Ritz Cracker Snackers
Simply Delicious
Ritz Cracker Snackers are the perfect appetizer when you are looking for something simple and delicious. The buttery cracker base lies beneath a tangy whipped cream cheese, grated onion, the crunch of minced onion, and poppy seeds all topped with a pepper and salami.
These are quick to make. I like to keep a big batch of the cream cheese in the fridge then top the crackers as I need to make more.
A simple cracker snack is always welcome in my family. We also love these Baked Cheesy Cracker Snacks.
You can really use any crackers that you choose. I just prefer the buttery rounds for some recipes.
The crackers do not have to be name brand either. I often use the Aldi Brand called Savoritz.
I really am partial to a round cracker for this recipe. You may want to stick to this shape.
Granulated Garlic Versus Powder
There are two types of garlic spice in this recipe. You will see when you read the recipe card below.
Garlic powder is to be mixed IN the cream cheese spread. Granulated garlic is for the topping.
Granulated garlic is perfect for when you want a milder bite of garlic that is more of a finish. Garlic powder has a much stronger pop of flavor.
You will get a little bite of crunch with the granulated garlic as part of the topping.
Keep These Peppers In Your Pocket
Banana rings are a staple in my fridge. I use these in my chopped Italian subs as well as other sandwiches and pasta.
In this recipe you are going to be using a little of the juice from the jar as well as a small slice of the peppers to lay across the top of the pepper.
These peppers are not hot. Your mouth will not be burning as you eat them.
They will have some spice but what they really offer is a tanginess. The juice from the peppers will give the cream cheese some zing.
The crunch of the pepper is also a nice touch when you add it to the top.
Switch Up The Salami
This recipe calls for salami or pepperoni on the top. I encourage you to maybe try a few different varieties of salamis for the top of this.
What I like to do is buy 3 different kinds and add different ones to the tray together. This offers some fun variety for people to try.
It also creates delicious flavor profiles. I have also used Summer Sausage on these Ritz Cracker Snackers.
Box Grater
I use grated onion in a few of my recipes. I seem to get a lot of questions about what this step means.
It literally means to peel an onion and grate the onion on a box grater that is pictured above. I use the thicker cut part of the box grater.
I try to grate into a bowl so that I also retain the onion juices for the recipe. If you cannot perform this step you can read about an onion juice I use in my recipe for Guacamole.
Ritz Cracker Snackers
Ritz Cracker Snackers are the perfect appetizer when you are looking for something simple and delicious. Buttery cracker base, a tangy whipped cream cheese, grated onion, the crunch of minced onion and poppy seeds, all topped with a pepper and salami. These are quick to make. I like to keep a big batch of the cream cheese in the fridge then top the crackers as I need to make more.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces of your favorite cream cheese
- 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon of sour cream
- 3 tablespoons of grated onion
- 1 cup of of sliced banana peppers, sliced into 1 inch strips
- 2 tablespoons of the juice from the jar of peppers
- 1 teaspoon of celery salt (or to taste)
- 2 teaspoons of onion powder
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- Little pinch of chili powder
- 1/2 pound of sliced pepperoni or salami, cut into quarters
- 2 tablespoons of dried, minced onions
- 1 tablespoon of GRANULATED garlic
- 1 tablespoon of sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds
- 1 to 2 teaspoons of dried dill
- 24 to 36 Ritz butter crackers
Instructions
- Soften your cream cheese and add it to a bowl or stand mixer. Then whip it on high with a hand mixer or stand mixer and slowly add the mayo, and the sour cream, then the grated onion and the juice from the jar of peppers.
- Mix this all well until it is light and fluffy.
- Whip in the celery salt, onion and garlic powders and the chili powder. Add the mixture to a Ziploc bag or pastry bag. If using a Ziploc make sure to try to centralize the cream cheese mix to one corner.
- In a bowl combined the granulated garlic, dried onion, poppy seeds and sesame seeds.
- Spread your crackers out on a serving tray when ready to serve.
- Cut the corner off the Ziploc bag with the cream cheese or cut the tip off the pastry bag. Squeeze a decent sized dollop on every cracker.
- Sprinkle every cracker with dried dill, then top with one of the salami quarters and the strip of pepper. Sprinkle all of them before serving with the poppy and sesame seed mix.
- I assemble these and let them hang out in the fridge a couple hours before serving. You can also prep all the ingredients and assemble right before serving.