Chocolate Spider Crackers
Melted chocolate poured over thin crackers and stirred until every shard is coated. A dessert with two ingredients.
- calories
- 420
- weight
- 3 oz
- cal / oz
- 140
- protein
- 5 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 10 min
- total time
- 12 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Snack
- Campfire coals
- Canister stove
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Backpacking
- Vegetarian
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Thin crispy chow mein noodles or thin rice crackers | 1 large bag, about 5 oz | |
|---|---|---|
| Milk chocolate bars | 2 king size, about 8 oz total | break into squares before packing |
| Salt | a pinch | optional, cuts the sweetness |
Method
- Put the crackers in a dry pot. Lay the chocolate squares on top.
- Set the pot at the edge of the coals or over the lowest flame your stove will hold. Low heat only. Chocolate scorches fast.
- Leave it about ten minutes, until the squares slump and lose their edges. Do not stir before then or you will crush the crackers.
- Stir gently with a wide spoon, folding from the bottom, until everything is coated.
- Take the pot off heat and let it set for ten minutes in cool air. Eat with fingers.
This is a two-ingredient dessert that lives or dies on heat control. Chocolate seizes and burns well below the temperature a camp fire likes to run at, so the pot goes at the edge of the coals, never over them. Ten minutes of low heat does the job with no stirring; stirring early just breaks the crackers into powder and you end up with chocolate gravel.
The original called for adding water if the mixture got too stiff to stir. Skip that. Water is what makes melted chocolate seize into a grainy paste. If it is not moving, it needs another minute of warmth, not liquid. Powdered milk or a little oil are the honest fixes.
Packing
Crackers ride in their own bag so they do not turn to dust under a lid. Chocolate goes in a separate bag, broken up already, and stays out of the sun.
Variations
- A spoonful of powdered milk stirred into the melting chocolate makes it softer and less brittle.
- Dried cranberries or crushed pretzels added at the stir stage give it something else to hold onto.
https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/chocolate-spiders