s my pleasure Mary! I’m always happy to help, so please feel free to let me know if you have questions about anything else! 🙂 I’m excited to hear how your next batch of graham crackers turns out too!
Ok! I had the chance to try again today using your method for measuring flour. I also added more cinnamon for taste. It was better but I also had to add quite a bit more water, oil, and maple syrup. Still some dry flour mixture left in bowl. Some are crispy and some slightly chewy. Flavor is better but not great. They certainly do not look as pretty as yours. These I can at least eat. I love graham crackers so I may try again and just use less flour. Maybe you can come over and we can bake together! LOL
Thank you SO much for reporting back, Mary! It’d be really fun to bake with you! 🙂 That’s still incredibly strange that you had to add so much more water, oil, and maple syrup… Were all of your graham crackers the same thickness? Or were some thinner than others? How much space did you leave between them on the baking sheet before sliding the tray in the oven?
Hi Amy
I had difficulty rolling the dough out, so they were mostly the same size. I spread them out on two biscuit pans. I do believe that the extra maple syrup and cinnamon did help the taste. I want to find your video and watch a little closer. Thanks Amy
I see! If some were crunchy and some were chewy, my first guess would be that the thicker ones were chewy and the thinner ones were crunchy. That or the two trays were baked separately and/or for different amounts of time. Again, just my first and second guesses! 😉 You can find my video for the chocolate version of these here!