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If it’s book club night or you’re hosting a Harry Potter party, these owl crackers are easy to make and even more fun to eat! Round crackers (like Ritz), baby cucumber slices, salami (or other lunchmeat of your choice) and cheese are all you need to plate these cuties. Assemble these owl crackers on a wide white platter so the green, orange, and deep pink really pop!

Owl crackers arranged on a white platter as a Halloween snack

Table of Contents

Steps + Tips to Make Owl Crackers

Step 1: Gather your ingredients and tools. Lay out the crackers on your platter (these make up the “body”.)
For the cucumber: On a cutting board, cut the mini cucumber into 14 thin rounds, about an eighth of an inch in thickness each. Plan for two slices per cracker. Thin slices sit flatter and stay put for these owl snacks.

Thinly sliced cucumber rounds on a dark cutting board for owl cracker eyes

Step 2: Cut the cheddar. Use a paring knife to cut the yellow cheese into seven small triangles. You may want to cut a few extra in case the points break off.

Cheddar cheese block cut into small triangles for owl cracker beaks

Step 3: Trim the salami into half-moons (or crescent shape). Cut the center out of a salami round, leaving two curved pieces of salami as shown; these become the owl “wings”. Repeat with all seven salami slices. Note: You can use any lunchmeat if salami is not a favorite. Use a small juice glass or cookie cutter to cut circles out of deli meat or use Lunchables.

Step 4: Place the salami. One salami crescent goes on each side of a cracker so the curved edges face out. There will be a bare spot of cracker down the middle.

Ritz crackers with peppered salami pieces placed as owl wings on a white plate

Step 5: For the cucumber eyes: Place two slices of baby cucumber onto the upper third of each cracker, side by side. They will hang over the cracker a bit.

Cucumber rounds placed on crackers as the base of the owl eyes

Step 6: For each owl, place a cheddar “beak” triangle just under the cucumber slice, point down. (The cheese should be touching the cracker.) See photo below.

Cheddar triangles added under the cucumber rounds as owl beaks

Step 7: Finish with black olive pupils. Set a sliced black olive in the middle of each cucumber round, two per owl. The owl themed snacks are now ready to serve.

Sliced black olives set on the cucumber rounds to finish the owl cracker eyes

Tools and Equipment

Cutting board
Sharp paring knife
Kitchen gloves, if desired
Serving plate or platter

Tips for Success

Pat the cucumber rounds very dry with a paper towel before they go on the cracker.
Drain the black olives well and blot them too., since they will let off some brine.
Snack cheese is a bit thicker than sliced cheese and makes a better choice for a thick beak.
These aren’t good make-ahead snacks, unfortunately. Assemble within about two hours of serving and keep the platter loosely covered in the fridge. Any longer and the crackers will start to get soggy from the cucumber slices.
You can swap the salami for turkey, ham, or thin-sliced pepperoni. Any deli meat you can cut into rounds and remove a center strip out of will make fine “wings.”
Variations for the eyes: Green olives with pimiento make brighter eyes if you want more color contrast, and capers work for a smaller pupil.
This recipe makes seven snack stacks. If you have a full can of olives, a full cuke, and 1/2 lb of deli will probably make 20 owls total.

Finished owl snacks plated on a white dish for a fall party

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Owl Crackers

Ritz crackers, salami, cheddar, cucumber, and black olives easily assemble into wide-eyed owls. A no bake savory snack that comes together fast for halloween, Harry Potter parties or baby showers.

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Prep Time 25

Total Time 25

Course Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings crackers

Calories 138 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

7 Ritz crackers
7 slices salami
1 cheddar cheese snack size
1 mini cucumber
1 can sliced black olives

Instructions

Gather tools and ingredients. See photos above for tips. Place the crackers on a plate and set aside.
On a cutting board, use a paring knife to thinly slice 14 mini cucumbers for the eyes. Pat the slices very dry on both sides with a paper towel or clean kitchen towel
Cut the cheddar cheese into small triangles for the beaks. (See photos above.)
Cut the sides off each salami slice to use and remove the center.
Place the salami crescent shapes on the crackers as wings.
Place the cucumber slices on the crackers as the base of the eyes, then add the cheese triangles as beaks.
Dry the olive slices carefully. Set a sliced black olive on each cucumber round for the eyes.

Notes

Pat the cucumber rounds and olive slices dry before assembling so the crackers stay crisp.

These are not good make-ahead snacks since the cucmbers and olives will eventually make the crackers soggy.

Nutrition

Calories: 138kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 3gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 7mgSodium: 1101mgPotassium: 119mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 251IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 42mgIron: 1mg

Keyword easy halloween appetizers, halloween party snacks for kids, halloween snacks for kids, no bake halloween snacks, owl crackers, owl snacks, owl snacks for kids, owl themed snacks, savory halloween snacks

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The bottom line

These Owl Crackers are a unique savory Halloween snack for kids that’s easy and fun to make with the whole family. This is one of the few party snacks for kids that they can make alongside you.

Here are some ideas for when to make Owl Crackers: