Christmas Crack Recipe

Christmas Crack is the easiest holiday candy! Crisp saltine crackers are layered with a buttery two ingredient toffee and rich chocolate for a sweet and salty crunch in every bite.

Can you use a different cracker?

Yes. Saltine crackers are most commonly used and are great for their buttery, salty flavor and crispy texture, but check out our Graham Cracker Toffee for a fun twist! Salted matzos, ritz crackers, club crackers, or even pretzels will work as well. Whatever cracker you use, look for a thin, crisp texture and mild, slightly salty flavor to balance the sweetness from the sugar and chocolate.

Can you make without chocolate?

You can make this recipe without chocolate if preferred. Here are a few suggestions:

• Replace the chocolate with something else. Follow the recipe as directed, but replace the bag of chocolate chips with peanut butter chips, caramel chips, or butterscotch chips instead.
• Omit the chocolate, but keep the toppings. Make the recipe as directed, skip the chocolate, but top with your toppings of choice, then cool, break and serve!
• Omit the chocolate and the toppings. Make the recipe as directed, skip the chocolate and toppings, then cool, break and serve!

Why is mine chewy?

There are a couple of reasons your cracker candy might have come out chewy.

• Your crackers are expired. Make sure the crackers are fresh and crispy!
• You didn’t cool it long enough. Make sure you chill the assembled dessert for at least 2 hours in the fridge or 1 hour in the freezer (I prefer the freezer method, but it can cause separation) so it has time to firm up. If any of the layers are still warm, the Christmas crack will be soft.

Keep in mind, this recipe gets it’s true crispness from the crackers! The toffee may come out slightly chewy if you don’t boil it long enough, but it’s still absolutely delicious! 

Why did my caramel crystallize or separate?

1. Water could’ve gotten into the caramel. Did you rinse the spoon, then keep stirring?
2. You didn’t boil long enough. Sugar may have not been fully dissolved before pouring the mixture over the crackers which would result in a grainy texture.
3. Not stirring constantly. Separation of the sugar and butter may occur if you don’t stir while boiling. 
4. Cooking on too high of heat. Cooking toffee too quickly can cause separation. 

How to prevent the layers from separating

1. Don’t let the caramel cool. Once the crackers are removed from the oven, the chocolate chips need to be placed immediately onto the hot caramel.
2. Melt the chocolate completely. Once the chocolate chips have been sprinkled onto the caramel let them sit for 5 minutes before spreading them over the toffee. 

Why isn’t my chocolate melting?

1. Try a different brand of chocolate. Some chocolate chips just simply don’t melt well or have a higher percentage of cocoa which may result in it not melting and sticking to the caramel. Apparently people have an issue with Nestle chocolate chips/chunks not melting.
2. Throw it in the oven. If the chocolate isn’t easily being spread, pop the baking sheet into the warm oven until the chocolate has melted, then use the back of a spoon to spread it evenly over the caramel.
3. Melt the chocolate separately. Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments until fully melted, then immediately pour over the hot toffee. 
4. Use chopped chocolate. Still struggling? Try chopping bakers chocolate and using that instead. Chocolate chips contain stabilizers and emulsifiers which can prevent them from melting (think about when you bake chocolate chip cookies). 

Why did mine stick to the pan?

• You didn’t prepare the pan correctly. I’ve tried this with both parchment paper and a silicone baking mat and have never had a problem with sticking. Don’t forget to grease the pan with cooking spray. Try really hard keep the toffee mixture on the crackers and not on the pan.
• You didn’t boil the toffee long enough. If the toffee is too soft, it’ll be gooey-er and be more difficult to remove from the pan. 

Other candy toppings to try

• Add texture. Try crushed nuts, peppermints, or pretzels for a nutty, minty, or salty crunch.
• Add candies, cookies, or fruit. Sprinkle M&Ms, crumbled Oreos, toasted coconut, dried fruit, you name it.
• Add a drizzle. Swap the white chocolate for melted semi-sweet, milk, or dark chocolate, or melted peanut butter chips.
• Make it festive. Add red and green sprinkles for a truly merry finish!
• Keep it simple. A sprinkle of maldon sea salt is elegant and delicious.

How to store

Leftover Christmas crack will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 week or in the freezer (my preference) for up to 3 months. Eat frozen or enjoy chilled in the fridge! Some people like this at room temperature, but I feel like it doesn’t stay as crispy.

– Jennifer

Need more Christmas treats? Be sure to check out all our holiday desserts!

Christmas Crack Recipe

4.97 from 957 votes

Christmas Crack is the ultimate holiday candy! Crisp saltine crackers are layered with a buttery two ingredient toffee and rich chocolate for a sweet and salty crunch in every bite.

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Yield: 16 people

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Ingredients

1x2x3x

US Customary - Metric

• ▢ 1 sleeve salted saltine crackers about 42 crackers
• ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks
• ▢ 1 cup brown sugar packed
• ▢ 1 (12 oz) package dark chocolate chips can use semi-sweet or milk chocolate
• ▢ heath toffee bits
• ▢ white chocolate melted

Recipe Video

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper. Grease parchment paper with cooking spray. 
• Place crackers side by side on lined pan. Set aside.
• In a large saucepan, combine butter and brown sugar.
• Bring to boil over medium/medium-high heat and boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Pour evenly over crackers.
• Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes.
• Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips on top.
• Let stand for 5 minutes, then use the back of a spoon to spread melted chocolate chips evenly over the crackers (if the chocolate chips aren't melting, place in warm oven)
• Top with toffee bits and drizzle with white chocolate.
• Cool completely in fridge (at least 2 hours) or in freezer (at least 1 hour), then break into pieces.
• Store in fridge in covered airtight container.
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STORING

Room Temp:N/A

Refrigerator:1 Week

Freezer:3 Months

Reheat:Thaw in fridge, if frozen

*Storage times may vary based on temperature and conditions

Notes

Nutritional information does not include Heath or white chocolate. 

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Nutrition Information

Nutrition Facts

Christmas Crack Recipe

Amount Per Serving (1 chunk)

Calories 302 Calories from Fat 171

% Daily Value*

Fat 19g29%

Saturated Fat 13g81%

Trans Fat 1g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 3g

Cholesterol 31mg10%

Sodium 109mg5%

Potassium 168mg5%

Carbohydrates 31g10%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 21g23%

Protein 3g6%

Vitamin C 1mg1%

Calcium 77mg8%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

*Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.

Keywords: 5 ingredient christmas crack, caramel recipe, christmas candies, christmas candy, christmas crack with chocolate, christmas cracker candy, cracker candy, easy candy recipe, holiday candy, saltine crackers, saltine toffee, toffee, toffee recipe

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

This post was originally published December 5, 2016 and has been updated to provide more detailed content.