The Christmas season is in full swing and that means it's time for treats.
While there’s plenty of tips to help out with the bigger dishes, having a quick and easy sweet treat to fall back on is always a useful card to have up your sleeve.
And thanks to an old Instagram post from Reese Witherspoon - who has previously shared recipes and lessons in Southern hospitality in her own cookbook - there’s the "simplest thing" that you might just become obsessed with, whether it’s something to enjoy yourself or to impress any unexpected guests with.
In a post from 2022 (which now appears to be deleted, but fans on TikTok and other platforms have resurfaced to recreate the recipe themselves), Reese explained, "Okay, I saw this recipe in Southern Living. It's cracker toffee and it's the simplest thing."
Reese’s sweet treat needs just five ingredients - saltines, butter, brown sugar, chocolate chips, and candy cane bites. Anyone wanting to make this in the UK can switch out saltines for a simple sea salt cracker.
To make the treat, Reese explained, "You put down the crackers [lining them on a baking tray], you make a caramel sauce out of brown sugar and butter" and then after slathering your sauce over your arranged crackers, "you bake it for 15 minutes".
After the crackers and sauce have baked, you sprinkle on a generous serving of chocolate chips and Christmas candy cane parts, and it’s ready to eat.
If you fancied adding your own flair to the treat, you could try sprinkling on other flavours or toppings. Edible glitter might make it a statement dessert for any parties you’re attending, or you could experiment with flavours like cinnamon, chilli flakes or anything that you feel could pair well.
After posting the recipe originally in December 2022, when she was helped by her youngest son, Tennessee, she wrote (per the Daily Mail), "Easiest holiday treat recipe EVER!! A new family favorite."
If this has given your sweet tooth the taste for more, there's plenty of other simple, sweet recipes to try out, from three comforting jam-filled bakes to chocolate coffee brownie mince pies.
