SALTINE TOFFEE

 "Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart." -Washington Irving.

  My mother was always so generous to my friends when they came over at Christmas. She would make a wonderful meal, with the house all decorated, and  send each person home with treats, or xmas card boxes filled with shortbread.

1978

The fire would be roaring,  Christmas music playing, and everyone dressed to the nines. She lived on a pension , so things were tight, but every year she would budget for a party. She loved having my friends over. It was a happy , young  time , and it felt good. It felt like Christmas.

 This year, Smokey sits in the window once more. A gift from some dear , wonderful friends.  We were missing him, looking at the window or the door all the time,expecting to see him there. But all I ever saw was a shadow of him that once was. He was hung up in the window the day I made  the  TOFFEE.  I could imagine him pressing his face against the glass, washing his paws as he used to.

 SALTINE TOFFEE is easy peasy. Makes a great gift.  Kind of addictive, so try to have some restraint........or not!

 1 ½ packets of salted soda crackers

½ cup butter ( not margarine)

1 cup brown sugar

Lots  of chocolate chips 

Line cookie sheet with foil. Spray foil with Pam. Lay crackers over foil, filling the entire space. 

 By the way: I wrote "LOTS of chocolate chips" cause it's  kind of hard to figure out how many.  Enough to cover the sheet of cracker toffee should do it.

 Combine butter and brown sugar in saucepan. Boil 3 mins. Careful not to have the heat to high, or it will scorch. Stir continuously till bubbling all over.

 "Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients  of a truly Merry Christmas."-Peg Bracken

 That reminds me the the Christmases my mother would keep  shortbread in a huge glass antique cookie jar. She would count them methodically. Lay them in icing sugar. I was often told not to touch. They were for company. But in the wee hours of the morning I could not resist and would sneak a couple from the middle layers.  One early morning, I found my mother  with icing sugar on her fingers, as she was raiding that jar, and a cup of tea  beside her. Seems like we both had the same idea....

 Back to the recipe: Pour mixture , thinly, over all the crackers and spread evenly. 

 Bake at 350 degrees for about 5 minutes. 

 Crackers will most likely  float. 

 That's okay. The whole pan will bubble up and become very  , very hot. Handle with care.

 Remove from oven and while warm, sprinkle LOTS of chocolate chips over toffee. Cover the entire surface. 

 Place back into warm oven. Chips will soften

 Be careful of the hot toffee. It will not harden, but soften into a Brown Sugar paste, almost.

 Then spread with flat spatula, till all melted and even.

 Put into fridge to set.When set, break into pieces.  Be sure to hide this……it is irrestistible……I have tried to freeze it, and as long as it is not frozen for longer than three weeks will be okay. Be sure to keep in a sturdy ziploc bag.

 "At Christmas, all roads lead home." -Marjorie Holmes

 Photographs 2017