Valentine Cracker Candy- Goodbye Lie Diaries - Miss Ella

Yes, there are crackers under the chocolate!

Late 1800s                     Fernandina on Amelia Island Florida

Miss Ella's diary entry:          You know how I love tradition, Jane Marie. When I move on to my Heavenly home, I want my children and grandchildren to remember the sweet treats we made together, the ones I have to hide from my husband, Michael. 

Miss Ella

   Here is my recipe for Valentine (or any time) Cracker Candy. It is very easy to make with handy ingredients. As usual, please translate my recipe, from my time into your

modern time, so your readers understand the proper preparation.

***

Jane Marie responds: Thank you, Miss Ella. My modern changes are listed in blue below. Ava, our granddaughter, helped me make your delicious crackers. You were right about hiding them.  I had Ava hide them from me! 

Miss Ella's Cracker Candy

Miss Ella is the Dunnigan matriarch in The Goodbye Lie series set on

 Amelia Island, Florida in the late 1800s. 

Crackers, plain (Saltines) - enough to cover your baking sheet in a single layer (one sleeve)
1/2 cup butter, melted 
1 cup sugar and a smidge of molasses, mixed (Or we used brown sugar alone with no molasses.) 
1 spoonful vanilla (1 teaspoon)
1 to 2 cups chocolate - shaved (1 bag of chocolate chips)

Miss Ella Dunnigan

Grease your baking sheet (with non-stick spray).  Cover your flat baking sheet with a single layer of crackers. Melt the butter. Add the sugar with molasses (or brown sugar)and boil while stirring for 2 minutes, maybe 3, as it thickens a bit.  Stir in your vanilla.  Drizzle over the crackers.  Bake in a hot (425 degrees Fahrenheit ) oven for 3-5 minutes. While still hot, sprinkle the chocolate over top and spread evenly as it melts. Let cool and break into pieces.   


*Did you know the name cracker, the edible kind, came about when a baker in 1801 in Massachusetts named Josiah Bent burned the biscuits and they made a crackling noise as they blackened! 

* Origin of the name cracker found online at tripsavvy.com - Crackers: Invented in New England. Thank you, tripsavvy.com - jmm