Chocolate Espresso Graham Crackers (Whole Wheat)

Do you ever have days where you just want to stay home and eat chocolate?

I feel like I've been having those kind of days a lot lately, especially on the weekends. Sometimes I crave a good stay home day where I get to lounge around in my pjs and catch up my reading. Or my tv shows. Or even my blog reading. I swear, I'm so behind on my favourite baking blogs. What's the cool thing to make these days? I need to know because I feel like summer is approaching and I'm running out of days where I can use my oven.

Now that summer is approaching and with the weather warming up, I'm being brought back to the mindset of finishing school for another year and looking forward to the summer ahead. It's been 10 years since I graduated from high school and 5 years since I graduated from university, so I find it kind of funny that this time of year always brings out this kind of nostalgia.

The warm weather also brings me back memories of camping with my family. We had a fifth-wheel trailer and I remember during the summer we took it around British Columbia and later Southern Ontario. One of my favourite memories of camping was spending the evening by the fire-pit cooking s'mores. The chocolate bar of choice was always Hershey Milk Chocolate and teenager me always thought it was stingy to only use one square since the melted chocolate would barely cover the entire graham cracker. Now that I'm a responsible adult, I find it perfectly acceptable to use more.

Although we live in the city now and we do not own a fire-pit, this didn't stop me from making my own s'mores and this started with making my own graham cookies. To encompass my "grown-up" tastes (ha!) I substituted some of the flour for cocoa powder and added a touch of espresso powder to really bring out the chocolate-y goodness I bet you thought I was kidding when I said I wanted to stay home and eat chocolate. When I want chocolate, I really want chocolate and these really fit the bill on my craving.

I hesitated to call these true graham crackers because the result is more of a soft cookie than a crunchy graham cracker. I rolled the dough as thin as I could manage without losing my mind (and without tearing the dough cut-outs) and it still ended up a little thicker than I expected. The photos also make them look very crumbly, but these guys were fresh out of the oven that morning when I was taking my photos. After hanging out overnight in a sealed container, I found that they hardened up a bit more and became a bit crisper.

Chocolate Espresso Graham Crackers
(adapted from Homemade Graham Crackers at Baking Bites)

2 1/2 cups soft whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp espresso powder
1/2 cup cold butter/margarine, cut into cubes
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp molasses
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup cold water
Granulated sugar for sprinkling 

In a large bowl, whisk together soft whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and espresso powder until there are no clumps.

Using a pastry cutter and cut in the cold butter/margarine until it resembles fine crumbs in the flour mixture.
 
Add honey, molasses, vanilla extract and cold water. Stir with a wooden spoon until the soft dough comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill the dough for a couple hours (one hour at the most).

Preheat oven to 350*F and line your baking sheet with parchment paper or baking liners.

Remove chilled dough from the fridge and roll out on a floured surface. Cut out in your desired shapes and place on baking sheet. Before placing in the oven, poke holes in the cookies to let them breathe and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

Bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a wired rack.

Makes approximately 30 chocolate graham crackers.

Looking for some other chocolatey and coffee treats? Here are a few of my favourites:

  

 
Chocolate Mocha Snickerdoodles
No Bake Banana Chocolate Cookies with Espresso and Walnuts
Chocolate Espresso Banana Nut Muffins
Chocolate Espresso Oatmeal Cookies

My Favourite Green Smoothie Recipe

I'm interrupting the usual flour and sugar-fueled madness that goes on around here to talk about one of my favourite green smoothie recipes. I was almost hesitate to call it a recipe since I really don't have a set way of making this drink. Every time I make it it's a little different since I never measure and tend to just eyeball the ingredients when I'm throwing them into the blender. However, once you find your favourite way of making something, it's hard not to want to share it with the world.

(Are you still here? Good, I was worried that once you saw the first picture and read the words green smoothie everyone would just stand up and leave. Trust me on this, it's delicious, refreshing and jam-packed with plenty of vitamins and nutrients. I understand that vitamins and nutrients are not words I use too often here on She Bakes Here, but I thought I would make an exception this time around.)

I started my green smoothie making ways back before we moved to Toronto and when the only blending device I owned was a Magic Bullet. I came across the idea of making green juices and smoothies online and was hooked once I realized how easy it would be to make. As much as I love a good salad, I absolutely hate making them and would rather have a more convenient way to enjoy some additional green vegetables.

After jumping on the green smoothie bandwagon and using the Magic Bullet almost every other day for a few years, it died a majestic death last Christmas when the motor burnt out. I mourned the loss of my green smoothies, but rejoiced when we received a Cuisinart blender for Christmas. Compared to the magic bullet, I find that the Cuisinart blends more smoothly and I like that I'm no longer limited to whatever I can stuff into the little plastic Magic Bullet cups.



I find that the key to making a good green smoothie is using steamed spinach. I once read somewhere steaming is a must in order to absorb all the iron in spinach. I can't remember if this is true or not, but it's an extra step that I like to take. While the spinach is steaming in a colander over a pot of hot water, I chop up and add the remaining ingredients to the blender.



Once everything is added, I blend on high speed until there are no more cucumber and frozen banana chunks left. When the blender first starts, there are little specks of spinach everywhere but the more you blend the more it smooths over to become a beautiful solid green.

Blending on high speed thickens up the drink and creates a foam on top that reminds me of a milkshake. The thickness of the drink will depend on how much liquid you add prior to blending, so if you find your drink to be too thick, feel free to add more water. If it's too thin, I would add another half a frozen banana.

My Favourite Green Smoothie Recipe

2 handfuls of steamed spinach
1/3 of a seedless English cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 a frozen banana
Splash of almond milk
Water (This amount will vary depending on how heavy-handed I am with our water pitcher)
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder

Optional ingredient: 1/2 a ripe avocado

Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend on high speed until smooth. Serve in a tall chilled glass with a straw.

As you can see in the photo, I usually end up with a little bit leftover once I fill my glass. If Trevor is around, I'll always offer him some (he's yet to turn my green smoothies down), but if I'm drinking solo I don't mind going back for a refill. With the weather warming up, it's always nice to have another refreshing way to enjoy some additional greens.

Disclaimer: The Cuisinart blender pictured above was given to me by a relative as a Christmas gift. I did not receive any compensation for mentioning this product in this post. All opinions stated are my own.