Homemade Graham Crackers

Every year, we kick off the summer with a weekend camping trip to Darien Lake Theme Park.  Camping means a lot of things to a lot of people(we're tent campers, not glam-pers,) but almost universally it means S'mores.

This s'more was made on my stove, not a campfire, specifically for this post.  Incidentally, in the oft argued gas vs induction debate, no one ever cites the perfectly roasted marshmallow as a reason to use gas, but how would you make indoor s'mores without flame?  I've never been one for the basic traditional s'more.  I bring the traditional Hershey bars, but I also like to bring peanut butter cups and Ghirardelli squares for a more decadent treat.  

Even before going gluten-free, I had a disdain for boxed graham crackers preferring to make s'mores with soft ginger cookies or almond thins.  And in that vein, I decided to make my own graham crackers to bring along this weekend.  I started by whirring together 1 cup light brown sugar, 2/3 cup sorghum flour, 2/3 cup arrowroot starch, 1/3 cup brown rice flour, 1/3 cup white rice flour, 1/3 cup millet flour, 2 tbsps potato starch, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp xanthan gum in my food processor.  I pulsed in a cubed stick of butter.

In a small mixing bowl, I whisked together 1/3 cup honey, 1/4 cup milk, 2 tbsps molasses, and 2 tbsps vanilla extract.

I like using local honey to help inoculate against pollen related allergies.

With the food processor on low, I mixed in the wet ingredients.  I turned the dough out onto a floured board and kneaded it into a ball, then patted it into a rectangle.  Wrap the dough and chill for a few hours in the refrigerator.

Roll out half the dough to 1/8" thickness, and using a pizza wheel, cut into squares.  Prick the dough all over with a fork.  You can gather up the scraps and re-roll them, but I just left them.  Those scraps will be great for s'more's milkshakes or crumbs for cheesecake bases.  Repeat with the other half of the dough.

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through.  Immediately after pulling them out of the oven, rescore the lines.

Let cool completely before breaking apart.  Pack in an airtight container.  I had to make that above s'more for blog posting purposes, and it was perfect in it's ooey, gooey, deliciousness.  I can't wait to bust these out around the campfire this weekend.

Thanks for popping in and baking with me.  I'm linking this up to Gluten-Free Homemaker's Gluten-Free Wednesdays and Something Swanky's Sweet Treats Thursdays.

Weekend Review - Chenango Valley State Park

We love to go camping, and this was an ideal weekend for it.  The oppressive heat that swept over the east coast definitely needed escaping.  It was still hot, but hiding out in the woods was so much cooler than hanging out in town.  Here's our campsite announced by the sign I made here.

Yes, those are golf clubs.  Chenango Valley State Park has a nice golf course, and the boys wanted to be prepared just in case.  CVSP also has a number of really nice hiking trails, but one of our favorites is the bog trail.  For those unfamiliar, a bog is a wetland that accumulates a layer of dead plant material(in our climate, mostly mosses) on top.  They're kind of spongy on top, and if you jump on them like a trampoline, you can watch the spongy ground move underneath and around you.

Trails through the bog are a good deal less groomed then typical hiking trails.

There's my daredevil Whirling Dervish climbing out on a dead tree over the stagnant water.

I eventually joined him, but my backpack kept shifting weight, so it was none too pretty.

He reminded me that last year, I abandoned the backpack before trying to walk out on dead trees.  I wasn't letting go this year.

After the morning hike, we packed a picnic lunch to eat by the little spillway waterfall.  It was nice listening to the sound of the water.

It's just a short walk over the bridge from the waterfall to the swimming area.  One of the lakes at CVSP has a swimming area complete with diving boards, changing rooms, and snack shop. 

It was nice to splash around in the water and cool off.

There was plenty of nature to be found.  The kids found a toad by our campsite, but let it go before I could find the camera.  They got to watch a gypsy moth lay her eggs, and found all manner of butterflies including this white admiral,

and this tiger moth.

You can't go camping without a campfire, and even when it's still hot out, a campfire is a must.  Yes it was still hot, and yes the girls are wearing fake fur.  I'll explain about that later this week.  It really deserves it's very own post.

You know it's a good camping trip when everyone sleeps this good.

Thanks for popping in and camping with us.  I'm linking this up to Decor To Adore's Wayfaring Wednesdays.

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday - Weekend Review

Camping Weekend

Water Park

Games

and Lots of Rides.



Night Time Fun, too.

Wiped Out.

Thanks for popping in and enjoying the camping trip.  I'm sharing this at Decor to Adore's Wayfaring Wednesday.