Crack That Doesn't Kill

I woke up on Saturday morning feeling hungry and lazy. Don't we all? So I lounged in bed for a few more hours and watched The Food Network. This obviously made me more hungry. As I was watching Trisha Yearwood's new show (really hoping for a Garth cameo), she made this dessert called Sweet and Saltines. As she was making it, she referred to it as "crack," so I took that to be a good sign. I then realized I had all the ingredients for this recipe and I didn't care if it was 11AM, I was having this for breakfast! 

I decided to have some self-control and only make an 8x8 of this, rather than the giant sheet pan she used. I know myself and if it's in the house, I will eat it. Here is what happens often:

 

Here is the list of ingredients if you do the full recipe. I just cut these down by half-ish or more and called it good enough. I mean, can you really have too much of any of these ingredients?! No.

 

Ingredients:

    * Cooking spray
    * 35 to 40 saltine crackers
    * 2 sticks (1 cup) butter
    * 1 cup light brown sugar
    * 8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (about 1 1/3 cups)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Line your pan with foil and spray with nonstick spray. This keeps the caramel goodness from sticking to your pan and thus ruining this whole dessert and your life. Arrange the saltines in a single layer. I had to break some into smaller pieces to fit. Perfection isn't necessary here. Eating the too broken saltines is.

 

 

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together and boil for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour over the crackers, covering them evenly. Don't lick the spoon. It's not worth it. You will burn every taste bud off your tongue. Have hot, running water ready to put the pan under once you pour it out. This will prevent the sugar from sticking on the pan and thus ruining your life again.

 

Put the pan into the oven and bake for 2 to 4 minutes, or until just bubbly, watching carefully. 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.

 

Transfer the pan to the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until completely cold. They will form one big sheet. Break up into pieces. Store in an airtight container, if you have any leftovers! For the record, I didn't eat this whole pan for breakfast. I spread it out over Saturday and Sunday. I kept it in the fridge, because I felt it got too soft on the counter. You can also use graham crackers instead of saltines, but I like the salty/sweet.

Enjoy!