Crackin Good

There’s nothing like remembering the morning of, that you are supposed to bring a food item to an office (Christmas) party. Is that a sign that you are getting old?

That’s what happened to me on Monday. So I scurried to find a recipe that required minimal ingredients, prep, and if necessary baking time. It also needed to be something that wouldn’t require making a lot of noise either (it was 4:30 in the morning).

I have no idea what possessed me to find this recipe, but I had a ton of saltines, and a bunch of chocolate that needed to be used. There are many variations to the recipe, and you can find a million recipes by just google-ing “saltine candy”. The end result met my expectations across the board, and it went over well at our Christmas fling. And the picture? I took it at my desk in my office… This is my redneck post!

Cracker Candy …aka Crack, Saltine Toffee…

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 sleeve saltine crackers
• 12 – 16 ounces chocolate (I used Ghirardelli dark, semi and white)

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Prep a jelly roll pan with foil and single layer the crackers on the foil, set aside.

Cube the butter and combine with brown sugar in a small saucepan. Boil until foamy, about three minutes. Remove from heat and pour over the crackers. Tilt the pan to spread the toffee mixture over all of the crackers. Bake for 7 – 10 minutes, or until the toffee is bubbling. Remove the pan from the oven and top with your chocolate. When the chocolate begins to melt, spread it evenly over the crackers. Chill in refrigerator till the chocolate is set, about 30 minutes and break into pieces. Store at room temperature.

By the way, most recipes add nuts or other toppings, but I didn’t any, and I am really not a big nut fan… though I have been accused of being a nut!

Cracker Candy

Check Muddy Buddies

I’ve known for a few weeks that this box of cereal was coming near its “best by” date, but I had been procrastinating using it. Not sure of the exact date, I checked it last night, um, figured I needed to use it up. It was getting late, and I needed an quick and easy recipe. Then bam! There it was, right on the box! I have never actually made any type of chex mix, but I have tasted plenty. I knew this one would go over well with the family and hey, if the cereal was stale, the PB and Chocolate would mask it!

 Quick, easy… gone in under 24 hours:

Chex Muddy Buddies

Ingredients:

• 9 cups Chex
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Place cereal in a large bowl, set aside.

Microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag. Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Serving size 1/2 Cup: Calories 220; Total Fat 9g (Saturated Fat 4g); Cholesterol 5mg; Sodium 200mg; Carbs 30g; Sugars 17g; Protein 3g