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Dessert

Saltine Cookies

A sweet cookie made from saltine crackers, butter, sugar, chocolate chips, and optional pecans.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Chocolate and pecans work together. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 804 recipes. Both carry 2,3-pentanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Saltine Cookies

Oven350°F
Time15 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the toffee

  1. Melt butter and sugar.

  2. Boil for 3 minutes.

  3. Pour butter and sugar mixture over the crackers and spread evenly.

Prepare the tray

  1. Line a cookie sheet (with sides) with foil (no seams).

  2. Place one layer of crackers on the foil (12 or more).

Bake and finish

  1. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes.

  2. Sprinkle chocolate chips over crackers.

  3. When the chocolate chips start to melt, spread them evenly.

  4. Top with chopped pecans.

  5. Cool in refrigerator and break into pieces.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

957Calories
17 gProtein
42 gFat
128 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Pecans1 oz (28g / ~19 halves)196
Chocolate1 oz (28g) semisweet155
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Chocolate + pecanstop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together804 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

  2. Butter + pecanstop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,416 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

  3. Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Butter + chocolatetop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,543 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  5. Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Butter
Adds richness and fat, helping the toffee layer stay tender and flavorful.
Sugar
Sweetens the layer and, when boiled with butter, forms a toffee that sets as it cools.
Saltines
Form the crisp, salty base that holds the toffee and chocolate.
Chocolate chips
Melt over the hot crackers to form a glossy, spreadable topping that sets firm when chilled.

The step that matters

Boil for 3 minutes. Boiling butter and sugar long enough lets the mixture reach the temperature needed to set into a brittle toffee. Too short a boil leaves a soft layer that will not firm up when cooled.

Swap the pecans

The recipe marks pecans as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, chocolate):

  1. Almondfits better
  2. Pecansthe original
  3. Hazelnutfits about as well
  4. Peanutfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, chocolate. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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