I have to admit, I think store-bought graham crackers taste a bit like cardboard with a bit of honey added in for flavor. They're pretty nasty. Making your own is simple, healthier, and delicious. This graham cracker recipe calls for graham flour, which is pertinent to getting that characteristic 'graham' flavor. 

I found graham flour in my local Walmart in the baking section, near the gluten-free flour choices. If you can't find it, you can order it HERE.

While you're busy making graham crackers, why don't you also make some homemade marshmallows, and enjoy some s'mores? You can find my homemade marshmallow recipe HERE.

What you need:
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1⅓ cups graham flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons molasses (or honey)

How to make it:
1. Whisk the flours, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set this aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and molasses together with a hand mixer on high speed until fluffy (roughly 2 minutes).

3. Add the flour mixture, and stir together until just blended. You don't want to over mix this.

4. Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap the dough and refrigerate for 2 hours.. This dough is very hard to work with if it isn't completely chilled.

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line a baking pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Do not use a greased baking sheet. The crackers won't bake properly if you do.

6. Lightly flour a clean work surface, and roll the dough out until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Using a 3-inch square cookie cutter, cut out the crackers and transfer to the baking sheet.

7. Bake for 8 minutes, rotate the baking sheet, (so the front of the sheet is now facing the back), and bake for another 4 minutes. You want the edges to just be slightly brown. Bake these for too long, and they will get very hard.

8. Let cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and let them cool completely.

This is one of my all-time favorite recipes. I'm so excited to be able to share it with my readers! These are perfect to make on a cool fall day, and are delicious alongside a big glass of ice-cold milk or steaming apple cider. Although they look impressive, they are actually simple to make! 

Note: In order for these to firm up into 'cookie' form, you MUST let them cool completely before handling them.

What you need:
2 pie crusts (either store bought or homemade)
1/3 cup of caramel sauce (I used the new Salted Caramel sauce from Smuckers)
1 1/2 cups of apple pie filling (homemade, or 1 can of the store-bought kind)
1 large egg
3 tablespoons of sugar
a bit of flour for dusting your work surface

How to make it:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Sprinkle a bit of flour on your work surface so the dough won't stick. If using a pre-made dough, roll it out just a tiny bit. You don't want the dough to be too thin. If using a homemade dough, roll it out into a circle about 1/8 inch thick.

3. Pour the caramel sauce onto the dough, and spread it out evenly with a spoon.

4. Place the apple pie filling on a plate, and chop it up with a knife so the pieces are small.

5. Spread the apple mixture over the dough.

6. Sprinkle more flour onto a clean surface, and roll out the other part of your dough. Cut this part into strips about 1/2 inch wide.

7. Layer these strips over the apple mixture in a lattice-type pattern.

8. Using a round cookie cutter (or the open end of a drinking glass), cut out the cookies.

9. Transfer these cookies (very carefully) to a lightly greased cookie sheet.

10. Beat the egg in a small bowl, and gently brush it over the cookies with a pastry brush. 

11. Sprinkle the tops of the cookies with sugar.

12. Bake for 20 -25 minutes, until they are golden brown.

***Bake the scraps too so you don't waste food!***

These homemade Jolly Rancher lollipops are a ton of fun to make, and kids love to pick out their own personal flavor combination.

What you need:
Jolly Ranchers (3 pieces per lollipop)
lollipop sticks (you can find these for $2 a bag in the craft section of WalMart)

How to make it:
1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

2. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Do NOT use wax paper. It just won't work.

3. Lay 3 Jolly Ranchers horizontally so they are touching. This will be 1 lollipop. Continue laying out the candy pieces to make as many lollipops as you want, keeping in mind that they will spread out as the heat up. You also want to make sure you have plenty of room to add the sticks in.

4. Put the baking sheet in the oven for roughly 5 minutes. Keep an eye on these. You want them to be just melted, but not completely liquid.

5. Remove the candy from the oven, and very gently press a lollipop stick into each one, turning them to make sure they are coated with the candy. Be very careful so you don't burn your fingers.

6. Let cool completely before removing.

You can also use a single Jolly Rancher candy to make smaller lollipops.