Graham Cracker

Graham crackers are lightly sweetened crackers made primarily from graham flour, a coarsely ground whole wheat flour. They have a slightly sweet, nutty flavor and a crisp, slightly coarse texture. These rectangular crackers typically have small perforations and a light brown appearance. Often used as a base for desserts, or simply enjoyed as a snack, graham crackers are a versatile ingredient in many American kitchens. Their subtle sweetness makes them a delicious and wholesome choice for both sweet and savory applications.

If you've never paid close attention to how a graham cracker actually tastes, it sits somewhere between a cookie and a plain cracker — gently sweet, a little toasty, with a honey-and-cinnamon warmth in the versions flavored that way. That mildness is exactly why they're so useful: they carry other flavors instead of fighting them, which is how a humble box of crackers ends up as the backbone of cheesecakes, icebox cakes, and pie crusts. The coarse whole-wheat grind also gives them a faint graininess you can feel, a texture that turns into a lovely sandy crumb the moment you crush them.

Most supermarket graham crackers come in the familiar rectangle scored into two or four sections, plus honey and cinnamon varieties and the chocolate-dipped kind aimed at snackers. When a recipe calls for a certain number of "sheets," it usually means one full rectangle. Keep in mind that standard graham crackers are made with wheat flour, so they aren't gluten-free — though gluten-free versions do exist if you look for them — and many contain honey, which is worth checking if you're cooking vegan.