Chocolate Brittle Surprise

Since Christmas is just around the corner [hey, it is in my book because I’m that girl who listens to Christmas music in July!], I thought I’d post something that has worked out beautifully as part of gift baskets for friends and coworkers during the holiday season in past years. It’s really easy to make, although be careful not to burn yourself with the hot butter/sugar mixture, ‘cause that hurts in a major way [ah, the voice of experience]! And watch it closely --- it’ll burn before ya can yell “what the . . . ”!

I made a few pans of this last year and the year before, broke ‘em up, slid ‘em into cute little holiday food bags and called it a day. And trust me, it’s not like getting fruitcake. People actually enjoy this “surprise”! No, I have no idea why it’s called "surprise" either. Perhaps because it’s made with soda crackers and that’s somewhat surprising? Hmmmmm, wish I could remember where I found the recipe . . .

Chocolate Brittle Surprise

35 unsalted soda crackers
1 c. butter
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1 c. chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350F. Cover a cookie sheet with foil and spray foil with nonstick spray. Place crackers on foil in 5x7 rows. Microwave butter on high for 2 minutes; add brown sugar, stir and microwave another 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Pour over crackers and bake 10-15 minutes, checking often starting around the 10-minute mark [to make sure the mixture does not burn]. Remove from the oven and sprinkle chips and nuts over hot crackers; spread after 2 minutes [chips should have melted]. Refrigerate 1 hour; break into pieces. This can be frozen, by the way.

See? Super duper easy! Easy as, well, chocolate brittle surprise! And I bet variations would be just as tasty as the original, like using white or butterscotch chips instead of semisweet. Don't they make peppermint ones around the holidays, too? Now I'm going to have to play around with this --- enjoy!Update: This will be linked up to Life as Mom’s Ultimate Recipe Swap for today, Thursday, 12/2/10. It's for favorite cookie recipes today, and while I realize this isn't technically a cookie, it wouldn't be the holidays around here without some of this fabulous little dessert. Check out her site for more great holiday cookie ideas!