Amid a whirlwind weekend full of family, tacos, and probably too little reading, I needed to find a quick recipe that would also be a crowd pleaser. I’ve had this before around Christmas, and generally am not able to step away from a plate of it. Turns out it also makes for a great cookout dessert for a lot of people in very little time.

My family was having a reunion at noon, and when I got home at 11AM, my mom informed me that she had volunteered me to make a dessert. Fortunately, all we needed to do for this was get a box of saltines and we were good to go. Pro tip (that I’ll be following myself in the future): keep some saltines, chocolate chips, and plenty of butter on hand in case you also must come up with a super quick dessert for something. I’m envisioning making this again for football viewing all Fall.

First, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and lay out a sleeve of Saltines in a single layer. In a small saucepan, heat the butter and sugar over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and just starts to bubble. Yes, the main ingredient for these is a melted butter and sugar mixture. At this point in the process, you should know you’re making something tasty. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Spread mixture over Saltines. Bake at 350°F for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Return to oven for 2 minutes to soften chocolate. Remove from oven again and spread chocolate to create even coating. Allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes before placing cookie sheet in freezer to harden completely, another couple of hours. Break up into pieces and store in the fridge or freezer until ready to eat. And that’s it! Salty, chocolatey, buttery, sugary deliciousness. This full plate was gone in a matter of minutes, no joke.

Enjoy!

Saltine Bark

Ingredients:

• 1 sleeve Saltines
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange Saltines in a single layer.
2. In a small saucepan, melt sugar and butter over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until just starts to bubble. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in vanilla extract.
4. Spread mixture over Saltines evenly.
5. Bake at 350°F for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Return to oven for 2 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and spread melted chocolate chips over butter layer with a rubber spatula. Allow to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes.
7. Freeze cookie sheet for a couple of hours until hardened. Break into pieces to serve.