Cookies for poor people?

I grew up in rural Wisconsin in a small little village outside of Superior. Literally, it was called the Village of Lake Nebagamon. Back in "the olden days" my family lived as much as we could off the land because lets be honest, we were POOR. My mother was a nurse and my father was a salesman, and they were raising 4 children while doing as much as they could to make ends meet. I have to say, I never felt poor growing up though. My family, including my grandma and grandpa, all lived on 80 or so acres of awe-inspiring country landscape. You would think with 80 acres we would be wealthy, but we didn't own any cattle or other livestock, and what farming we did was for our own family. Making ends meet in the 70's was difficult for anyone, and throw 4 hungry growing kids into the mix? Well, mom and pop were in for a challenge!
My mother and father had been in the restaurant business before I was born. They actually owned a Mexican restaurant smack dab in the middle of Duluth, MN. They both are excellent cooks. But it is not just about being a knowledgeable cook. It is about putting heart and soul into every recipe and they definitely were pros at that! I remember several yummy things we ate growing up, but the one I am going to share with you has a bit of a funny story behind it. My mom loved baking and took every free moment in her week to do so. One recipe I loved in particular was made a lot because it was super simple to make. The funny thing is, I thought my mother was always making them because we were so poor and we couldn't afford to have real toffee. I really thought that she had made this recipe up (commonly known as Fool's Toffee) because saltines were cheap and she wanted us kids to enjoy toffee flavor even though we could not afford the "real stuff". It wasn't until I wanted to make a batch in college that I found out it was a common recipe and sure, it was cheap to make, but the real reason to make them (and make them often) is because they are deeelicious!

Saltine Toffee Cookies:

36 crackers

1 cup butter

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup chopped nuts of choice

Large Crystal Sea Salt to taste (Maldon from England is good)

Spread a large cookie sheet with foil and spray with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. Place crackers close together to form bottom layer. In small saucepan, place butter and brown sugar, heat to boil 4 minutes.Stir very lightly to avoid burning. Spread evenly over crackers. Bake at 375 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove, sprinkle with chocolate chips evenly over top. Wait a few minutes, then spread with spatula. Sprinkle with nuts of choice. (I have used, Pecans, Peanuts, Pistachios, Macedamias,and even Pumpkin seeds.) Now this last part is really my personal preference, but gives a uniqueness to the flavor. Take some medium to large sized Sea Salt crystals and also sprinkle on top. The salt brings out the richness of the toffee and the darkness of the semisweet chocolate. It adds  depth to the flavor. Place cookie sheet in the refridgerator. When cooled, remove, break up, and enjoy!