Crack! (or you could call it Saltine Toffee)

 

I've heard it called many things, but Crack is my favorite!

I had to laugh when I was reading my friend, Trisha Yearwood’s, cookbook. She loves this recipe because her mother always wanted something sweet after dinner and then immediately needed something salty. That is totally my husband! He always needs something salty after his sweet snack, whereas I am happy as a hippo ending with a sweet snack. I’m going to look like a hippo if I don’t keep ending with a sweet snack too!

 

A friend of mine brought these to a party we had years ago too. She gave me the recipe, but I lost it. I’m pretty sure this is it though. Angie, if you are reading this, is this it?? I fell in love with them at the party and couldn’t believe how easy they were to make. I love toffee and I love easy so this was right up my alley! I wanted to make a special treat for friends this Christmas so I pulled out my cookbook and found this recipe again. You definitely need to try this one. It’s so easy and worth every minute of effort put in!

 

Ingredients:

35-45 saltines

2 sticks (1 cup) butter

1 cup light brown sugar

8 (ish) ounces semi sweet chocolate chips*

*cooks note – I used one full bag (12 oz) of milk chocolate chips and it turned out great. I tried 8 oz first and it looked like I needed more to spread around so I added the whole bag.

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

 

Line 1 large or 2 small jelly-roll pans with aluminum foil, spray with nonstick spray and arrange the saltines salt-side down in a single layer. My jelly roll pan held 48 crackers and that was perfect.  

As you can see, I didn't listen to directions and place them salty side down. Uh oh!

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together and boil until it turns a caramel color, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour over the crackers, covering them evenly.

 

Put the jelly-roll pan into the oven and bake for 3 to 5 minutes, or until just bubbly, watching carefully. 

can you see how bubbly and delicious it is looking right now?? Yum!

Remove from the oven and pour the chocolate chips over the crackers. When the chips melt a bit, spread them over the crackers with a knife.

 

and viola! Doesn't that look yummy already?

Transfer the pan to the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until completely cold. My chocolate was still wet to touch after 20 minutes so I left it in for about 30 minutes. 

This will form one big sheet. Break it up into random pieces, any size will do. Store in an airtight container. Package for friends for holiday treats or just enjoy! My husband loves these because it was the perfect combination of his sweet and salty snack. These are a keeper. I think I’ll be making these again to take to my parents for Christmas.

 

Crockpot Dulce de Leche Sauce

Okay so this is possibly the coolest thing I’ve ever seen! I was watching one of my favorite weekend shows, on the Food Network of course, and Katie Lee taught me how to make Dulce de Leche sauce in the crockpot. Yes, you heard me right. I said in the CROCKPOT! What?? Now I love my crockpot but who knew I could make a yummy, creamy caramel sauce in it? And did I mention that you just need one ingredient? This recipe still blows my mind! I made it today and will be trying it drizzled over some apple pie shortly. So far I’ve only tried it drizzled over my finger. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed licking it off my finger but I think it will be even better drizzled on ice cream, pie, or added to coffee. Let’s just get down to this easy recipe.  Here’s what you need:

 

Crockpot

mason jars – I used three 8 oz jars
condensed milk – I used two 14 oz cans
water

 

Easiest directions ever:

Equally pour the 2 cans of condensed milk in the three mason jars. Seal lid securely.

 

Place jars in crockpot and fill crockpot up to the lids, without covering.

 

Cook on low for 8-10 hours. I cooked mine 9 hours and it was the perfect caramel color. You can cook longer for a deeper caramel color. If you keep peeking at the color by removing the lid, like I did, then you probably need to cook a little longer.


Remove jars from crockpot with tongs. They will be very hot. Let cool for a bit on a dish towel. Remove lid, stir to combine, and then eat a big spoonful! Okay, maybe not a whole spoonful, but at least get a little sample to make sure it's delish.

 

Look how beautiful it turned out! I’m totally giving this to a couple of friends as Christmas gifts. Did I mention that I made this in the crockpot??? I'm still amazed!


This will keep in the fridge for up to 4 weeks. Just remove lid and heat in microwave or you and just scoop some out and microwave a little at a time.

 

My Daddy's Delicious Divinity

One of my favorite candies in the whole wide world is my Daddy’s Divinity. It tastes like a little touch of heaven. So delicious, my mouth is watering thinking about those little white clouds melting in my mouth. Well, I’ve had other divinity and it tastes nothing like the perfection my Daddy has made for years. I needed to get in on this little secret. How appropriate that this is my first blog for 2013! This Christmas I had the pleasure of learning how to make divinity with my Daddy. He gave me a candy thermometer and the recipe years ago, but I’ve been scared to try it on my own. I didn’t know what hard ball and soft ball stage means.....well, I do now! Paula Deen tried to teach me, but there’s nothing like being in the kitchen with your Daddy making your favorite candy. He is the best baker in the world, so after this lesson I’m certain I can make this on my own now. I’ll be sure to come back and let you know how my first solo effort goes, but for now, here’s the lesson from my Daddy. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be too. Don’t be afraid, you can do it too. Before we get started, take a look at how old this recipe of my Dad's is. As you can see, this recipe has been around a while.

Let’s get started with these 3 easy steps.

1.  Stir 2 cups sugar into ½ cup corn syrup, ½ cup water, dash salt till dissolved.  Boil to  medium-ball stage (240 degrees).

 Slowly pour 1/3 of sugar mixture over 2 stiff-beaten egg whites, beating constantly while pouring. This is when a stand mixer comes in handy.

That's my sweet Daddy

2. Cook remaining syrup to very hard-ball stage (265 degrees). Test: Add several drops to water.  Mixture will form a firm ribbon that bends when lifted from water. Beat syrup in candy mixture, continue beating until firm.

3.  When mixture holds its shape when dropped from a spoon, add 1    teaspoon vanilla. At this point, we added 1/2 cup of chopped pecans.

Drop from teaspoon onto a greased cookie sheet. Swirl each piece to a peak. Daddy could make a swirl, I just make a pile. We use two teaspoons to help spoon the mixture onto the wax paper or cookie sheet.

Double cooking takes longer, but it’s a failure proof way to make fluffy divinity. Let the divinity to dry fully, takes a couple of hours, then it is ready to enjoy!

Tip: did you know you shouldn't make divinity on rainy or humid days?? Yep, learned that from my Daddy and he's the expert!