Free Crackers & Dips by Ivy Manning Page B

the trick.

SKINNY MINT CHOCOLATE GRAHAMS
    My husband is an absolute nut for chocolate-mint anything, so I came up with these to satisfy his Girl Scout cookie craving. I use a mixture of whole-wheat flour, unbleached all-purpose flour, and good-quality cocoa powder to give these crackers a sandy, crumbly texture and a deep, rich chocolaty flavor that’s head and shoulders above any packaged chocolate-mint cookie.
    The chocolate and mint combo and their long shelf life make these graham crackers a great gift for holiday giving; I like to sprinkle the tops of the crackers with crushed candy cane while the glaze is still wet, for an extra festive flourish.
    MAKES 60 CRACKERS
    14 tbsp/200 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
    ½ cup/100 g sugar
    2 tbsp honey
    1½ tsp peppermint extract
    1½ cups/185 g unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
    1 cup/130 g whole-wheat flour
    ⅓ cup/30 g unsweetened cocoa powder
    1 tsp baking soda
    ½ tsp fine sea salt
    1 cup/170 g bittersweet chocolate chips
    1 tsp canola oil
    Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/gas 4. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer or in a large bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the butter, sugar, honey, and peppermint extract together until fluffy, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
    Sift both flours, the cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until the mixture forms moist crumbs; do not overmix. Gather up the dough with your hands (it will come together when squeezed), and divide the dough into twoequal-size pieces. Form each piece of dough into a rectangle measuring 4 by 6 in/10 by 15 cm, cover in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.
    Place a piece of parchment paper on a work surface and lightly dust it with all-purpose flour. Place a portion of dough on the paper, dust it with flour, and place a piece of plastic wrap over the dough. Roll the dough out until it is ⅛ in/4 mm thick, picking up the plastic once or twice to make sure there are no creases in the dough.
    Cut the dough into the desired shapes using cookie cutters, and use a lightly floured spatula or bench scraper to transfer the crackers to one of the prepared baking sheets; reserve and chill the scraps. Prick each cracker a few times with a fork or comb and bake until they are crisp and smell chocolaty, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the sheet once from front to back while baking. Transfer the crackers to a cooling rack. While the first batch of crackers is baking, repeat the rolling and cutting process with another ball of dough; the chilled scraps can be re-rolled once.
    In a small microwave-safe bowl or a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips until smooth. Remove from the heat and whisk in the canola oil. Using an offset spatula, spread about ½ tsp of the melted chocolate mixture over each cracker and place them on a baking sheet. Refrigerate the graham crackers until the glaze is set, about 30 minutes. Once the glaze has set, store the crackers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
    CRACKER TIP: When baking crackers in batches, be sure to let the hot baking sheets cool for a few minutes before placing more raw crackers on them; if the raw dough is placed on hot baking sheets, it will spread and melt before the crackers are fully baked.

ROSEMARY GRAHAM CRACKERS
    WITH S’MORES ACCOUTREMENTS
    This recipe is adapted from a clever dessert served at Laurelhurst Market in Portland, Oregon, called The Night at Lost Lake. Chef de cuisine Shannon Preble serves these rosemary-flecked graham crackers with a brûléed marshmallow, a square of not-quite-melted chocolate, and a shot of whiskey. The subtle evergreen flavor of the crackers, combined with the other accoutrements, is a witty nod to the best grown up camping desserts.
    In this version, I put the whiskey in a