Saltine toffee

This is the time of the fancy cookie. Christmas brings linzer cookies, snowballs, gingersnap sandwich cookies, brown sugar snowflakes. I don’t make any of those. I have never participated in a cookie exchange because the pressure’s just too great. I don’t want to be judged for malformed chocolate peppermint macaroons. Or find out one of the guests took my peanut butter blossom cookies and chucked them in the trash at the convenience store on the way home.

But saltine toffee? Now you’re talking. This is a recipe in which the end result is greater than the sum of its parts, which are exactly five ingredients.

By the way, I have a theory that all great Southern recipes have only three ingredients. Think about it. Sausage balls. Three ingredients. Artichoke dip. Three ingredients. Rotel dip. Three ingredients. Ham dip. Three ingredients if you add in the Frito Scoops.

But I digress. Even with five ingredients, you will be amazed (AMAZED!) at how good this tastes. Even people who don’t cook can make this and be proud. I am already at my limit of Christmas sweets. I’ve had Scottish shortbread (50 percent butter — how can you go wrong?), lemon curd tarts, gingerbread spritz cookies and sandwich jam cookies. But I’m making this toffee this weekend. I hope it freezes beautifully.

Saltine toffee

4 ounces saltine crackers

1 cup butter

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper and then add the saltine crackers in single layer.

Combine the sugar and the butter in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Immediately pour over the saltines and spread to cover the crackers completely.

Bake at 400 degrees for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let the pan sit for 5 minutes so the chocolate melts. Spread the melted chocolate and top with chopped nuts. Cool completely and break into pieces.

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