Introduction: Basics - Addictive Chocolate Soda Cracker Cookies

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These cookies are almost addictive for chocoholics such as myself. It's hard to stop eating them, once one has had the first one. Although it seems like a lot of steps to go through to make them, it is actually an easy process.

Step 1: Ingredients and Equipment

Ingredients
About 1 1/2 sleeves of soda crackers; unsalted is probably the best, i.e. forget the soda part
1/2 cup sugar (not bad so far)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter (whoa, here come the calories!)
12 oz chocolate chips (when does it end?)
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (ahh, one healthy ingredient); Roasted pecans are a good substitute for walnuts.
Equipment
cookie sheet
baking paper
spatula, handy but not essential
measuring things, and other normal kitchen equipment

Step 2: Layout

Preheat oven to 325°F.
Line cookie sheet with baking paper, overlapping the sides.
Cover the baking paper in the cookie sheet with soda crackers (saltines) in a single layer.

Step 3: Boil the Sugar and Butter for 3-4 Minutes

Stir and boil together sugar and butter in a small saucepan for 3-4 minutes.
Make sure the mixture is boiling when you start the timer. If it turns brown, take it out right away.

Step 4: Pour Melted Butter and Suger Over the Crackers

Pour sugar/butter mixture over crackers and spread evenly.
Put the cookie sheet in the oven and bake for approximately 8 minutes...the cookies will be golden and bubbly but not brown.

Step 5: Chocolate Layer

As soon as the cookie sheet is out of the oven, sprinkle approximately 12 ounces of chocolate chips on top of the crackers.
Put cookie sheet back in oven for about 1 minute to help chocolate melt.
Spread chocolate with a knife or spatula.

Step 6: Walnut (or Pecan) Layer

Sprinkle 1 ½ cup chopped nuts evenly on top of the melted chocolate, covering the whole area.
Press the chopped nuts slightly with a spatula so the nuts adhere to the chocolate.

Step 7: Freeze the Cookies and Break Them Up

Put the cookie sheet in the freezer and cool until hard--ten to twenty minutes.
Lift the cookies out by the baking paper and peel back gently from cookies
Break the cookies into pieces. I use a big knife, to help break them into somewhat regular sizes.
Mostly, these cookies have to be broken into varying sizes and shapes, they don't cut well.

Step 8: What to Do With the Finished Soda Cracker Cookies

Keep covered in the refrigerator or freezer.
It's best to keep them under lock-and-key. Don't let the kids get them. Nor should you eat any of them yourself. Save them for guests you don't particularly like, especially if they don't take any statins.
Please disregard the picture accompanying this step. I just couldn't restrain myself.