Saltine Caramels

One of the huge perks of attending Eat, Write, Retreat was the well-stocked swag bag that attendees received. The samples and gifts seemed never ending, and one that I enjoyed weeks later was a copy of the beautiful magazine Where Women Cook.

I took it to the Cape, and in the cold, rainy days there, thumbed through each of its recipes, stopping dead in my tracks when I saw this:

Where Women Cook

Caramels made with saltine crackers

I thought these looked so easy, so beautiful, and so delicious that I couldn’t stop thinking about them until I made them. For the post that follows, forget the above photo. It didn’t go down that way.

First off, I didn’t have the cute tin with little squares to neatly fit the saltines in each little square for a perfect caramel. Second I didn’t have parchment paper, and my husband picked up dark brown sugar instead of light. This is why I don’t do desserts. Meals can be made from almost nothing.

But I digress.

My caramels turned out just fine and not at all fancy or presentable.

I used a pie plate with no parchment, fitting in as many saltines as possible

saltines

Then I made my caramel, as simple as boiling up a cup of brown sugar and a cup of butter. I used dark brown sugar, and I actually think I liked it better than the light brown sugar the recipe called for.

butter and brown sugar

I cooked the caramel until bubbling and thick and the butter and sugar were completely blended, stirring constantly, according to the recipe directions. Then I poured it over my saltines and baked the whole thing at 350 for five minutes.

Once the pan was out of the oven, I sprinkled it with chocolate chips and sea salt.

chocolate chips

caramel

The caramel cooled in the fridge for a few hours before I decided to dive in with a sharp knife. It had hardened to a perfect candy consistency, the chips slightly melted in, the salt hanging out just at the surface, and the saltines providing a crunch at the bottom. And getting it out of the pie plate was so difficult, I believe I burned all of the calories from eating the caramel before I even started. Luckily the caramel was just for home consumption, so it didn’t have to be beautiful. I can’t wait to try again; this recipe would make for great little holiday gifts!

What toppings would you put on your caramels?

Tags: candy, caramel, dessert, recipe

  1. Elizabeth’s avatar

    Ooh, I’ve done something very similar with matza instead of saltines over Passover. I could totally eat the whole pie plate of this.

    Reply

  2. Megan’s avatar

    Ooh I used to make something like this, but you just toss a whole bunch of stuff on top like nuts, mini m&ms, broken pretzels, etc. It’s a great snack for those times when you’re craving salty and sweet.

    Reply

  3. MelissaNibbles’s avatar

    Very creative! I want some.

    Reply

  4. Raija’s avatar

    You made it!!! YUM!!!! Looks great!! Good improvisation!

    Reply

  5. Heather’s avatar

    My mother-in-laws sister makes something similar to this but with just melted chocolate – she tops it with nuts. I love the salty/sweet combo.

    I love the idea of adding caramel. I love caramel and this looks simple enough to make!

    Thanks for posting.

    Reply

  6. Daisy’s avatar

    love the salty sweet combo!

    Reply

  7. Erica’s avatar

    Seems like such a fun and easy dish – great treat 🙂

    Reply

  8. shannon’s avatar

    I’ve had something like this and it was fantastic. i mean, so delicious i don’t care how it looks 🙂 i think you improv’ed pretty well!

    Reply

  9. Emily’s avatar

    I’m always interested in salty/sweet foods – these sound great. Kudos for successfully making caramel; I’ve struggled with it many times!

    Reply

  10. !Bridget’s avatar

    This sounds SO good!! I don’t know how long I could last letting it cool haha, I bet it’s good a little warm too 🙂

    Reply

  11. Kerstin’s avatar

    Yes please, these sound completely addicting! I always make caramel with cream and granulated sugar though, so I’ll have to try this version!

    Reply

  12. Michelle’s avatar

    A friend of mine used to make something similar in college and I haven’t had one of these in YEARS!

    Reply

  13. alicia’s avatar

    I had something similar at passover this year – I like the sweet and salty combo. I’d probably add some chopped nuts to this!

    Reply

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