Holiday Crack

My friend David sent me a recipe for New Year's Eve Crack.

Warning! This is a highly addictive treat and you won't be able to eat just one piece. I would never make this to have around the house, but I'd gladly make it for a party at someone else's house.

I plan on taking this "crack' to my friend Joni's New Year's Eve Party tomorrow night.

After I read the ingredients, I realized I would have to modify it just a bit. I don't care for the product sold here for brown sugar, because is it simply raw sugar with caramel added, and it doesn't pack down well. I like using the real thing... traditional sugar cakes sold as Tapa de Dulce. In my opinion, Tapa de Dulce has more of a natural molasses flavor I find delicious.

Ingredients:
20-24 saltine crackers
2 sticks (1 cup) butter
1 cup packed Tapa de Dulce (or brown sugar if you must)
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup of holiday sprinkles (think 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year's colors)

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Line a cookie sheet with foil and coat it with nonstick cooking spray. 
• Lay the saltine crackers on the cookie sheet in a single layer with the salted side down.
• Grate the Tapa de Dulce with a cheese grater, or food processor until you have enough to firmly pack one cup of sugar.
• Melt the butter and Tapa de Dulce in a saucepan over medium heat and stir frequently to prevent the butter from scorching.
• Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil for 3-5 minutes to create toffee.
• Remove from the heat and carefully pour the butter and sugar mixture over the crackers on the cookie sheet.
• Place the cookie sheet with the crackers and toffee in the oven for 3-5 minutes, until the toffee is bubbly all over. Carefully remove the cookie sheet from the oven.
• Immediately top the toffee crackers with the chocolate chips, and allow them to sit for a minute to soften and melt. When the chocolate chips are soft, take an offset spatula and spread the melted chocolate into an even layer over the toffee crackers.
• Top with holiday colored sprinkles.
• Place the cookie sheet in the freezer for a least 30 minutes.  Once the "crack" is set, break it into small uneven pieces by hand.
• The Holiday Crack can be stored in a airtight container for about a week (if it lasts that long.)

Snacks

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Waffle Iron Hashbrowns

We make hashbrown potatoes all the time on an old cast iron griddle. Yesterday I stumbled upon an interesting recipe on Pinterest that is very similar to the one I've created.

Here in Costa Rica, you don't just pop on over to the local grocery store and pick up some frozen shredded potatoes. Here, you shred your own potatoes, or you go without hashbrowns. This is my version of Waffle Iron Hashbrowns.

Ingredients:
• 2 cups freshly shredded potatoes
• 1 tablespoon of butter, melted
• 1 one egg
• 1½ teaspoons flour
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon black pepper
• pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions:
Preheat the waffle iron to it's highest setting. Rinse the shredded potatoes thoroughly to remove as much starch as possible (this prevents them from becoming gummy). Blot the potatoes dry on a clean dish towel and set them aside.  In a medium size bowl, mix the egg with all the remaining ingredients. Add the shredded potatoes to the egg mixture and toss until the potatoes are well coated.

Spray the waffle iron with some non-stick spray and layer the potatoes evenly on the waffle iron.  Bake for a minimum of 10 minutes. If your timer on the waffle iron beeps before the baking time is up, ignore it, and pay attention to the steam escaping.  When the steam stops, the hashbrowns are done.


Carefully remove your finished waffle iron hashbrowns and enjoy!

Servings: 2

Side Dish

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