Place parchment paper in a 9X9-inch square pan. This results in candy that is about 1/2" thick, you may use a smaller pan or double the recipe if you'd like thicker candy.
In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and milk. Heat on medium heat, stirring the mixture constantly.
Heat to boiling and let the mixture boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Turn off the burner and immediately stir in the peanut butter, saltines, & vanilla extract. (if incorporating the coconut flakes - stir them in now.)
Pour your mixture into the prepared pan and top with any added decorations or flavors desired.
Let the candy cool and cut. Store candy in the refrigerator for up to a week or the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
VARIATIONS:
Chocolate Version - Stir in some chocolate chips during the second stage of mixing.Chocolate Frosted - Once you've poured your candy into your pan to set, quickly sprinkle chocolate chips over the top of the warm candy mixture. Spread chocolate chips with a knife once the chocolate chips have melted.Nut Butters - You can experiment with other nut butters, such as almond butter or Nutella.Chopped Nuts - Adding in finely chopped nuts is another flavor option for your saltine cracker candy.Flaked Sea Salt - To achieve an even greater sweet/salty balance, sprinkle cooling candy with flaked sea salt.Holiday Sprinkles - To make this saltine cracker candy look even more festive, add holiday sprinkles to the top of your candy right after you pour it into your greased pan to cool.Shredded Coconut - If you're not quite sold on mixing the coconut into the saltine cracker candy, you can easily top a section of your candy with shredded coconut (I use unsweetened).