In the South, we’re known for hospitality, especially for our ability to offer pickup foods at a moment’s notice. ‘Y’all come over, no- we’re just having pickup foods’ … It could be as simple as parched peanuts…or quickly toasting some buttery salted pecans, even pulling some cheese straws from the freezer and baking them off to put in a little silver bowl. I have to admit having a little snack greatly improves conversation! We tend to keep a box or bag of a favorite cookie or cracker, but we do have our standards! The best is a little 1 inch square cheese cracker we’ve all been eating, all across this country since the 1920’s! It’s dangerous for me to be in the vicinity of a bright red box of Cheez-its®! 
The all time favorite snack cracker of my lifetime- Cheez-its®, to my way of thinking can hardly be improved upon; now, with so many different flavors on the market why would anyone even want to try? Well, on a scrap of paper found in one of my cookbooks- I had scribbled-
- Cheez-its®
- Melted Butter
- Cinnamon
- Brown Sugar
- Cayenne and Salt
- Bake
*No measurements, no oven temperature, no bake time…were on that scrap of paper! Who even knew why I kept it? Recently, I needed a new pickup food. Of course I had a box of Cheez-its squirrelled away in the pantry! I have to tell you, everything else on that list has a permanent place here too! I thought about it- and here’s how I made them:
Camellia’s Cottage Sweet Spicy Snack Crackers
- I preheated the oven to 350 degrees, and poured the entire box of Cheez-its (12.4 oz size) into a large mixing bowl (approximately 4 cups more or less)
- I lined a sheet pan with parchment paper and I was ready to go!
- Cheez-its are baked not fried, so I melted a stick of Salted Butter on low heat.
- I mixed together 3/4 cup of firmly packed Brown Sugar, added 1 teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon, a couple of pinches of Cayenne Pepper (go easy here) and poured them into the melted Butter.
- On low heat, I waited until the Brown Sugar and spices were almost dissolved.
- I poured the whole pan of spicy sweet mixture over the Cheez-its and tossed to coat them well, then spread them out in a single layer.
- They were baked for 12-15 minutes, tossing occasionally until the crackers were shiny and the edges were carmelized.
After these Sweet Spicy Snack Crackers were pulled from the oven, I sprinkled a bit of Sea Salt over the top- not much now… When the crackers were cooled, I do admit to having to break some of them apart. *If not serving right away, I would recommend storing them in an airtight container.
The results after just one try- were, to my taste- worthy of offering as a pickup food to drop in company! I had some plump red grapes, a few fresh figs and small tangerines on hand. Okay, to make it seemed more like a healthy snack! It didn’t hurt that the kitchen smelled warm and spicy on an early Fall Day!
Love y’all, Camellia
*Cheez- it® are a registered trademark of Kellogg- under the name of Sunshine Bakery. This is not a paid advertisement, just a testimonial of how much we love them here at Camellia’s Cottage!
Alabama is a beautiful and unique state- we have mountains, rivers, lakes- all the way down to the most beautiful beaches and bays you can imagine! In the Fall, folks like to take a Sunday drive to see the colorful displays of autumn beauty or stay beside one of our Lakes, hike through the woods to see a Waterfall or stop at a Roadside Stand. When Mother Nature shows out and throws down carpets of gold, green and red and happily reaches her arms up to the sky with brightly colored leaves– it’s breathtaking when we have a beautiful Fall, y’all! Let’s get going on our Road Trip- through the Backroads of Alabama…
You can almost hear the singin’…. ‘For the Beauty of the Earth…’ ringing out from the churches!
In the South, Fall is usually the shortest season of the year. Summer starts cheerfully in May, then trudges until the end of October. The new magazines are Showoffs with Fat Pumpkins, artful pictures of Fall Fashion, even Autumn inspired Apple and Pumpkin Pies- to be honest, I never say Autumn and I’d take a Sweet Potato Pie over Pumpkin any day! The magazines show Fall Home Décor and stunning photographs of Fall Foliage- it just galls me, here we sit sweltering in the heat! That glow Southern women are known for comes from the heat and humidity that stays with us almost all year round…By Fall? We pine for, we long for cool crisp air- we would dearly love to put on fall fashions, except you cannot go outside – you must be inside under the air conditioner to wear your cute sweater set and boots. The Weather Channel gets a huge Southern audience in the Fall for Hurricanes, First Frost Dates or Scorching Temperatures in the high 80’s. Folks just start runnin’ for the hills. Honestly a Fall like this one is enough to make you willing to give up Iced Tea for one cool breeze! At SEC football games, it has been so hot the players had to have IV’s for dehydration! Alabama often has stunning Fall Color- that means the leaves have turned pretty colors, just not here, this year. This Fall is one of those curl up and die years; giving us the sense that the yard is saying –‘Ok, ya’ll, I give up, I’ve had it with this heat, I’m taking a nap.’ I got up my courage, and decided in the last few days to root around and see what I could find in the Yard and the store that said- Fall.
Camellia's Cottage 