Sunday, August 22, 2010

Graham Cracker Revision and Chocolate Sauce!

Here's a peek at an extra special treat!


That's Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Vanilla Bean ice cream topped with corn and dairy free chocolate syrup and the latest variant of graham crackers!

I used a recipe I found on Tasty Kitchen for the Chocolate Syrup but just cut the ratio down for a small batch.

Chocolate Syrup
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 water
1 tsp safe vanilla extract

Mix cocoa and sugar and whisk into water. Bring to boil then turn heat down to a simmer, stirring often. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring often.

Serve while warm! The sauce thickens when cool and the kids had a lot of fun peeling the spiderweb-ish chocolate off and taking bites. It doesn't harden completely though, it stays a bit chewy.

I tried microwaving the leftover sauce with poor results. Next time I'll just reheat on the stovetop in a pan, which I expect would work much better!

Graham Crackers - Revised

While the original version I posted was a hit, I've played around with it a bit more since I've been making these about twice a week. The coconut oil created a softer texture which is fine but they crumble easier and I was tired of crumbs everywhere. Corn seems to be creating more of an issue for my little guy so my solution was to switch entirely to shortening. The addition of molasses gives these an extra boost in flavor and the darker color you'd expect from a graham cracker! I also decided to post my modified recipe instructions here instead of just referring you over to the inspiration recipe because those aren't showing up for me reliably, and I wouldn't want to that prevent you from trying these!

Dry Ingredients

1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1/2 cup arrowroot powder
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon safe baking powder (see sidebar)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients

5 Tablespoons safe shortening
6 Tablespoons rice or coconut milk (or a mixture, I use 3 Tbsp of each)
2 Tablespoons Lyle's Golden Syrup
1 Tablespoon molasses

Additional white granulated sugar for sprinkling on just before baking.

Prepare a jelly roll pan (12"x16") by lining with parchment paper.

1. Stir together dry ingredients in a mixing bowl or food processor.

2. Add the shortening. Pulse or mix (or stir by hand) just until course crumbs form.

3. Add milk(s), golden syrup and molasses. Mix just until combined.

4. Turn out dough onto parchment paper. Sprinkle with brown rice flour and roll out the dough from pan edge to pan edge. Dough will be about 1/8" thick.

5. Using a pizza cutter, cut into whatever size rectangles you'd like. Use a fork to create the holes all over dough.

6. Sprinkle with sugar if desired. Cinnamon sugar would be fun too!

7. Place pan in refrigerator for 10 minutes while preheating oven to 350F.

8. Bake for 17-20 minutes. If crackers seem to have re-merged, score again with pizza cutter. Allow to cool in pan and store overnight lightly covered.



My little guy sure loved his special sundae!