Aunt Looney’s Easy Peasy Party Crackers
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Aunt Looney’s Easy Peasy Party Crackers are always the life of the party!
Party Crackers are the stuff of legends among old school crowds in the South. Boutiques have jars of them on the counter, bags of special recipes are gifted at holidays, trays are featured at bridal showers and sporting events, and private recipes are written and rewritten over and over as they are passed around in kitchens and church meetings.
If you’ve never tasted what I’m talking about, you may think my sister in law is holding a tray of plain old saltines in that picture, but once you try this recipe, you’ll know that Tina is actually holding the most popular tray at the party. This is the one that everybody is going to head to and clean off first.
Today we’re still coming back from what I am referring to as “the bubonic flu” at our house, so I’m taking this opportunity to share Tina’s recipe. Tina is also referred to as “Aunt Looney” in my cookbooks. She is Katy’s favorite aunt in the universe because she is always fun, crazy in the best ways, and just a hoot to be around.
The instructions are simple so I’m just sharing those along with the final photos of Aunt Looney :). Make these for your next get together – or just to snack on around the house, and get ready for one of the best tasting crackers that’s ever passed your lips!
Ingredients
- 5 sleeves of saltine crackers
- 1 +1/4 cup canola oil
- 1 pkg ranch dressing mix
- 1 pkg Italian dressing mix
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Line crackers on their sides (Edges, like they were in the sleeve) in rows of a plastic dish with a tight fitting lid (These Rubbermaid Takealongs are perfect). Don't worry if they won't all fit, just put as many as you can.
- Pour oil in a 1 pint canning jar. Add dressing mixes and Parmesan cheese. Screw on lid and shake jar well.
- Slowly pour all of the mix over each row of crackers.
- Put on casserole lid and flip it over. Let sit for 5 minutes. Flip the casserole back over and let sit for 5 minutes. Repeat every 5 minutes for 1 hour and they are ready to serve.
- Store, tightly sealed, up to one week if there are any left over.
Nutrition
~Gracie Allen
OMG! I can’t believe how addictively delicious these crackers are. I used part whole wheat saltines and must say they are my favourite. I will definitely make these again. Unfortunately I live in Canada where we don’t sell the dressing mix but I cross the border 5 or 6 times a year and will definitely have this on my grocery list from now on. Thank you Christy for another great recipe.
I am so glad you liked them Sandy!!!
There are recipes on Pinterest to make your own Ranch Dressing powder/mix.
These are delish!! I’ve made them using either the Hidden Valley Ranch Fiesta or Spicy Ranch favors.
Ohhh, I need to find the spicy flavors!!
I am from the northern states. When I moved down south I went to a church gathering I thought it was kinda odd for southerners to bring a plate of saltines to a pot luck. Just thought things are ” different ” down here . Was I surprised these seasoned saltine cracked are awsome just like the southern sweet tea, flakey buiscuits made from lard and southern twang. “Different” is always good down south!
We are an odd bunch, aren’t we? Lol. I love the little surprises and treasures we can find in different cultures. It would be interesting to see what surprised your Southern friends after a visit up North! 😀
This reminds me of a funny thing. When my sister’s friend from Texas came to visit us in northern NY State one spring, we tried to give him rhubarb custard pie, a favorite of ours from an old family recipe. He refused to believe that a pie with “all that green stuff in it” would be any good! We laughed and laughed! Don’t you have rhubarb in the south?? haha!
You know, I had never heard of rhubarb pie until college. One of my nutrition teachers was from the midwest and she mentioned it one night and ended up having to spend the rest of the class describing it and trying to convince us it was good! 🙂 To this day I’ve not had a chance to try it but I did see rhubarb in the grocery store the other day. Back when I was growing up, our produce availability tended to be more regional, and even them Southerners bought the foods they knew how to cook and looked at new things as if it were an alien of some sorts. Nowadays, it is amazing to see the variety of foods from all over the world in a little old grocery store in Huntsville, Alabama. With the onset of the internet, recipes and techniques are readily available to anyone so many more folks are eating outside of their cultural bubble. Even so, I still have never tried rhubarb pie. I would like an opportunity at some point, though!
My mom used to make both rhubarb pie and strawberry rhubarb pie. The whole family loved both pies. Strawberry rhubarb was my favorite. So, if you do have a chance to try a rhubarb pie, be sure to taste both pies. I think they are very different from each other and both so good.
I live in south and rhubarb pie has been around for a long time here. Its also has been made with rhubarb and strswberries, and grows in two of my friends’ gardens.
Oh Christy, you simply must try a rhubarb custard pie, soo simple to make, rhubarb, sugar, flour and eggs, mix bake, LOVE. My favorite is definately plain rhubarb though rhubarb strawberry is much loved by many many people too. I like my strawberrys fresh. At any rate, frozen rhubarb is also available and would be easier to use for your first time pie, though it is easy to grow and you may find you want to grow your own after you try it.
Good luck with trying it soon, let us know what you think.
Thank you for all the information and tips Beth!!!
I took a batch of these to our Mother’s Day family dinner and they were a hit. I ate a good amount of them myself. Thank you to Aunt Looney for the easy and affordable party snacks!
If you use oyster crackers, how many ounces or bags? The amount of oil makes me wonder what the proportion should be.
This sounds like my idea of “cooking” – ha! Can’t wait to try it 🙂
Chrissy, thanks so much for posting even when you’re feeling poorly. I hope you and yours are right as rain by the time you read this comment!
Thank you Quinn, we are getting there!
This might sound weird, but what do you serve with these ?? I mean, I can’t just make a plate of crackers– can I ?? What ‘other’ things go well with them, if I should want to serve them at a party, I will add !! Thanks so much. I enjoy you every time. Glad you’re feeling better.
Setting them out all on their own is perfectly fine….. they won’t last long. We’ll be having a “tapas-style” (appetizer only) housewarming soon….. these will be on the table for sure!
They are really good with slices of extra sharp cheddar. Of course, I think everything is good with slices of extra sharp cheddar!
I like the way you think Lacey!!