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Christmas Crack
December 9, 2020
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This is the Ultimate Christmas Crack recipe! Crunchy saltine crackers are topped with a homemade caramel-toffee mixture, baked briefly and then topped with chocolate and sprinkled with sea salt. Break into smaller pieces and enjoy! It’s the perfect treat to include on a holiday cookie plate with Peanut Butter Balls and Microwave Fudge.
But First, What is Christmas Crack?
Christmas Crack, also known as Saltine Toffee, is a Holiday treat and a type of candy that you break or “crack” into pieces after it has set. The name could also be attributed to the cracked and irregular shapes this candy makes after you make it BUT I think that because it’s so addicting to eat, everyone calls it crack.
Why You Need Christmas Crack In Your Life
I’m not even sure if I can put into words just how gosh darn delicious this recipe is. It’s salty and sweet, crunchy and buttery while having a thin layer of homemade toffee and two kinds of chocolate all sandwiched together. I love topping my Christmas crack with more salt to really play up that salty/sweet combo, but there are lots of other fun toppings you can use in place of the salt, all listed below.
It’s one of my favorite treats to make for the holidays and after one bite, you’ll see why it’s a favorite. Of course it’s delicious, but more importantly, it’s so darn simple to make, only calling for a handful of ingredients and is ready in a cinch.
Main Ingredients Needed
Believe it or not, you only need 7 ingredients to make this Christmas Crack recipe! Hello, easy! Here’s everything you’ll need:
- Saltine Crackers – buttery, salty and crunchy, saltine crackers make for the perfect base. Ritz crackers are also a good substitute.
- Brown Sugar + Butter + Vanilla – these three create the caramel. What is amazing about this recipe is that the caramel stays soft and chewy.
- Dark Chocolate + Milk Chocolate Chips – I used a mixture of dark and milk chocolate for the top, which creates the perfect balance of rich sweetness.
- Maldon Sea Salt – I love topping Christmas Crack with Maldon Sea Salt flakes. They take this sweet treat to a whole other level by playing with the sweet-salty flavors. I also have a few more ideas about toppings below!
How to Make Christmas Crack | Directions
These step-by-step instructions will help you make the most perfect batch of Christmas Crack! For full details, including increments, see the recipe card down below.
Step 1: Prepare Your Pan
Line a half sheet pan with foil. Spray well with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat oven. Line the bottom of the pan with one even layer of saltine crackers. This should be approximately 54 crackers.
Step 2: Make the Toffee/Caramel Mixture
In a medium saucepan, heat butter and brown sugar together. Once it’s melted, bring to boil, immediately reduce to simmer. You want this mixture to get slightly darker as it simmers over the course of 3 minutes.
Step 3: Pour Toffee over Crackers and Bake
Remove from heat, quickly stir in vanilla and pour over crackers. Spread mixture over the entire pan of crackers, covering them all as evenly as possible. Bake 5 minutes and remove from the oven.
Step 4: Add the Chocolate
Top the hot crackers with chocolate chips. Place back into the warm oven to melt chocolate chips for a minute or two.
Remove from the oven and spread melted chocolate to cover all the crackers evenly. (This should spread very easily since the chocolate chips should be completely melted through.)
Step 5: Refrigerate
Sprinkle the top with Maldon sea salt (or any desired toppings) and cool to room temperature. Transfer to refrigerator until completely solid. This should take 1-2 hours. Remove from the fridge and peel Christmas crack from the foil. It might not come off in one piece, but that’s ok! It should come off relatively easy.
Step 6: Crack your Toffee!
Break or “crack” the candy into small pieces. Store broken pieces in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Storing Christmas Crack
Depending when you want to eat this and how far in advance you’d like to make this, here are the best two options for you:
In the Refrigerator
The best way to store Christmas Crack is to place it into airtight bags and store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Easy, right? Which also makes this treat perfect to pack up and give to the neighbors!
In the Freezer
Want to make this further in advance? OR want to store this and make it last a little longer? This is the perfect candidate for freezing. Christmas Crack can last up to 3 months in the freezer as long as its stored in an airtight container or bag.
Customizing Your Christmas Crack | Different Toppings
I love love love using Malton Sea Salt Flakes for my version of Christmas Crack because I really love playing up that salty-sweet combination. You get a hint of that because this recipe calls for saltines, but I love adding extra. However, there are SO many options to customize this how you like! Here are a few ideas:
- crushed candy canes
- white chocolate drizzle
- chopped pecans, walnuts or almonds
- mini marshmallows
- M&M’s
- red and green sprinkles
- crushed pretzels
- or when in doubt, leave it plain!
Other Christmas Treats You Will Love!
- Christmas Shortbread Cookies
- Chocolate Mint Cookies
- Christmas Truffles
- Sweet Orange Rolls
- Cranberry Orange Cookies
If you loved Christmas Crack you’re going to love all of my other Christmas treats!
And that’s it! Consider making Saltine Toffee this Holiday season!
The printable recipe card is below, Happy Holidays!
Christmas Crack
Crunchy crackers topped with soft caramel and chocolate then sprinkled with sea salt, this is the ultimate Christmas Crack recipe!
Ingredients
- 54 saltine crackers approximately 2 sleeves
- 1 1/2 cups salted butter
- 1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate
- 1 tablespoon Maldon sea salt or chopped nuts, crushed candy canes or sprinkles
Instructions
- Line a half sheet pan (18x13x1) pan with foil. You want the foil to go up and over the edges of all sides of the pan. Spray well with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line the bottom of the half sheet pan with one even layer of saltine crackers. This should be approximately 54 crackers. You may have to break a few to cover the bottom of the cookie sheet entirely. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, heat butter and brown sugar together. Once it's melted, bring to boil, immediately reduce to simmer and time 3 minutes. You want this mixture to get slightly darker as it simmers over the course of 3 minutes.
- Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and pour over crackers. Spread mixture over the entire pan of crackers, covering them all as evenly as possible.
- Bake 5 minutes and remove from oven. Toffee mixture will look really bubbly and crackers may have shifted slightly. This is normal! Turn oven off.
- Top with chocolate chips. Place back into warm oven to melt chocolate chips, 45 seconds to 1 minute more.
- Remove from the oven and spread melted chocolate to cover all the crackers evenly.
- Sprinkle the top with Maldon sea salt and cool to room temperature. Transfer to refrigerator for 2-3 hours or until completely solid.
- Remove from the fridge and peel christmas crack from the foil. There might be some foil stuck to the bottom of the saltine candy as you peel it off. This is normal! Just peel off the missed pieces until all the foil has been removed.
- Break or "crack" the candy into small pieces. Place into airtight bags and store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Nutrition
Calories: 387kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 668mg | Potassium: 154mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 473IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 1mg
I love Christmas Crack especially cold! There’s something about it being refrigerated that takes it over the top for me!
Can I speed up the cooling process by putting in the freezer for like an hour?
yes!
Thank you for sharing. We make this all the time but I have never thought of adding salt flakes to the top. Can’t wait to try it.
My mother-in-law introduced me to this years ago. She called it cracker cookies. So good and a holiday staple at our house. And definitely would call it crack for the “addictive nature” We have also used club crackers instead of saltines with excellent results.