RECIPE: Aggies Cheez-It Petardos del Portón (Tailgate Firecrackers)

Cheez-Its named NMSU the National Team of the Week. Here is a Cheez-It recipe to celebrate the Aggies during tailgate season, this year.

OVEN TEMP: 225°-250° F (depending on oven and humidity)
PREP TIME: 5 minutes
COOK TIME: 20-25 minutes
TOTAL TIME: 30-35minutes
SERVINGS: 8-12

INGREDIENTS

1 box Cheez It Crackers
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 packages (2 oz) Ranch dressing mix (1 Regular, 1 “Rancho Taco”)
3 tablespoons Tabasco Chipotle
1 cup pecan halves

INSTRUCTIONS

In a mixing bowl, mix dressing mixes and oil.
Add the entire box of crackers and pecan halves; blend will until all crackers are coated. (Folding with a rubber spatula from the outside in while turning the bow works well, and keeps from breaking the crackers.)
Spread in a single layer on a greased cookie sheet. Bake at 250 degrees for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven; stir through with the rubber spatula to turn the crackers and pecans; return to oven for 10 to 15 minutes more (depending on the humidity and your oven).
Cool cracker mix. Store in a zip bag or container for up to 3 days.

Feel free to modify this recipe to make it more representative of our broader community. Some suggestions on how you can modify this recipe include:

Add a couple of packets of Dion’s pepper flakes to the spice mix.
Replace the Chipotle Tabasco Hot Sauce with any of the local hot sauces available, like: Holy Jalokia Taco Sauce, or Sancto Scorpio Hot Sauce (both available on the Chile Pepper Institute website). [Note: If you are replacing the Chipotle Tabasco with a ridiculously spicy sauce, the amount added to the spice mixture should be moderated considerably.]

Play around with it. Improvise. Call an audible. This is Las Cruces, and one thing we know about in our broader community, it’s how to take something really good, and make it even better!

This snack mix pairs well with PISTOL PETE’S 1888 BLONDE ALE. (Drink Responsibly.)

Article posted by:

Levi Gwaltney

Levi Gwaltney is the Editor In Chief of Las Cruces Digest. The Editor makes editorial and posting decisions regarding content published on this site. In most cases, the Editor makes little if any contribution to content published, and takes no credit for the content of republished posts. If available, the source or author of posts is provided at the top of the article.