Christmas Crack is a sweet and salty treat made with saltine crackers covered with toffee, baked, and then topped with semi-sweet chocolate. Sometimes called saltine cracker toffee, it is as easy to make as it is addicting, so watch out! I love to serve it with other Christmas cookies on a Dessert Charcuterie Board. And then, get some more ready for the next holiday with New Year’s Eve Crack!
Ingredients & Substitutions
Crackers: Saltine crackers are the base of Christmas crack. If you don’t have saltines, you could use Ritz crackers, soda crackers, or even graham crackers.
Butter: Unsalted butter is melted with brown sugar to make the toffee that covers the crackers. I prefer unsalted butter because it is easier to control the salt in the recipe.
Brown Sugar: Brown sugar adds sweetness and a rich caramel-like flavor to the toffee mixture.
Chocolate: Semi-sweet chocolate chips are spread over the top of the toffee-covered crackers. You could also try the crackers with milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, or your favorite flavor of candy chips.
Optional Toppings For Christmas Crack
Although delicious as-is, this treat is easy to customize to your tastes and celebrations. Here are some delicious options:
- Nuts: Add chopped nuts like pecans, almonds, walnuts, or peanuts.
- Sprinkles: Match the color of sprinkles with the occasion or holiday you are celebrating!
- Crushed Candy Canes
- Crushed Pretzels
- M&M’s
- Sea Salt
- Coconut Flakes
When adding toppings, be sure to add them while the chocolate layer is still soft so they stick to the candy cracker treat.
How To Store Christmas Crack
Once the Christmas Crack has set, store it in an airtight container at room temperature. It will last for up to a week. For a little longer storage, you can store it in the refrigerator.
Can I Freeze Christmas Crack?
Yes, you can freeze Christmas Crack! In fact, freezing this treat is a great way to get a head start on your holiday treats. When storing the pieces in a freezer-safe container, separate the layers with parchment or wax paper to keep them all from sticking together. It will last about a month or two in the freezer. When ready to enjoy, remove as many pieces as you are craving and let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes to slightly soften.
Christmas Crack
Equipment
- Large baking sheet These ones from Nordic Ware work great!
- Parchment paper I use this brand
Ingredients
- 45 saltine crackers
- 1 cup (2 sticks / 227 g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 ½ cups (252 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Arrange the crackers, salted side down, in a single layer on the lined baking sheet. Set aside.
- To a small saucepan over medium-high heat, add the butter and brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.
- Allow the mixture to boil for 3-5 minutes, or until the butter is completely melted and the sugar has dissolved. The toffee needs to reach between 270°F – 290°F before being poured over the crackers. It should darken in color and thicken slightly.
- Remove from heat.
- Carefully pour the toffee mixture evenly over the crackers, spreading it to the edges if needed.
- Bake for 3-5 minutes, or until the butter and sugar mixture begins to bubble.
- Carefully remove the pan from the oven.
- Immediately sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the crackers.
- Allow the chocolate chips to sit for about one minute, or until they start to soften and melt.
- Using an offset spatula, spread the melted chocolate over the crackers.
- Transfer the pan to the refrigerator for about an hour, or until the mixture is set. Alternatively, you can place it in the freezer for quicker setting, for about 30 minutes.
- Once set, break the Christmas Crack into small, uneven pieces by hand.
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What the Test Kitchen had to say about this recipe:
Autumn
This a great easy snack for the holidays! Your guests will gobble this up!
Elizabeth
This is a fun and easy treat to customize for any celebration with colorful sprinkles! But, taster beware, it is as addicting as its name implies!
Rachael
Sweet and salty. The perfect treat for the holidays!
Bella
So good. These are buttery and chocolatey! The perfect treat to prepare for the holidays! You can dress it up with festive sprinkles, too!
Annabelle
This is such a fun snack! Perfect for your Christmas party or just as a treat around the house!
Selena
Salty and sweet and so easy! Would be cute with holiday sprinkles as well.
Would this hold up in freezer if made and want to serve closer to holidays?
Amanda,
I have tried several of your recipes, they are fantastic!!!
I love the way you reached out to me, (cóctel night sucks ing the pandemic) and al aye try to be as personal with everyone that isn’t offended about everything.
You keep doing your thing doll. You ROCK!!!
Much Love,
Truck driver from Texas Linda
Let’s make it keto please
Or make it into a cake…
But not flour because my son’s nephew’s wife’s brother is coming for Easter and he only eats shrimp… he’s Great and just got a promotion at Dollar General. He only eats shrimp… but he’s allergic so he has to carry an epipen… so is there a version of this that only has imitation shellfish?
Thank you so much for including weight!! I was rushing to get to a holiday potluck and I remembered that I had the ingredients for this recipe, I ran out of brown sugar at the 170g mark but because you had included weight, I was able to adjust the butter and continue with my recipe. I used GF table crackers and they turned out fantastic!!
excellent
I made this today. Super easy and oh so good! Thank you for the recipe.
I have 2 sleeves of stale saltine crackers and don’t want to waste them. Can they be used for this recipe?
Thanks
Sure
Christmas Crack – awesome recipe! I made it just as written and it worked really well. I don’t have a candy thermometer to test the toffee so I use the cold glass of water/soft ball stage test (google it) and it’s perfect.
Second batch, I used Milk chocolate chips and added toppings; Score bits, Smarties, Dark chocolate drizzle. Even better!
Definitely make double what you think you’ll need, because it goes fast!