Saltine Toffee

I love making recipes that are easy and delicious, but have a cool little twist.  I first found this Saltine Toffee recipe years ago in one of those community cookbooks where everyone submits their favorite recipes.  I love making it because it's so super simple, but tastes absolutely awesome.  (I've heard of it referred to as "Christmas Crack" and I can see why, it's really addicting!)  You wouldn't think saltine crackers would belong in a candy recipe, but the slight saltiness and crunch that they give this toffee is just perfect.

Take a peek...

Here's what you need:  (It's only 5 ingredients!)

• saltine crackers (about 1 sleeve of crackers out of a box, plus a few extras)
• 1 cup of butter (that's 2 sticks)
• 1 cup of brown sugar, lightly packed
• 2 cups of chocolate chips, either milk chocolate or semi sweet (that's about 1 bag)
• approx 3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Here's what to do:

1.  Preheat your oven to 400*.

2.  Line a jelly roll pan (which is a cookie sheet with sides), with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.

3.  Line up your saltine crackers in a single layer in your pan.  You'll want them close together, but not touching.  You can break some crackers in half if you need to so the whole pan is covered.

4.  Put your butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, then allow the mixture to boil for 3 minutes, stirring only once or twice.

5.  Pour the mixture over the saltine layer.  Try to pour it fairly evenly over the top, reaching all the way to the edges.  However, it will bubble up and spread out in the next step, so every cracker doesn't need to be completely covered.

6.  Next, put the tray in your preheated oven and bake for about 5 minutes.  The toffee mixture will bubble up and soak into the saltines.

7.  Take your tray out of the oven and sprinkle on the chocolate chips.  Pop it back into the oven for just a minute so the chips soften and melt.  Then use a rubber spatula to spread the melted chocolate evenly over the saltine/toffee layer.

8.  If desired, sprinkle the optional chopped nuts over the melted chocolate layer.  Set the whole pan aside for it to cool completely.  It'll take a few hours for it to cool and for everything to harden.  If necessary, you could put it in the fridge to speed up the process.

9.  When everything has cooled, break the toffee apart into bite sized pieces and enjoy!