Rooster's Famous Fire Crackers
Rooster's Famous Fire Crackers are Saltines topped with cheese, baked for 10 seconds, then left in the oven for two hours.
Servings 12
Cost 5
Ingredients
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes or a pinch or two of paprika
- 40 Saltines, fat free or regular or just regular Saltines
- 10 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese grated fine
Instructions
- Arrange a rack in the center and preheat oven to 475ºF. In some ovens you may find you need to use 425F or 450F.
- Spray a non-shiny 10x15-inch jelly-roll pan with cooking spray and arrange crackers in rows so that crackers are touching each other. Alternatively, you may line the pan with parchment paper.
- Sprinkle pepper flakes over crackers.
- Bake for exactly 10 seconds, then turn the oven off.
- Leave in the oven for at least 2 hours with the door closed. The hot oven melts and browns the cheese, producing an even coating of crisp brown cheese. The fat from the cheese soaks into the crackers and puffs them slightly. The cheese should be kind of a dark, brownish-orange. If it’s completely brown, the crackers are probably burnt.
Notes
I first baked these in a shiny foil lined pan at 475 and while they were tasty, they were a little over-done. I did the second batch using more foil but with a heat of 450 and had better results. Shirley says that you may need to experiment with baking temps since not all ovens run the same. The cheese should be light to medium brown but not burned. Update: As mentioned above, 425 works for me, but test in your own oven.
They keep well (if you can stop eating them) for several weeks sealed in an airtight container.