High Altitude Homemade Graham Crackers

These high altitude, homemade whole wheat graham crackers are crisp, buttery and so much more flavorful than store bought graham crackers. They’re lightly sweetened, but not too sweet, so they’re perfect for s’mores, making graham cracker crusts for pies, or just enjoying for a snack.

You might also like these s’mores chocolate chip cookie bars, no churn s’mores ice cream, and chocolate cream pie with graham cracker crust.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Better Than Store Bought. After taking my pans of homemade graham crackers out of the oven, all I could think was how good they smelled. I opened a box of store bought graham crackers from my pantry and took a whiff. They couldn’t even compare to the aroma of the homemade crackers. You’ll love that these are as crisp as you’d want a graham cracker to be, with a hint of cinnamon, and the most lovely flavor from the whole wheat flour and golden syrup.

Long Shelf Life. Your crackers will last for several weeks at room temperature, or you keep them for longer in the freezer, up to 3-6 months.

Easy to Make. If you can roll out cookie dough or pie dough, then you can make homemade graham crackers!

Not Too Sweet. These aren’t as sweet as a cookie, because they aren’t supposed to be. They’re lightly sweetened, but not too sweet. So you can smash a toasted marshmallow and some milk chocolate between them for smores, crush them to make a pie crust, or put them in your kids’ lunch boxes for a tasty, homemade snack. One of my favorite ways to eat graham crackers when I was a kid was to sandwich two crackers with frosting in between them and then dip the edges in sprinkles, which makes such a fun and easy treat.

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.

Tools and Equipment

• Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment. To make the dough, you’ll need a stand mixer, not a hand mixer. It’s also possible you could make the dough in a food processor, which is how I make sugar cookie dough, but I haven’t tried it with today’s recipe.
• Baking Sheets. You’ll need two 11×17 inch baking sheets (half sheet pans).
• Parchment Paper. You absolutely have to roll out the dough on parchment paper. This allows you to roll the dough very thinly, and lift the sheet of dough onto the baking sheet, without breaking the dough apart.
• Rolling Pin. For rolling out the dough.
• Ruler. Useful for scoring and cutting the crackers evenly, so they’re all the same size.
• Pizza Cutter or Rolling Pastry Wheel Cutter. For cutting the baked crackers.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

• Sugar. A combination of granulated sugar and light brown sugar adds sweetness and moisture. You’ll also need golden syrup, honey or light molasses, which gives the crackers a classic “graham cracker flavor”. I used golden syrup.
• Salt. Balance the sweetness and enhances the flavors.
• Spices. Ground cinnamon and vanilla extract add flavor.
• Butter. Gives the crackers a buttery flavor and crisp texture. Use unsalted butter, or omit the extra salt in the recipe.
• Whole Wheat Flour. The heartiness of the whole wheat flour gives these crackers a more rustic texture and wholesome flavor than if you used all purpose flour.
• Baking Soda. Leavening agent.
• Milk. A little bit of milk helps to moisten the dough, which can be a bit more crumbly due to the whole wheat flour.

Instructions

Make the Dough.

• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, measure the granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, vanilla, golden syrup and butter. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes, scraping the bowl down several times.

• Separately, combine the whole wheat flour with the baking soda. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture, mixing until combined but crumbly.
• Increase the speed to medium and beat until the dough comes together, adding the milk as needed to moisten the dough and bring it together.

• Gather the dough into a ball, and divide into two equal portions (I suggest weighing the dough, then weighing each half to divide it equally). Shape each portion of dough into 5×6 inch disks.

Roll and Score the Dough.

• Tear two pieces of parchment paper that come all the way to the edges of your 11×17 inch baking sheets. Now use a marker and a ruler to draw rectangles on the parchment paper measuring 10×15 inches. The rectangles will be your guide in rolling out the dough to the correct dimensions and thickness.
• Flip the paper over so that the ink is underneath and doesn’t touch the dough. You’ll be able to see the ink through the paper.

• Place one of the sheets of parchment paper on your counter. Dust some flour over the parchment paper, then flour both sides of one of the disks of dough. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough onto the paper, just past the marked lines. The dough should be about 1/8 inch thick. Lift the sheet of paper with the dough, and set it on the baking sheet.
• Repeat with the other disk of dough. You should now have two baking sheets, with sheets of parchment paper, topped with thinly rolled dough. Use a pastry brush to brush away any excess flour.

Note: Dough made with whole wheat flour is a little more dry and crumbly than dough made with all-purpose flour. If your dough cracks as you’re rolling it out, just press it together again with your fingers and continue on. It will all work out in the end.

• Score each sheet of dough into 24 equal squares, each measuring 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches, for a total of 48 crackers. I used the edge of a ruler to score my dough, pressing it firmly into the dough, but not quite cutting all the way through.
• Lastly, prick the dough with a bunch of holes for decoration. You can use a toothpick, a wooden skewer, or a cake tester.
• Set the pans in the refrigerator to chill the dough for 30 minutes before baking.

Bake the Crackers.

• Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
• Bake the crackers for about 18-20 minutes, until golden brown and crisp, rotating the pans halfway through.
• Remove from the oven and use a pizza cutter or rolling pastry wheel cutter to immediately cut the crackers on the scored lines. Let cool completely on the baking sheets.

• Gather up the edges that are outside the marked lines, and grind them in a food processor or Ninja. You might get about 3/4 cup of crumbs. Save the graham cracker crumbs for a pie crust or other project.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use any other types of sweeteners in this recipe?

You shouldn’t alter the ratio of granulated/brown sugar to syrup, and too much sugar can end up making your crackers soft and chewy, rather than crisp. The golden syrup is pretty much interchangeable with honey and light molasses (not dark or blackstrap molasses). I’m not sure if you can use other sweeteners like maple syrup, agave or date syrup.

How can I make cinnamon sugar graham crackers?

After rolling out the dough (and before scoring it), sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the dough and lightly press it in. Proceed with the rest of the recipe.

How should I store the crackers?

Store the cooled graham crackers and crumbs in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3-6 months.

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