Guest Blogger: Chocolate Chip Graham Cracker Cookies

Well, I'm a day late getting this up - better late than never right?  Life just seems to get in the way and remind us we need to slow down a little sometimes - it was that kind of weekend around my house(es)!

I'm so pleased to introduce you all to Traci from Burnt Apple! We were paired up as part of a group of 30 awesome bloggers for an Old-Fashioned Recipe Swap hosted by  Julie {White Lights on Wednesday}, Kelley {Miss Information} and Rachel {i love my disorganized life}.  



Traci has so many great recipes and tips on her blog - she even put her healthy twist on my Blueberry Coconut Muffins.  I am always on the lookout for ideas for healthier snacks and lunch items for the kids (and things the hubby and I will enjoy in our lunches too).  With all the running between two houses and hockey and...and...and...we are just not having luck with sitting down for meals most of the time.  And I like to have snacks on hand that the kids know its OK to help themselves to.  My little man and I also LOVE chocolate. So these cute little guys are definitely going on the list of kid-friendly recipes and will be a good Sunday morning project the kids can help me make.  Be sure to go visit Traci over at Burnt Apple for more healthy, family-friendly goodies!

Chocolate Chip Graham Cracker Cookies

Yield: 60 1 inch cookies

Serving Size: 5 cookies

Is it a cookie or a cracker? With the rich taste of graham crackers and the sweet taste of chocolate chip cookies it can be hard to decide! These cookies taste just like the chocolate chip Barbara's Snackimals cookies and will be made and gone in no time. Grab your milk and start dunking!

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat or white whole wheat flour + extra if needed.
• 1 cup graham flour*
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 4 egg yolks, to room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

Instructions

1. In a bowl, mix together the flours, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy.
3. Mix in the egg yolks and vanilla and continue blending until smooth, scraping the bowl if necessary. Slowly add in the flours and continue mixing until flour and sugar mixture is well blended. Add more flour if necessary as you will want the dough just barely stiff, to the point it begins to pull away from the sides.
4. Once dough is ready, turn off mixer and knead or gently fold in chocolate chips. Divide the dough into three equal portions, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to one hour or overnight.
5. When dough is chilled, remove dough from refrigerator and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough to 1/8 inch thickness between two pieces of plastic wrap. Cut shapes out with cookie cutters. Place cut out dough on a greased baking sheet or a baking sheet lined with parchment or Silpat. Leave 1/2 inch space in between cookies as they will expand slightly during cooking.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes (cooking time may need to be adjusted depending on cracker size--start checking them after ten minutes), or until cookies are firm, but not hard to the touch. (Crackers will continue to harden as they cool). Remove from oven and move to cooling rack to finish cooling completely.
7. Store cookies in an airtight container for up to one week.

Notes

We found our cookie cutters in the clay section at Hobby Lobby. Instead of using brown and white sugar, you can substitute coconut sugar for both sugars in the recipe. We used graham crackers that we blended in the food processor for our graham flour.