Tots are Goin’ Crackers!
Graham and cheese crackers, that is. No, not all in one! This last class was all about crackers, and I realize that graham crackers are really just cookies, but how many of you have actually made your own graham crackers? Uh huh. That's what I thought! These kids have one up on you now, so you better get your culinary act together. Now, you might think that graham flour is a really special flour. And, in a way, it is. But, there's no such thing as a graham plant. Graham is not a whole grain or special type of grass. In fact, it's simply a type of whole wheat flour that has been ground in such a way that it contains more bran than whole wheat flour. In the early part of the 19th century it was named for Rev. Sylvester Graham, who believed it to be more nutritious. Today some producers, like King Arthur, still make graham flour, and if you can't find it in your grocery store some natural foods stores carry it, but you can easily approximate your own by substituting 2 Tablespoons of wheat germ for 2 Tablespoons of whole wheat flour per cup of flour in your recipe (in other words each cup of flour in your recipe would be 7/8 whole wheat flour 1/8 wheat germ).
We used all purpose flour augmented with some wheat germ simply because it is easier for the littlest kids to handle (it's more durable!), and we added honey and sprinkled the tops with cinnamon and sugar. The kids especially loved poking holes in the dough.
Some of the "crackers" had more holes than dough, it seemed!
They were all different shapes and sizes, but they looked terrific and tasted good too!
Cheese crackers were second on the agenda, and the Tots got to cut them in a wide variety of shapes.
They emerged from the oven in all their cheesy goodness just as parents were arriving, and they were yummy!
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