Firecrackers

This Firecracker Recipe is crispy, savory, and so easy! Perfect for snacking over the holidays or gifting to your friends & family.

Course Snack

Cook Time 25

Inactive Time 12

Total Time 12 25

Servings people

Calories 182

Author Timothy Pakron

Ingredients

¾ cup light olive oil or other neutral oil such as sunflower or avocado
¼ cup cold-pressed olive oil
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes less if desired
1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika sweet or hot
1 ½ teaspoons mustard powder
1 teaspoon unbleached sugar
½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 sleeves saltine crackers desired brand / 8 ounces or 227 g

Instructions

Combine the marinade: To a large container with a tightly fitting lid or a gallon-sized sealable bag, add the lighter oil, extra virgin olive oil, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, onion powder, crushed red pepper flakes, smoked paprika, mustard powder, sugar, black pepper, and salt. Stir well to combine. At this point, you can spoon a bit of the seasoned oil onto a saltine and taste it. If you’ve started with a smaller amount of red pepper flakes, this is a good time to try it and see if you can handle the full 2 tablespoons. It’s also a good time to taste for salt and add another pinch if you’d like
Add the crackers and marinate: When you’re happy with the marinade, carefully add 2 sleeves of saltines. (Don’t worry if any pieces break though, those are a treat for the chef!) Seal the container and toss it around gently. Flip it upside down and leave it for a bit, and then continue to gently move the container around, rotating it around all angles until the crackers are fairly evenly coated. At this point, you can speed up the marinating process by doing a toss with your hands. Simply do a few gentle tosses with your fingers, and if you’d like to be extra thorough, you can rub the spiced oil over each cracker. Then let the crackers sit overnight, or as long as you can, tossing and turning the container every few hours if you can.
Bake the firecrackers: When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 250° F (121°C) and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment. Technically this step is optional, as the crackers already taste great once they’re marinated, but a quick toast takes them to the next level! Simply line up the crackers on the baking sheets, leaving a bit of room between them, and gently rubbing any remaining marinade on the crackers as you go. Once they’re all lined up, place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, then if you have the time, flip the crackers and return them to the oven, switching the position of the two trays. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until fragrant and toasty. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving or storing in an air-tight container.

Notes

There are a few different levels of how easy these firecrackers can be:

Easiest: Marinate the firecrackers for a few hours/overnight and enjoy.

Medium: Marinate the firecrackers overnight, then bake on one side for 15 minutes and enjoy.

Labor of love: Marinate the firecrackers overnight, spreading the marinade by hand. Let sit overnight. Then bake for 15 minutes, flip each cracker, and bake for an additional 10 minutes, rotating the pans’ positions in the oven. Then enjoy the absolute best version of these firecrackers!

Nutrition