When you’re raised in a busy household with five children, you learn to take care of yourself (and your younger siblings) pretty early on. One skill I quickly acquired was learning how to feed myself whether it was making black beans and rice for lunch or mini cracker sandwiches as a snack. Now, neither of these things actually require any skill at all to make, but whipping them up made me feel pretty self-sufficient as a kid.
One of my go-to snacks growing up was peanut butter cracker sandwiches. If we were on a road trip and our parents said we could get one snack in the gas station, I would always beeline to the shelf with the packages of bright orange crackers wrapped in cellophane. I can’t explain it, but they are just superior to the natural-colored cracker options.
And sometimes my parents would stock the pantry with natural, off-brand versions of Ritz Bits for a quick, on-the-go option, but my favorite take on the snack was always the “homemade” version—a spoonful of peanut butter smooshed between two saltine crackers. Sure it’s easy to buy them, but they just don’t hit the same.
Both ingredients can always be found in my house and it’s still one of my favorite nostalgic snacks to whip up…and naturally what I’m munching on as I type this.
Why It’s Such A Good Snack
It checks all the boxes: a little salty, a little crunchy, and a little creamy. Not to mention super easy—just crack open a jar of peanut butter and put a dollop between two crackers—and cheap (approximately $4 for a 4-sleeve box of crackers and $2 for a jar of the spread).
All you need are two things that just about every Southerner has in their pantry at all times: peanut butter and saltines. We all learned from Grandma that a box of these simple crackers have a permanent place on the shelf. Trusty saltines are a Southern staple ingredient for classic recipes like Fire Crackers, Atlantic Beach Pie, and Cracker Toffee; and the only option for serving with pimento cheese and West Indies.
The two shelf-stable items are also long-lasting. A jar of peanut butter can sit in your cupboard or fridge for weeks on end, and if opened one sleeve at a time, Saltines won’t go stale fast.
How To Prepare It
Simply slather your favorite peanut butter—creamy or crunchy, that’s up to you—on a saltine cracker, then top it with another and voila! You can easily make them on-the-go or prepare a bunch of mini sandwiches ahead of time and store them in an airtight container.
Sometimes, for an extra treat, I’ll melt a handful of chocolate chips and dip half the sandwich, or add a drizzle of honey.
