Christmas Crack (Cracker Toffee) is one of the best 4 ingredient treats you can make! Saltine crackers are covered with sweet toffee and baked until crispy. Semi-sweet chocolate covers the top of the toffee and festive sprinkles or candies decorate the top. The toffee is cracked into pieces and it's one of the most addictive treats you can make!
Christmas Crack Recipe
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This is the perfect treat for chocolate and toffee lovers! Who knew you could make the best cracker toffee at home with only 5 ingredients and 10 minutes of cooking time. This is one of the most popular holiday treats. Once you try it you will be making a second batch before you finish the first!
What is Christmas Crack
This Christmas Crack is made with only 4 pantry staple ingredients. A simple toffee is made with butter and brown sugar. It is boiled stove-top and then poured over a sheet pan of saltine crackers. Baked just long enough for the toffee to set and harden, semi-sweet chocolate chips are then sprinkled over top of the toffee. Once the toffee and chocolate is set, it is cracked (this is where the name comes from!) into pieces and served. It's definitely the most addictive holiday treat you can make!
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Ingredients
- Saltine Crackers - saltine crackers are perfect for this recipe because they are salty, light, airy, and crispy. We recommend using saltine crackers but you can also swap for soda crackers, Ritz crackers, or Club crackers.
- Butter - you can use salted or unsalted butter for this recipe. The crackers are already salted so if you prefer a stronger sweet and salty combination you can use salted butter. If you prefer a more sweet flavor you can use unsalted butter.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips - since the toffee layer is very sweet, we like to use semi-sweet chocolate chips. It's the perfect flavor combination with the toffee. You can also use milk chocolate chips if you prefer or white chocolate. It is fun to use a combination of chocolate chips and swirl them together for a fun design on top!
- Brown Sugar - this is boiled stove top with the butter to make the toffee. Please note you cannot swap this for any other type of sugar or else the toffee will not harden and set properly. We recommend dark brown sugar or golden brown sugar, not light brown sugar.
How to Make Christmas Crack
Full Printable Recipe at Bottom of page
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Line a rimmed sheet pan (15"×10") with parchment paper or aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray, or use a nonstick silicone baking mat.
- Place the saltine crackers in a single layer on the bottom of the tray.
Note: you may need to break a few crackers to fill in the gaps on the edges of the pan. Ensure there is an even layer filling the whole tray. - In a medium sized pot over medium-low heat, add the butter and brown sugar. Bring to a rolling boil, stir occasionally and cook for 3 minutes, or until bubbling and amber in color. Remove pot from the heat and carefully pour evenly over the saltine crackers. Spread the mixture quickly with a spatula over the crackers to cover them.
- Tip: if using a candy thermometer (optional) cook until the toffee reaches 270℉-290℉.
- Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake for 3-5 minutes, or until it starts to bubble.
- Remove the pan from the oven and immediately scatter the chocolate chips over the top. Allow the chocolate chips to sit for 1-2 minutes, then use a spatula to evenly spread the chocolate over the toffee.
Tip: if the chocolate is not melting or spreading easily, place the sheet pan back in the oven for 1-2 minutes to melt the chocolate. Then spread the chocolate out. - Once the chocolate is spread, distribute the sprinkles or candies of choice on top. Let the toffee sit until completely cool, either at room temperature or you can refrigerate for 30 minutes - 1 hour.
- Once the chocolate and toffee is hardened, flip the tray over to remove the toffee from the baking tray and peel off the parchment paper or foil. Use your hands to crack the toffee into pieces, or use a sharp knife to cut the toffee into pieces.
- Serve and enjoy! Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge.
Tips for the Best Recipe
- Baking Tray - when layering the crackers you want to ensure they are close together and if you need to, cut crackers in half to fit along the edges of the tray. Do not overlap the crackers on top of each other either. If there are big gaps in between the crackers the toffee will not spread evenly over all the crackers. You can place a silicone baking sheet or a piece of parchment paper on the baking sheet so that the toffee does not stick. In a pinch you can use foil but the toffee tends to stick to the foil.
- Toffee - watch the toffee mixture carefully as it boils. Boil it for exactly 3 minutes, no longer or it may burn. If you have a candy thermometer, you want to cook the toffee mixture until it reaches a temperature of 270°F - 290°F.
- Flavor Variations - the fun part about this recipe is that you can customize it to change up the flavor every time you make it. You can use different types of chocolate chips such as milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate or even use two types of chocolate and swirl them together! Get creative with toppings too! Swap out the sprinkles for chopped pecans, chopped walnuts, crushed candy canes, crushed pretzels, sea salt, or M&M candies or any combination!
FAQ
This dessert is served at room temperature or chilled.
We recommend storing leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. You can place pieces of parchment between the layers to ensure nothing sticks together. This way the chocolate will not melt when stored in a warm kitchen. If the chocolate starts to melt, the pieces of Christmas crack will stick together. Store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to one week. Remove from the fridge 10 minutes before serving or serve chilled.
Yes! You can make this up to one week in advance. You can store it in the fridge in an airtight container or follow the below freezing directions.
Store leftovers in a freezer-safe airtight container. Place pieces of parchment paper between the layers to prevent pieces from sticking together. Freeze for up to 3 months.
This recipe is vegetarian.
Use gluten free saltine crackers.
More Easy Treats
Enjoy!
- Sab
Christmas Crack (Cracker Toffee)
Ingredients
- 40-48 saltine crackers (about 1 ½ sleeves)
- 1 cup butter (salted or unsalted, 2 sticks)
- 1 cup brown sugar (packed, dark not light brown sugar)
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or milk chocolate chips, or white, or combination)
- ½ cup sprinkles (or M&M's, crushed candy canes, or candies of choice to decorate)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Line a rimmed sheet pan (15"×10") with parchment paper or aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray, or use a nonstick silicone baking mat.
- Place the saltine crackers in a single layer on the bottom of the tray.Note: you may need to break a few crackers to fill in the gaps on the edges of the pan. Ensure there is an even layer filling the whole tray.
- In a medium sized pot over medium-low heat, add the butter and brown sugar. Bring to a rolling boil, stir occasionally and cook for 3 minutes, or until bubbling and amber in color. Remove pot from the heat and carefully pour evenly over the saltine crackers. Spread the mixture quickly with a spatula over the crackers to cover them. Tip: if using a candy thermometer (optional) cook until the toffee reaches 270℉-290℉.
- Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake for 3-5 minutes, or until it starts to bubble.
- Remove the pan from the oven and immediately scatter the chocolate chips over the top. Allow the chocolate chips to sit for 1-2 minutes, then use a spatula to evenly spread the chocolate over the toffee.Tip: if the chocolate is not melting or spreading easily, place the sheet pan back in the oven for 1-2 minutes to melt the chocolate. Then spread the chocolate out.
- Once the chocolate is spread, distribute the sprinkles or candies of choice on top. Let the toffee sit until completely cool, either at room temperature or you can refrigerate for 30 minutes - 1 hour.
- Once the chocolate and toffee is hardened, flip the tray over to remove the toffee from the baking tray and peel off the parchment paper or foil. Use your hands to crack the toffee into pieces, or use a sharp knife to cut the toffee into pieces.
- Serve and enjoy! Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge.
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