With just 5 ingredients and 15 minutes, this Christmas crack recipe is the best sweet and salty treat made with a layer of saltine crackers, sweet toffee and chocolate!
Grandma’s Saltine Cracker Toffee
This delicious Christmas crack is one of my favorite Christmas desserts at the holidays and it only takes about 15 minutes to make, much easier even than my toffee recipe or toffee cookies.
I have shared my grandma’s saltine cracker toffee before and this is a glorified version with chocolate and M&Ms on top. You could also top Christmas candy crack with crushed saltines, sea salt, toasted coconut, slivered almonds, pecans or Heath bits.
Why I Love This Recipe
- Sweet and salty. Two of my favorite flavors come together in this chewy and crunchy saltine cracker candy treat.
- Holiday tradition. Christmas crack toffee is always the first homemade treat to disappear on the cookie plate along with divinity candy and chocolate fudge!
Ingredient Notes
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Saltines: The saltiness of this beloved cracker works perfectly with the caramel and chocolate.
- Butter: I use salted butter to add a salty balance to the sweet. Real butter is key not margarine!
- Brown sugar: The deep flavor brown sugar provides is key to making this toffee really shine.
- Chocolate chips: I use milk chocolate chips to make the melted chocolate layer, but you can opt for white chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or even chopped chocolate bar.
- Toppings: I choose red and green M&Ms to keep the candy festive, but nuts, candy canes, toffee bits, pretzels or sprinkles are also really great!
How to Make Christmas Crack
Beware…this candy crack toffee is seriously addicting! You may want to make two batches as it will disappear fast.
- Prepare: Line a pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Then spread saltine crackers out in an even single layer.
- Make the caramel: Boil the brown sugar and butter for 3 minutes.
- Bake: Pour evenly over crackers and bake for 8 minutes.
- Spread: Once it’s done cooking sprinkle chocolate chips on top and let melt. Spread out until smooth and top with M&M’s or nuts. Then try not to eat all in one sitting.
Expert Tips
- Candy thermometer. Though it isn’t necessary, if you are worried about getting the caramel right and avoid chewy Christmas crack, you can use a candy thermometer to make sure it reaches a temperature of 270°F to 290°F.
- Pan size. A large jelly roll pan works best for this recipe, but any type of large, rimmed baking sheet will work.
- Prevent separation. If your caramel layer has cooled down when adding the chocolate, it will separate into layers. Ensure the caramel is still warm.
- Melting chocolate chips. If your chocolate doesn’t melt once you place it on the caramel layer, place back in the oven for a few minutes just until they start to melt.
Christmas Crack Flavor Variations
This Christmas crack is so versatile and can be modified so many different ways! Below are a few of my favorite ways to make it.
- Peppermint graham cracker: Graham crackers with white chocolate and crushed candy canes.
- Chocolate Ritz Christmas crack: Ritz crackers with chocolate and sliced almonds.
- White chocolate pretzel: Pretzels crisps with white chocolate and Rudolph candies or sprinkles.
- Graham cracker toffee: Graham crackers with chocolate and chopped almonds.
- Vanilla: If you would like to add vanilla extract to the caramel layer it would add even more depth of flavor to the brown sugar.
Storage
- Room temperature storage: Store saltine cracker candy in an airtight container at on the counter for about a week. Just ensure your house isn’t too hot or the chocolate will start to melt.
- In the refrigerator: If your house is warm, store Christmas crack in the refrigerator for up two weeks. If you live in a colder climate, you could also just keep it in the garage or covered porch!
- Freeze: Break into pieces and store in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag in the freezer up to 3 months. Place parchment paper between layers so they don’t stick.
More classic holiday cookie recipes include my soft molasses cookies, traditional Christmas sugar cookies and peanut butter blossoms.
More Holiday Candy Recipes
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Christmas Crack Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 48 saltine crackers , 1 1/2 sleeves
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter , cubed
- 1 cup light brown sugar , packed
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ – 1 cup M&M’s , or chopped nuts or sliced almonds
Optional toppings: m&ms, sprinkles, chopped nuts or sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line a large jelly roll pan (15×10) with parchment paper or foil (spray foil with non stick spray).
- Line the bottom of the pan evenly with 48 saltine crackers. You may need a break a few on the sides to fill in the gaps.
- In a medium pot, combine 2 sticks butter and 1 cup sugar over medium-low heat. Stirring occasionally, bring to a rolling boil and cook 3 minutes, or until bubbling and amber in color. Remove pan from heat and pour evenly over saltine crackers. Spread brown sugar mixture quickly with a spatula.
- Bake 8 minutes (caramel should be bubbling). Remove pan from oven and sprinkle 2 cups chocolate chips evenly over the top and let sit until chocolate chips are shiny (you can turn off oven and place inside for 30-60 seconds to speed up, but don't leave in long or it will burn). Remove and let sit a minute. Once the chips are soft, spread evenly with a spatula. Sprinkle desired toppings over the top and place in the freezer 15 minutes, or until hardened.
- Let sit 15 minutes on the counter. Flip over onto a cutting board and remove the foil. Break into pieces.
Notes
- Use ritz or graham crackers as the base
- Use a white chocolate or drizzle white chocolate over the top of the chocolate
- Add chopped nuts
- Add sprinkles for holidays or color
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: 5 Ingredients Or Less, American, Candy + Fudge, Chocolate, Christmas, Desserts, Freezer-Friendly, Kid-Friendly, Nut-Free, Reader Favorites, Sheet Pan, Stovetop, Vegetarian
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Recipe is wonderful. Made twice, once with Biscoff cookies as the base. Perfect! Just a comment about the cooking time. 7 minutes was correct to bring to boil/3 minutes, but you need to add the 8 minutes for the oven. So a bit longer than 25 minutes total. Still easy and worth it!
I’ve never tried with biscoff cookies, sounds delicious! Glad you enjoyed the Christmas crack!
I made the Christmas Crack. Everything went good, but when I went to Crack it into pieces some of the chocolate a little soft. I have a drawer freezer and the cookie sheet just fit maybe I should have froze longer.
Hi Tana, Yes, if the chocolate is still soft I like to freeze an extra 10 minutes or so until it’s ready to crack.
This Christmas Crack recipe is so easy and quick! I will defiantly be coming back to this one. So yummy!
This was so easy to make! Just wondering if the toffee part is supposed to be chewy or did I do something wrong?
It’s supposed to get hard (not as hard as toffee, but harder than a caramel). My guess is it should have been cooked another 30-60 seconds. But I actually still love them chewy too! So good!
Worked out great first time. Super easy and yummy
I’m so glad you enjoyed the Christmas crack Hannah! I hope you have a Merry Christmas!
When I poured the butter sugar over the crackers I mixed lightly so they all was covered came out perfect thank you for sharing
My cookies came out perfectly delicious! I used a whole bag of mini chocolate chips which was too thick but hardened in the fridge. Too yummy to stop eating! 😅🤤
I’m so glad you enjoyed the Christmas crack Debora! Have a Merry Christmas!
Love this! Sooo good.
This is a delicious and easy recipe, especially if you’re not a cookie person. It’s so addictive that’s why they call it crack.
What temperature do you bake these for 8mins at?
Hi, 325°F. If you scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post, all the directions and tips can be found there. Enjoy!
Haven’t received recipes yet
Hi Beverly, I do see you on our email list, is that what you are referring to? If you don’t see emails in your inbox, I would check your promotion or social folders, or in yahoo, I think they sometimes get seperated by primary and all (so I would look at all). Thanks for being a follower!
This is my 3rd year making this for my family & it’s always a hit. We make it multiple times & alternate between saltines or graham crackers- both are delicious! I brought this to a Christmas party this year & everyone was asking for the recipe. They were surprised to hear how easy it is.
Yum! So glad everyone loved the Christmas crack, it is so good no matter the crackers used!
I’ve been making this for about 5 years for work, friends and family gatherings and there’s never any left! Quick, easy and addicting!
Agreed on all, so glad it’s a repeat recipe for you!
Always a huge hit and SO easy! I topped a batch with pecans, but wanted something a bit more festive, and since I didn’t have any sprinkles, I added some red food coloring to coconut flakes and topped. So yummy!
That sounds festive and delicious with the colored coconut on top of the Christmas crack!
I just tried to make this for the first time and at 3 minutes boiling, it was only at about 245 degrees, so I let it go longer until it hit 280, but then it seemed to get grainy and separate. I’m not sure what I did wrong. :-/ any thoughts?
Sounds like it may have been perfect at the 3 minutes mark and boiling it longer caused it to start to seperate. Was your thermometer calibrated correctly?
It was a new fancy schmantzy digital thermometer, so I’m not sure how to calibrate it? I actually tried again yesterday using a standard Wilton candy thermometer to monitor the temp and the same thing happened. It was only about 220 degrees when it started to boil and after 3 mins, had only gotten to 225. At that point, I took a little of the mixture and dropped it in cold water (a trick I learned online) and it was still completely liquid. Didn’t firm up at all. I let go until it hit 280 and then tried the water trick again and it was definitely at soft crack stage, but still . . . Started to separate once it hit the crackers and never bubbled in the oven. I totally get that this is a me problem and not a you problem, I just can’t figure it out. Maybe my kitchen is too cold or the oven isn’t hot enough?
Sounds like your thermometer is good since it is brand new, but it does need to be at the hard crack stage, not the soft crack stage. When you drop it in the cold water it should firm up and not still be liquid. I would let it go even up to 290°F. I really hope you can get it to work! Best of luck!
Fabulous
So glad you love the Christmas crack!
Was wondering if i could melt in microwave mini chocolate bars such as snikers, mars bar,
It has not been tested using candy bars for the chocolate, but let us know how it goes!
Loved it. Per suggestions from commenters, I am going to try with white chocolate and cracked peppermint pieces. I will use a little peppermint extract or peppermint oil in the white chocolate.