Cookie #80 - Graham Crackers

When I was a little girl, I thought graham crackers were actually called "Gram crackers" for my grandmother.  When I was in elementary school, I remember coming home and she having graham crackers and grape jelly ready for me. 
These cookies were not difficult to make.  The dough was fragrant and very easy to work with.  I baked the for two different cooking times and achieved two seemingly different cookies.  One very soft with a subtle honey flavor and one much crispier with a stronger, darker flavor (the ones pictured are the longer baked variety).  Both cookies were delish and I encourage you to try both baking times to find the way you like your homemade graham crackers. 

Homemade Graham Crackers

2 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp flour
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
7 tbsp butter, cold and cut into cubes
1/3 cup honey (I used local honey)
5 tbsp whole milk
2 tbsp (yes, tablespoons) vanilla
Cinnamon sugar topping (1/4 cup sugar mixed with 1 tsp cinnamon)

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt, pulsing 5-6 times to combine.  Add chilled butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
In a small bowl, mix together honey, milk, and vanilla.  With the food processor running, drizzle in the milk mixture until the dough just comes together.
Divide the dough in half and form into a ball, dust lightly with flour and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface until between 1/8-1/4" thick. 
To cut them, use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into rectangles about 3" wide by 6" long.  Place the rectangles onto parchment lined baking sheets.  Using a fork,  create perforations that divided each cracker into 4 equal pieces - be sure to pierce all the way through the dough.  Then lightly prick the dough all over using the fork, this time being careful not to pierce all the way through.
Chill the cut out squares for at least 30 minutes before baking. 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Sprinkle the cookies with the cinnamon sugar topping.  Bake the cookies depending on the type of cookie you want to achieve:
For the softer, more mild cookie, bake for about 10 minutes until they just start to turn golden. 
For the crispier, stronger flavored cookie, bake for 15 minutes until they are dark and firm. 
Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Cookie #41 - Massachusetts Tea & Honey Cookies

"On December 16, 1773, after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colonists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor. The incident remains an iconic event of American history, and other political protests often refer to it." - Wikipedia

My first thought for Massachusetts was to do a Boston Creme Pie cookie.  Then I started to think about it:  I had yet to see a tea flavored cookie, so I was anxious to try my hand at it.  After a bit of searching, I came across a few recipes for all sorts of tea flavored shortbreads, cookies and cakes.  Black tea, green tea, white tea - and this really awesome looking stuff called matcha (which will have to make it into a cookie later).  I chose to do a shortbread type cookie and sweetened it with honey.  The resulting cookie was dry like a shortbread and the flavor was very subtle.  I was pleased with how these turned out and think that after some further tweaking, they could really be an excellent cookie.

Massachusetts Tea & Honey Cookies

2 cups flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp tea (I used Earl Gray tea right from the tea bag)

6 tbsp butter

2 tbsp honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cream butter and honey together until smooth.  Sift flour, salt and baking soda together in a small bowl and add slowly to butter and honey.  Stir in tea.

Roll into 1" balls and place 2" apart on parchment lined baking sheets.  Flatten each ball with the bottom of a glass dipped in flour to prevent sticking.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the bottoms are just golden brown.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Cookie #11 - Corn Pops Cookie

Another entry into my top five cereals is Corn Pops.  I love how they get squishy in milk and how dry, they're slightly sticky. 
I knew I wanted to attempt a cornmeal cookie and I figured it would be the perfect vehicle to try and duplicate that Corn Pop flavor.
I'm happy to announce:  I SUCCEEDED! 
I'm doing to super happy cookie success dance in my living room right now. 
The cookies have the texture of cornbread because of the cornmeal.  I added honey to the mix and topped them with a honey glaze.  The two flavors combined and these cookies taste just like a big bowl of Corn Pops.

So I took this batch of cookies to share with my eager co-workers and I forgot to take a picture. 

Corn Pop Cookies

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup flour
1 tbsp honey

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp honey
2-4 tbsp milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar together.  Add egg and vanilla until well combined.  Add salt, baking powder and cornmeal.  Add flour slowly.  Mix in honey.
Drop by rounded tablespoons onto parchment lined baking sheets.  Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden brown around the edges.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool
For glaze:  whisk sugar, honey and milk together to form a loose glaze.  Spoon over warm cookies.