Pine Bark

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This easy, delicious, candy slash cookie is made with… you ready? Saltine crackers! Yup.

With the whole salted caramel mania these past couple of years, it's sort of understandable. Pine Bark is basically caramel over saltine crackers, slathered with chocolate. The crackers add a crazy good texture and a perfect hit of salt. I know, crackers, it's a little weird (almost as weird as Ritz crackers dipped in mint chocolate, which is also delicious and which I should probably also share). But you must trust me on this.

This recipe is courtesy of Paula Deen. So many delicious foods come from Paula Deen. So many fattening foods. I'll be seeing less of Paula after the first of the year. I'll miss her.

Pine Bark (I have no idea how it got its name) is another must-make holiday treat for me. And people dig it. I suggest a double batch.

Here's the recipe!

Pine Bark

Adapted from Paula Deen's recipe on foodnetwork.com

Makes about 40 pieces

Ingredients:

• One sleeve saltine crackers (about 35 crackers)
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup brown sugar (packed)
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate, whichever you prefer)

  

Instructions:

1. Turn oven to 375 degrees.
2. Line a jelly roll pan (a cookie sheet with sides) with foil. Spray well with Pam.
3. Lay crackers salt side up in a single layer in the pan.

   

4. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium low heat.
5. Add brown sugar.
6. Leave heat on medium low and stir frequently until the mixture comes to a full boil.
7. Once the mixture comes to a full boil, cook for three minutes, stirring constantly. (It should look like this when you start timing. If you don't cook it long enough, the brown sugar may not dissolve, and you end up with grainy pine bark. Not nearly as delicious.)

   

8. Remove brown sugar and butter from heat, and stir in the almond extract.
9. Pour over the saltine crackers.

   

10. Place in the oven and bake for 6 minutes. It'll be all bubbly when you pull it out.

    

11. Remove from oven and sprinkle with chocolate chips.
12. Let chocolate chips get all melty (it'll take a couple of minutes), then spread evenly with a spatula.

    

13. Let cool until you can touch the chocolate (this may take an hour or more) – but not all the way.  If you let the Pine Bark cool 100% on the foil, you may have a hard time getting it off of the foil. So let it cool somewhat, then transfer to some wax paper or parchment paper to cool the rest of the way. You may also want to refrigerate it to get it nice and hard.

    

14. Then, cut into pieces and serve. I like to store mine in the refrigerator, but it generally keeps fine at room temp, too.

Yet another addicting treat that I have to limit to holidays only. I have SO MUCH exercising to do come January.