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Recrisping Stale Crackers and Cookies

Bring your stale cookies, crackers, and chips back to life.

The staling of dry, crisp foods such as crackers, tortilla chips, and crunchy cookies occurs because moisture from the atmosphere gets absorbed by the item’s starches, which soften and rob it of its crisp texture.

Luckily, this process is reversible. And as long as you keep the recrisped items dry by storing them in an airtight container or zipper-lock bag, they will stay crisp.

METHOD: Spread foods such as soda crackers and tortilla chips in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet (avoiding overlap) and place larger items such as cookies and graham crackers on a wire rack set in a baking sheet. Place the sheet on the middle rack of a 225-degree oven for 15 to 25 minutes (the timing will vary, depending on the item), until the food is crisp again, stirring (or flipping, in the case of cookies) halfway through baking.

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