Sometimes my kids really, really miss their old staples. And while I have been known to say “I know you want a graham cracker, but how about a carrot instead?!”, it is somehow much more satisfying to say “Yes, for a special treat, you may have a graham cracker!”. I have a suspicion that there are other families out there that would find life much easier if they had a paleo version of this kid favorite. So, here it is! The recipe may look a bit daunting, but I assure you that if you follow the steps (freezing the cut-out dough being key), they are actually quite easy to make. Yields about 3 dozen.
Ingredients:
- ½ cup palm shortening (I prefer Tropical Traditions or Spectrum
brands) - 1/3 cup Honey
- 1 ½ tsp Cinnamon
- 3 Tbsp Coconut Flour
- ¼ cup Tapioca Starch
- 2 cups Blanched Almond Flour
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Cream of Tartar
- ¾ tsp Baking Soda
brands)
1. Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl or measuring cup. Give them a bit of a stir to combine.
2. Stir the palm shortening and honey together in a bowl with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the palm shortening and honey mix. Work in until fully incorporated and a stiff ball of dough holds together (it might be helpful to get your hands in there).
4. Start with about half the dough and roll out between two sheets of parchment paper. Aim for slightly less than 1/8” thick. Peel off the top sheet of parchment paper (save it to reuse because you’ll probably roll out the dough in 3-4 parts).
5. Use a straight blade Pastry Wheel
or Pastry Scraper
to cut the dough into 2”x2” squares. Remove the edge pieces that don’t form squares (add them to the dough left to roll out).
6. Do not try and peel the dough off the parchment paper. Instead, grab the entire sheet of parchment paper and place on a cookie sheet (or other flat surface). Put it in the freezer for 1 hour (or until you have some free time to bake it). You can stack the 3-4 sheets of parchment paper with scored dough squares on them in the freezer.
7. When you’re ready to bake the graham crackers, preheat the oven to 300F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
8. Pull the dough squares out of the freezer one sheet at a time. Peel the frozen squares off the parchment (they should come off easily) and place on your prepared baking sheet, spaced about ½” apart.
9. Let the squares sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes (they thaw quickly!). Then, prick all over the surface of each cracker with the tines of a fork. Aim to prick about half way through the dough.
10. Bake for 13-14 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool a few minutes on the baking sheet and then remove to a wire cooling rack.
11. Enjoy!
Do you need help finding any ingredients? Check out Important Pantry Items for the Paleo Baker.
Tina B. says
Thanks for this recipe! Can I sub arrowroot starch for the tapioca starch?
ThePaleoMom says
You could try it. It would change the texture a bit. I use tapioca starch to help hold the cracker together (since it’s a very elastic starch). I would guess that you’d end up with a flakier crumblier cracker if you used arrowroot. If you try it, leave a comment and let everyone know how it works.
Anonymous says
How about a substitute for the almond flour ? I’m allergic to almonds. Thanks !
Peace
ThePaleoMom says
You could try a seed flower like sunflower seed flour. I think a mix of finely ground sunflower seeds and shelled pumpkin seeds would probably work really well in terms of flavor.
Essdeen says
Some schools are both nut and seed free, what do you recommend? Thanks 🙂
Camille says
Tigernut flour!! It’s extremely versatile and isn’t really a nut, but a tuber! It’s completely AIP and no known allergies. I subbed with it and they came out great 🙂
Natalie says
I’m very allergic to tigernuts, unfortunately! My lips break out in sores and my throat swells immediately. Very scary!
YOXOMO says
Can I substitute the 1/2 cup of shortening with oil or butter (how much?) preparing for a s’mores treat!
ThePaleoMom says
I usually find shortening and butter are fairly interchangeable in recipes (not always true with oils). I would substitute butter in equal amounts. Let me know how it works!
Shannon says
I LOVE your blog. Thanks for making paleo easier to understand. I haven’t made these crackers yet because I’ve tried many iterations of grain-free graham crackers and they are never crunchy. Are your version crispy/crunchy? If not, any suggestions on how to get them that way? Thanks!
ThePaleoMom says
They aren’t as crunchy as the real thing, but they are crunchy (they get softer after sitting out for a few days, so you might want to cook them in small batches). If they come out of the oven on the chewy side, put them back in for a couple of minutes. And it’s important to finish the cooling on the wire rack (they are crisper when cool).
Team Stolley says
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! They had a nice crunch and they will be perfect for making smores on our camping trip this weekend! By the way I used pastured butter instead of the palm shortening and they tasted great!
Shannon says
Sarah – I just finished making this recipe and I am SO impressed! I am “texture” eater and these are fantastic: crispy and slightly sweet, just like their glutinous counterparts. Many thanks
Bernadette says
My son was just asking for graham crackers this morning after a child at school had them for snack. I’m going to try these. I saw where you said you could substitute butter for palm shortening. Could you also substitute coconut oil for the palm shortening? Thanks for posting this recipe. Can’t wait to try it and see what my son thinks.
ThePaleoMom says
I haven’t tried, so I’m not sure what coconut oil would do to the texture.
Meg says
i was just wondering if you could help me help someone on GAPS to adapt this recipe? she needs substitutions for cream of tartar and for tapioca starch. do you have any ideas? i’m going to play around with some ingredients but i have little clue to the science behind baking. i just use trial and error. thank you! i made the recipe just as you’ve listed it here and love it!!
ThePaleoMom says
try arrowroot powder in place of tapioca. I would increase the baking soda slightly and omit the cream of tartar. Good luck!
Meg says
thanks. i’ll let you know how it goes when i get to it. i think i’ve taken on too many projects lately!
Katie says
Has anyone found a good way to store them to best retain crispness? Thank you.
Charissa says
I have made this recipe cutting into bite size pieces for cereal! Works like a charm, and retains it’s shape/crunch in coconut milk! Thanks paleo mom! oh yeah, and coconut oil causes them to spread a bit.
ThePaleoMom says
What an awesome idea!
Heather R. says
These graham crackers are delicious. It is a bit of a pain to roll them out but well worth it. Thanks!
Kimberly says
I found it very easy, what was the problem you were having?
Jennifer @ The Unrefined Kitchen says
Yum! Going to pin this one! I hope your book is coming along great–congrats!
Nikki says
You can sub coconut oil for shortening, just place it in the icebox for just a bit, long enough to get solid and pull it out. If you leave it too long it will be rock hard. Scoop it out and it acts just like shortening. 🙂
Kristen says
Pinning this! 🙂 Can’t wait to try it. Any ideas for marshmallow replacement in the s’mores?
ThePaleoMom says
http://pinterest.com/pin/120752833731546931/
katie says
Would these freeze ok? So we could pull out for occasional campfire smores?
ThePaleoMom says
I haven’t tried, but I think so.
Connie Q says
I have a bunch of almond meal from making my own almond milk, so I’m going to try this recipe using that in place of the blanched almond flour. *fingers crossed* 🙂
primalonadime says
I am definitely giving these a try this weekend. What can I sub for the coconut flour? Maybe a little more almond flour? I recently had a food intolerance test and I am mildly intolerant to coconut so I am trying to avoid it completely for a month. Thanks!
ThePaleoMom says
General substitution for coconut flour is 1 part coconut flour = 4 parts other flours. Give it a try and let me know how it works!
Edna says
Thanks for sharing ,but I would like for my Graham Crackers to be perfect.Can I use Vegan Shortening?
ThePaleoMom says
I haven’t tried.
Yvonne says
I haven’t tried these yet, but I keep my plantain crackers crisp by storing them in a pint- or quart-sized mason jar sealed with the canister attachment of my food saver. You could do the same with these if you made them small enough to fit.
Shaunne Solem says
Not AIP friendly due to almond flour; is that correct?
Melanie says
Why do you remove from the parchment paper before baking? I bake on parchment all the time & find it a lifesaver. Is there a reason specific to this recipe?
ThePaleoMom says
Just to space them out while they bake. You can bake on parchment if you want.
Jasmine says
What can I use instead of cream of tartar? I don’t think I will react well to that ingredient as I have an additive sensitivity. Thanks.
ThePaleoMom says
You could try leaving it out, but I don’t know how that would affect the texture.
Tracee says
The taste of these (especially the dough!) is fantastic. I don’t know where I went wrong, but mine are so flaky, they fall apart; kind of like pie crust. Any suggestions?
Christina Feindel says
Did you make any substitutions? The tapioca starch is what keeps the cracker together, but altitude differences may also have played a part. — Christina, Sarah’s assistant
Jenny says
Have you tried using cardamom in them? It’s the spice that usually gives graham crackers their distinctive taste. I am still brand-new paleo but this wouldn’t be a bad thing would it?
Christina Feindel says
No, cardamom would be fine. – Christina, Sarah’s assistant
Courtney says
Unreal! These are so delicious and crisp just like a graham cracker! I made these for my daughter to take to a campout this weekend. The only substitution I made was I omitted about a tablespoon of honey and replaced it with molasses. Now off to make homemade marshmallows!
Kelsey Ireland says
You think a similar recipe with plantains is possible?? :
Christina Feindel says
You could use plantain flour I think. – Christina, Sarah’s assistant
Jennifer says
Wondering if these would work to crush up for a graham cracker crust for a key lime pie?
Christina Feindel says
Sure! – Christina, Sarah’s assistant
Libbie says
Just made these, and about 10 minutes after coming out of the oven, they turned into magical, crispy, melt in the mouth, not too sweet graham crackers! Thanks! Been trying to be more paleo, and these certainly help with that endeavor!
Sarah says
Would it be possible to use tigernut flour instead of almond flour to make these AIP-compatible?
Tricia says
Someone said she used it in an earlier comment, so yes!
Sandy says
Do you know how many carbs are in these cookies?
Kiersten Peterson says
Sorry, but we don’t do nutrition facts for blog recipes. -Kiersten
Sasha says
It looks like several people have asked about substituting a flour for the coconut flour. My kids are allergic to coconut. I wonder if anyone has reported back on what / how much they substituted and how they turned out. I don’t have tigernut flour but I do have quinoa, cassava and almond flour. Any advice is much appreciated!
Kiersten Peterson says
Coconut flour can’t simply be substituted for another flour one to one. I’d recommend you find a different recipe that already uses a flour other than coconut. -Kiersten