We took a trip over to the USA last week (I live super close to an American border crossing) and brought back a certain brand of cookies, featuring certain little worker elves occupying a suspiciously chocolate-equipped treehouse/cookie factory. Anyway these cookies were good. Too good. Thick cut graham-like crackers covered in fudge-y chocolate. Very simple goodness flavour-wise that unfortunately DID NOT translate to a simple ingredients list. I started dreaming of these homemade vegan chocolate hazelnut graham crackers.
I eat for pleasure first, but I couldn’t help I dreaming up a more wholesome version of this cookie. There would be coconut oil for fat, hazelnuts for body (and to give off a bit of a nutella vibe), and a hearty amount of garnishes for fun.
And it all worked out! I made my own hazelnut and coconut flour/meal in the blender and threw the dough together in the food processor. You could grind the flour in the food processor too, saving yourself some extra dishes/appliance usage. When grinding the nuts/coconut, you’e looking for the consistency of almond meal. A few stops short of nut butter does the trick. It should hold together when you pinch it, but still feel dry.
The dough will actually seem like a failure right from the outset. You’ll wonder how this sticky goop will become cookies–cookies that will actually be pleasant enough to eat! Flatten it out, stick it in the oven, maybe cross your fingers a bit and whoa! Spiced vanilla hazelnutty-molasses goodness that will take a bath in chocolate and get all smothered in sea salt, chopped nuts and cacao nibs. Oh. Yes. All that good stuff for wholesome tea time.
Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Graham Crackers
Ingredients
Graham Crackers
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons hazelnut flour (roughly 1 cup of nuts ground in the food processor)
- ¼ cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- scant 3 tablespoons soft coconut oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons molasses
- 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Ganache
- ⅓ cup non-dairy milk
- ⅓ cup semi-sweet chocolate (chips or chopped from a bar)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- chopped hazelnuts, for garnish
Equipment
Notes
- These will not taste exactly like graham crackers! They’re a bit more pillowy, nutty and complex. Having said that, these would be amazing with a smooshy, molten marshmallow on top.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place a rack in the middle of the oven.
- After you’ve processed the hazelnuts and coconut, add the arrowroot powder, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and sea salt. Pulse a couple times to combine.
- Add the maple syrup, molasses, coconut oil, non-dairy milk and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Place the lid back on and pulse until the dough starts to form a solid mass. If it isn’t clumping together, add hazelnut or coconut meal in tablespoon increments until it starts forming a ball as you pulse the machine.
- Remove the blade and scrape the dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Place a big sheet of saran wrap on top of the dough and flatten the dough out with a rolling pin. You want it fairly thin, around a 1/4 inch thickness. Transfer the parchment sheet with the dough to a baking sheet large enough to hold it all. Bake for about 12 minutes or until edges are quite brown and dough feels dry. Cool completely.
- Cut giant graham into whatever size cookies you like, removing the super brown edges.
- Make the ganache: In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring the milk to a boil. Lower it to a simmer and add the chocolate chips, maple syrup and coconut oil. Whisk until chocolate is fully melted, about 3 minutes. Keep warm until ready to use.
- Line another baking sheet with parchment. Using a small spatula as a chocolate dry-walling tool of sorts, brush the ganache onto the cut grahams. Lay them on the parchment-lined sheet and garnish with chopped hazelnuts while they're still wet. Repeat with remaining grahams. Place in the fridge to set chocolate more rapidly.
these look divine! has anyone tried with almond flour, or another nut in place of hazelnut? and are these good as a graham on their own? would love to find a more general graham replacement (read: upgrade!), for pie crusts and bases especially.
OMG these are super-wonderful. I will say that I rolled it out too thin around the edges, so it was too crispy and brittle there. But perfect in the middle. I’ll know better next time!
I have a batch of these cooling right now, have tasted the end pieces and OH MY GOD! They are delicious all by themselves without anything added to them! Thanks so much for this gorgeous recipe – I will use it many times!
I’m dying to try these! Sounds like the perfect project for the weekend. They look absolutely gorgeous, Laura :)
Elves ain’t got nothing on this stuff ;)
I’d forgotten how tasty those little elf cookies are until now. Yours look way better, though!
I haven’t had one of those cookies in year’s! I like the sound of yours much better though : )
Have you ever attempted making your own kombucha? It is super cheap and super satisfying!
Victoria,
I want to try making it for sure! I definitely spend too much money on my addiction to kombucha at this point :)
-L
These are gorgeous…and despite having to field the question a MILLION times, I’m not a Keebler, I’m a Kiebel and just as well. I’ll scarf some store bought cookies in a pinch but I don’t look at the ingredients; it would ruin the experience. I would rather have these in a heartbeat!
These sound seriously wonderful. I was bracing for some kind of earth-shattering confession, so “I’m human” was a funny surprise (I think we’ve all accidentally done our time with something by those elves. I recently did battle with a box of Cheese-Its and managed to only eat three). Sadly, I’m allergic to hazelnuts, but I wonder if there’s a way to make this with coconut and pumpkin seeds, or both?
I’m trying to quit chocolate and you are making it impossible! These beauties look absolutely delicious!
Looks like a yummy recipe! I don’t think you can go wrong with that classic combo of hazelnuts and chocolate. Kudos to you for making a guilty-treat not so guilty. :)
Those elves totally put crack in the cookies! I am not gluten free, but your chocolate covered hazelnut grahams look friggin delicious!
I’ve never tried making my own grahams, but if it involves crack, and a healthier version than the dirty elf version, I’m down! Thank you!
Beautiful as always! Love the molasses incorporated into the biscuit, gorgeous. Could easily munch away on these with a dandy cuppa. Nom nom.
Oh those tricky elves and their cookies. I would go for your version hands-down, any day of the week. These look awesome and now I’m drooling all over my keyboard… Guess I’ll have to make these this weekend!
Love the feeling of success when I can recreate something super tasty (and usually super unhealthy!). These look positively divine, lady!
This is wonderful. Excellent work health-ing up a lowbrow treat, and, I imagine, improving it in the process — I can’t imagine the elves would ever use lavender buds…
These look so delicious. I have no idea what the originals you bought are like (and actually, have never tasted an authentic graham cracker) but I definitely want to try these. It’s so much fun recreating and updating treats you can buy.
I am so impressed!
Gorgeous!! I wish I would have seen these an hour ago – I have a friend coming over in 15 who can’t eat gluten or dairy, and I was just racking my brain what I could make her. This, of course. Maybe we can make them together.
Also, I love your honesty. Makes me feel a teensy bit better about that bag of combos that somehow makes it’s way into our car on road trips. {ha}
I know those elves and their cookies all too well (I used to be a huge fan of the ones that look like wheels, with squiggleys on top).
Love these, and the thought of eating them during fancy lady tea time. But I really want to dunk one in my morning coffee.
It just shows your normal making an unhealthy choice once in a while! Your cookies look gorgeous. Just bought some hazelnuts so these have risen to the top of the “to-make” list!
Why am I at work when I could be at home making these?!? It’s everything that I love in a cookie.