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.
LOVE THESE!!! Thanks so very much for sharing! I’ll be certain to try out several if not all of these great recipes! Merry Christmas!!!
Thank you Katrina! Christmas goodies are the best! Hope you enjoy these!
When making this how long can you keep this ?
It should be good for a week or two, but we eat it all much quicker than that! :)
Can I make this Christmas crack like the video with the different crackers or was that just for show?
You can use any type of cracker you like! :)
I absolutely LOVE these… looks delish!
What is a cube of butter?
Two tablespoons
Look’s like fun reciepes
Could I use graham crackers also?
I haven’t tried! You’d lose that salty/sweet combo with the graham crackers. Those might also loose their crunch when the toffee is added.
Has anyone ever tried to freeze the Christmas crack?
What kind of chocolate chips do you use? Semi sweet or milk chocolate?
I used semi sweet, but you can use whatever you like!
We have always made ours with Graham Crackers, saltines seem like they wouldn’t do it justice, but maybe I need to try it first. I do like the idea of Ritz oh sooooo good!
This is in the freezer cooling right now. I can’t wait to taste it and share with my family. Thank you so much for sharing!
I made this for my entire side of the family while in VA as their gift from us. All of the batches worked like perfection. Then I came home to GA and started making the batches for my hubsters side of the family and for some reason the first batch I made turned out all sorts of crazy. The toffee came out of the oven grainy and pulled away from the cracker when I tried to spread the chocolate. I made my second batch and, shockingly, it was absolute perfection. The only difference between batch 1 and batch 2, batch 1 was made with store brand butter and batch 2 with Land O’ Lakes. Never again will I laugh at my mom when she tells me all butters aren’t created equal. Lol.
Thanks for the wonderful recipe. After my mom trying for almost 3 weeks to get me to change my mind on making this our gift, because “it just sounds gross Rebecca”, my entire family has been converted. ;)
I am so glad everyone loved it!
(And weird on the butter, I wonder if the house brand had an additive in it?!)
Made this tonight, the toffee isn’t hardened yet, don’t know if I boiled it long enough. It tastes pretty good already, have it hardening in the fridge as I type this.
The toffee won’t get too hard, it’s soft to the tooth. :)
A pan won’t fit in my side by side freezer. Can I put in the fridge?
Yes!
Great recipe. This stuff is awesome. I’ve made a few minor changes, however:
1) Used graham crackers instead of saltines; they make the finished product crunchy instead of chewy.
2) Used mini baking M&Ms for the topping.
3) Added slivered almonds with the M&Ms
4) Added Reese’s Pieces or peanut butter chips to the toppings.
OH! MY! GOODNESS! My friend brought this to a Christmas party and I could not keep myself from eating an embarrassing amount haha so much that she made me my own little tin of it for Christmas, loved it even more than the first time around so naturally I had to take to Pinteret to find out how to make it! THANK YOU! I had a friend pop in when I was melting my butter/sugar on med.low. so I am not sure how long it had been going for and I didn’t stir it at all…oops but dumped and spread just fine, didn’t have chocolate chips but did have left over almond bark so I did a half chocolate have white almond bark, its 1) beautiful and 2) amazingly delicious and if hasn’t even cooled yet haha thanks again!
Are the chocolate chips sweetened or unsweet?
Thanks
We used semi-sweet chocolate chips. You could also use milk chocolate chips. I would not recommend unsweet chocolate for this recipe.
THIS IS THE BEST STUFF EVER!!! I made a batch the other night for a church Christmas party and today I’m on batch #4 for friends and neighbors.
I tastes wonderful, but I must be doing something wrong… I can’t get my toffee to harden. Any tips?
Yay, so glad you like it! The toffee shouldn’t be super-hard, it should be soft to the tooth.