As with most textural issues, water is the culprit.
Credit: Oksana Mizina - Shutterstock
In my household, I am the cook and keeper of all things kitchen-related. But a few weeks ago I broke my entire foot, so my partner has taken over, well, everything. He is doing a great job keeping the pets alive and the house clean, but I do wish he’d pay closer attention to snack storage, for my crackers and chips have grown stale.
I don’t know why he can’t manage to clip a chip bag or transfer an open sleeve of crackers to an airtight container or freezer bag, but I suspect it’s related to his inability to close drawers and cabinets. In any case, this blindspot has resulted in several snack foods staling, which is not great, considering eating snacks is one of the only ways I can get my kicks right now, figuratively or literally. Luckily, re-crisping crackers and cookies isn’t hard.
Just turn on your oven
Crackers, cookies, and chips go stale due to moisture. Water gets absorbed by the starches in the snack, which leads to a softer texture and lack of crunch. Placing them in the oven for a spell can drive out moisture, restoring them to their former crispy selves (and, if you store the snack in an airtight container, they’ll stay crispy).
You’ll want your oven temperature to be fairly low, somewhere in the 200℉-225℉ range. I start on the lower end for thin snacks prone to burning (like chips), and bump it up for thicker foods like cookies. Place chips and crackers in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet, and place cookies and thick crackers on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Place the sheet in the oven for five minutes, then give the snacks a stir—or a flip in the case of crackers and cookies—and return to the oven. Continue to heat and stir/flip in five minute increments until everybody is nice and crispified, then eat immediately. Transfer what’s left (if there is indeed anything left) to an airtight container.
