Serious Eats: Recipes
Gluten-Free Tuesday: Chocolate Graham Crackers
One of my favorite chocolate cookies isn't really a cookie at all. It's a cracker: the chocolate graham cracker. Yup, those crisp, not-too sweet treats from childhood, are my favorite chocolate "cookie." (And, this time of the year, they make an excellent s'more.)
In Gluten-Free Tuesday, we've made crackers a few times. Whether sweet or savory, there are a few things to keep in mind to ensure success:
- Use cold fat. Like pie crust or biscuits, crackers are best when made with cold fat. The tiny pieces of cold fat release steam during baking helping to leaven the crackers.
- Roll the dough into a thin sheet. Thin dough = crisp crackers. Thick dough yields a more shortbread-type cookie than a crisp graham cracker.
- Dock and score the dough before baking. After rolling the dough into a large, thin sheet, score it with a pizza wheel and dock (prick) it all over with a fork before baking. Once the crackers are baked, it's easy to snap them apart along the score-lines. Sometimes they even pull apart during baking.
Allergy-free Modifications: This recipe is naturally free of most common allergens. It does, however, contain dairy. To make the crackers dairy-free, replace the butter with shortening and the milk with a dairy-free alternative.
