Spicy Cajun Ritz

My husband and I are preparing for a trip to Caddo Lake in East Texas. It will be a great get-together with lots of friends and family, and for me, that means I need to get busy in the kitchen.  Today, I'm doing something that can be done in advance, and these Spicy Cajun Ritz are the perfect thing.  I doubled the recipe because I need that many for our trip since they don't last long anywhere I take them.  This idea came to me a few years after my daughter in law started making saltine crackers in a somewhat similar way, and we just love those things and enjoy them so much every time she makes them.  These are not quite as simple to make, but I love the blend of spices and how baking them in the oven for a few minutes really gets the flavor into the crackers. 

Here's what you need to make them:

3 sleeves Ritz original flavor crackers
1 package  dry Hidden Valley Ranch dressing/dip mix - Fiesta Ranch flavor
1 package dry Hidden Valley Ranch dressing/dip mix - Spicy Ranch flavor
1 tablespoon Dangold Hot & Spicy Cajun Style Spice Blend
3/4 cup canola oil
2 gallon size zip top bags

If you can't find Dangold Cajun Spice Blend, use any other brand!


 



 

First, pour the two packages of Hidden Valley mixes and the Cajun spice mix into a medium bowl and whisk them around to mix well.  Then pour the canola oil in and whisk well.  The spices are heavy and will quickly settle to the bottom of the oil, so as you place half of it into each zip top bag, be sure to whisk it well right before doing that.  Once half your liquid spice mixture is in each bag, put 1 and 1/2 sleeves of Ritz crackers into each bag and zip closed, leaving the air space in the bag.  Toss them gently by hand to get all the crackers well coated with the spice mix and set aside.

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.  I like to line my baking sheets with foil, but it isn't necessary, just time saving.  Use any size baking sheets you have - the smaller, the longer it takes to get them all baked. 

 

They should look like this when wet, ready to bake... all nicely coated!

 

Just before placing them onto the baking sheet, toss the crackers one more time in the bag to make sure they are well coated.  You will always have excess coating in the bag when finished, but I'd rather make sure the crackers are all really well coated than not.  You can experiment with using less oil if you prefer.  

Once the crackers are lined up single layer on the baking sheet, place it in the oven and set a timer for 2 minutes, then remove them, flip all the crackers (you can do this with your hands, they aren't hot enough to burn you), and then return them to the oven and set the timer for another 2 minutes. 

Once both sides have baked for 2 minutes, remove from the oven and place on a long sheet of foil to cool completely to room temperature before you store them in an air tight container. 

The spices can burn if you bake these at a higher temperature, so I don't recommend doing that. These crackers stay nice and crispy for as long as they will last before someone finishes them off!

Here mine are, ready to make the trip to East Texas.  I'm pretty sure this container will be empty when I bring it back home!

 

This is my favorite Cajun spice blend ever.  It's made by Dangold, and I first discovered it at a HomeGoods store nearby, but of course, I couldn't always find it there when I needed it, so I began ordering it six bottles at a time online so I never have to worry about running out.... it's THAT good!