As we wind down these final days before Christmas 2020, I want life to be easy. But I also want it to be full of Holiday goodies to eat. The easiest treat I know how to make has been called Christmas Crack.
The beauty of this is if you are any kind of a baker you most likely have all the ingredients you need to make it. Just four: butter, brown sugar, chocolate chips, and saltines. It takes about thirty minutes to make and a couple hours in the fridge. You then have a perfect treat to watch your favorite Holiday movie with.
The recipe couldn’t be easier. Take a baking sheet and line it with foil or parchment paper. If using foil some non-stick spray is useful but not critical. Layer as many salted saltine crackers as you can on the pan. We can usually get a whole sleeve in the pan. Then fold up the edges to make a rim.
Preheat the oven to 350. While waiting take a cup of salted butter and a cup of dark brown sugar and melt them over high heat in a saucepan. Once they are boiling reduce the heat to medium and hold there for 5 minutes. Once the timer goes off pour it over the saltines. Use a knife to spread it evenly. Then stick it in the oven for 5 minutes. Pull it from the oven and sprinkle a full package of semi-sweet chocolate chips on top.
This should soften the chocolate so that you can spread it evenly as the heat softens them. If you need more heat pop it back in the oven for 30-45 seconds. Keep the time as short as necessary to make the chocolate spreadable.
Now is the fun part you can choose to add toppings. We’ve added M&M’s, all kinds of nuts but pecans are our favorites. We’ve added crushed peppermint candy and red and green Holiday sprinkles. Once you’ve done that pop the whole tray into the fridge for about 2 hours.
After that peel away the foil or parchment paper and break up along the lines of the saltines. This has been a staple when we want something fast and festive. Or in the past when we have needed something to bring to a party which is quick and easy.
It is the perfect blend of salt and sweet which most of us crave. If you leave some for Santa, I suspect it will put you at the top of the “Nice” list.
–Mark Behnke
