Graham Crackers

These Graham Crackers taste amazing! They are time consuming, but they are well worth it. One batch makes quite a few cookies, so you will have more than enough. The directions call for a food processor. I have never made it without one, but you could try .

Ingredients: 

2 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp flour

1 cup lightly packed brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

7 tbsp butter cut into 1 inch cubes

1/3 cup honey

5 tbsp full-fat milk

2 tbsp vanilla

Directions:

Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Mix on low to incorporate. Add the hard butter, and mix until it resembles a coarse meal. 

In a small bowl, mix together the honey, milk, and vanilla. Add to the flour mixture, and pulse on and off until the mixture comes together.

Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap, and dust it with flour. Transfer the dough onto it,  and pat into a rectangle. Wrap it, then chill until firm. About 2 hours, or overnight. 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Divide the dough in half, and return half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of flour onto your work surface, and roll out the dough. ( The dough is very sticky, and I have to add a lot of flour. Don't be afraid of adding to much.) Roll it out to be about 1/8 inch thick, and a rectangle shape. Cut the dough into about two inch squares. ( It doesn't have to be perfect. The important thing is to make them all approximately the same size and shape.) Place the squares on a baking sheet, and chill in the freezer for about 15-20 minutes, or the fridge for about 40-45 minutes.  Put the squares from the freezer into the oven, and bake for 15-20 minutes. The crackers will seem soft, but they will harden. While it is cooling, roll out the other dough and cut into squares. Take the crackers off of the baking sheet, and repeat the process with the other dough. 

Marshmallows

Marshmallows are another one of those things I recently had to learn how to make. We were going to a party, and they were serving s'mores. Of course, there is still such a thing as allergies. I am looking forward to making marshmallow fluff, for things like fudge and a fondant my sister can have. This one takes a while, but there is not a lot of active time, you just have to let it sit overnight. I found this recipe here, and I didn't change it at all. The marshmallows don't exactly brown like the others, so we have found a new way to make s'mores. We now balance our graham cracker on the sticks, put the marshmallow and chocolate together, and top it with another graham cracker. We roast the whole contraption over the fire. The result it now a perfectly cooked marshmallow, with melted chocolate and crispy graham crackers.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup potato starch
1 tbsp butter
1 cup water divided
2 cups granulated sugar
2 1/4 ounce packets unflavored gelatin
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 large egg whites at room temperature
pinch of salt
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Directions:
Sift sugar and starch together.  Butter a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle the sugar-starch mixture over it.  ( Effectively, this is just like flouring a cake pan. Obviously, it is really important to cover the whole surface, so that your marshmallows don't stick. ) Save the sugar-starch mixture for later. Pour 1/2 cup of the water into a bowl, and empty the gelatin powder into it. Let stand.

Pour remaining 1/2 cup of water plus the sugar into a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally until the sugar is dissolved. When sugar is dissolved and syrup begins to boil, leave it undisturbed for about 5 minutes. 

Carefully pour hot syrup into the bowl, and stir until gelatin is dissolved. Mix with a blender, gradually increasing the speed to high. Beat for about 10 minutes until the mixture has tripled in volume and thick, shiny, soft peaks have formed. Add vanilla extract. 

In a separate bowl, pour in the egg whites and a pinch of salt. Mix eggs until they begin to foam.  Sprinkle in the cream of tartar, and beat on high for about 3 minutes until shiny and firm peaks form. Incorporate egg whites into syrup/gelatin mixture.

When mixture is fully blended, after about 2-3 minutes, spread into prepared pan. Sift sugar starch mixture over top of the marshmallows. Allow to set overnight. If the air is dry, cover partly with plastic wrap. In the morning, run a spatula around the edges, and turn out onto a surface that has been covered with the sugar-starch mixture. Cut the marshmallows into 1 inch squares. Don't saw back and forth, use a sharp knife and press down. Coat the marshmallows in the sugar-starch mixture. Store in a covered container in the fridge. They last for 1-2 weeks. 

Funnel Cakes

Actually, they are mini funnel cakes, just so we are clear. I found this recipe here, but I don't quite follow the instructions. They are a lot easier than you might think, so I would encourage you to give it a try.

Dry Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Wet Ingredients
1 1/3 cups milk
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg

Mix the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl, mix all of your wet ingredients together. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, and stir until a thick batter forms.
In a small pan, (I use an iron skillet about 6 inches in diameter) heat about 1/2 inch of oil ( I use peanut oil.) Scoop batter into a small funnel, and hold it closed with your finger. When the oil is hot, allow the batter to drop in the pan. Take it easy, don't rush. I like to make a circle and then fill it in. Make sure to criss-cross the batter a lot, to avoid your cakes falling apart. Let the cakes float in the oil.
The cakes are ready to flip, anywhere from 30 seconds to 1 minute. The edges will look almost golden brown. Flip the cake, and let float for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

I usually have a helper, so as soon as I am ready to take them out, I put them on a plate with a paper towel, and she sprinkles powdered sugar on them.

I have never had them any other way, so I don't really know how they would taste with anything else. You can experiment if you want, or you can just eat them as is. We usually have them at dinner, but they would be good as breakfast too. So far, we have paired them with bacon, or sweetened apples.