Sweet and Salty Cracker Candy

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Arrange saltine crackers on a large baking sheet (I use a jelly roll pan, but one with sides is fine) in one layer, salt side up, until entire pan is filled. You may have some gaps where a whole cracker won’t fit; that is okay. You can break a cracker in half or just leave the space empty. Set the pan aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and add light brown sugar over medium heat. Stir continuously until the butter is fully incorporated with the sugar and you don’t see any puddles of butter on the surface. At this point, reduce the heat to low and allow to simmer for 5-6 minutes. Stir often to prevent scorching and to keep the mixture from separating. Remove from heat and stir in almond extract. Immediately pour over the pan of crackers. Use an offset spatula to spread the sugar mixture around to all corners of the pan as best as you can (it will spread further in the oven), making sure that the crackers stay in one layer. Bake in the preheated oven for 6 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven. The sugar mixture should be nice and bubbly. Drop the white chocolate or vanilla candy coating pieces evenly over the crackers. Allow to sit and melt for a minute or two, then use an offset spatula or wooden spoon to spread the chips in an even layer on top of the crackers. Finally, sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Cool in the pan for 5 minutes (do not allow to cool completely in the pan or it could get stuck!). Carefully remove candy from the pan using a wide metal spatula and place on your counter or another large, flat surface, on top of a piece of waxed paper. Cool completely.

Break into pieces and enjoy! For best results, keep refrigerated.