This saltine cracker toffee recipe is my grandma’s recipe with just 3 simple ingredients in 15 minutes. An addicting treat that’s easy to make, even if you’re new to making candy!
Some refer to saltine toffee as Christmas crack and we’ve even turned it into graham cracker toffee.
Table of Contents
Grandma’s Easy Saltine Toffee
Toffee is one of my favorite types of candy. Although my homemade toffee recipe is pretty simple to make – this saltine toffee is even more simple!
My grandma is one of my biggest influences in the kitchen, so I thought I would share one of her favorite treats. There are three things you could always find at her house: Tang, homemade caramels and saltine cracker toffee.
Saltine Cracker Candy Ingredients
You can’t go wrong with these three ingredient saltine cracker toffee treats! This is a single layer dessert that is made easily and eaten in minutes.
- Saltine crackers: The base of the toffee is made with a layer of saltine crackers. The salty flavor from the crackers tastes amazing with the sweet caramel.
- Butter: This adds a rich flavor to the caramel toffee mixture and helps balance out the sweetness from the brown sugar.
- Brown sugar: Make sure to use light brown sugar and pack it tightly into your measuring cup.
- Optional toppings: Chocolate chips, chopped nuts, sprinkles or other festive toppings.
How to Make Saltine Cracker Toffee
When you need a quick and easy holiday dessert, make this your go-to saltine cracker toffee candy recipe; it’s super simple!
- Line pan with crackers. Cover a 9×13″ jelly roll pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Then fully line the baking sheet with saltine crackers ensuring there are no spaces between crackers.
- Cook caramel mixture. Cook butter in a saucepan over low heat until slightly melted. Then add in brown sugar and stir until butter is completely melted. Turn heat to medium and bring mixture to a boil for about 3 minutes, or until it thickens and has turned an amber caramel color. Stir constantly.
- Pour caramel over crackers. Remove pan from heat after 3 minutes and pour the caramel over the saltines. Then spread it out evenly with a knife.
- Bake the toffee. Bake at 350°F in oven until lightly golden, about 7 to 8 minutes. Don’t over bake! Remove from oven and if using add chocolate chips, allow to melt then spread melted chocolate using a butter knife.
Toppings and Variations
There are plenty of ways to make this cracker toffee your own!
- Type of crackers: Swap the saltines with graham crackers, use pretzel thins or Ritz crackers.
- Chocolate: If using chocolate for a topping try milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, white chocolate or even butterscotch chips.
- Topping options: Sliced almonds or chopped pecans are my favorite! Others include M&M’s, sprinkles, crushed pretzels, crushed candy canes or peppermints or toffee bites.
Are you looking for more dessert recipes to add to your cookie tray?! Try these festive gingerbread man cookies, Mexican wedding cookies, and Grinch cookies!
More Easy Candy Recipes
Browse all
HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all the newest recipes!
Saltine Cracker Toffee Recipe
Video
Equipment
- Cookie Sheet
Ingredients
- 50 saltine crackers
- 2 sticks butter (cubed)
- 1 cup light brown sugar (packed)
Optional toppings
- chocolate chips , I use about 2 cups
- sliced almonds , about 1/2 cup
- chopped pecans , about 1/2 cup
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 9×13" jelly roll pan with aluminum foil. Spray foil with cooking spray and then line pan with 50 saltine crackers.
- Melt butter and sugar. Place 1 cup butter in a medium-sized pot over low medium/low heat. Stir until butter is slightly melted, then add 1 cup sugar. Once butter is melted, bring to a boil over medium-heat for 3 minutes, or until it thickens and sugar has dissolved. Stir constantly. You want the butter and sugar to be combined and turn an amber caramel color.
- Pour and bake. After 3 minutes, remove pan from heat and pour evenly over the saltine crackers. Spread mixture with a knife. Place pan in oven and bake for 7-8 minutes or until lightly golden brown. The mixture will spread evenly over the crackers as it bakes.
- Add chocolate chips. Remove pan from oven. If you're adding chocolate sprinkle the chocolate chips over top and allow to sit for 5 minutes (or place back in the oven for 1 minute). Then spread with a spatula and sprinkle with nuts if desired. Allow to cool.
- Cool. Allow the toffee to cool and then break pieces off of foil or use a sharp knife to cut.
Notes
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!
Recipe FAQs
This supremely addicting treat is pretty magical! Saltine crackers (you can substitute Ritz crackers) are covered with a buttery brown sugar mixture then baked until it turns into caramel with a toffee texture. It’s the best combination of sweet and salty especially when topped with optional chocolate and nuts. It’s often referred to as Christmas crack as it is so indulgent!
Set your stove top to medium heat and stir together the three ingredients. Slowly watch it blend and melt together. Once it starts to boil, your mixture is ready to pour.
No you do not need a thermometer, just boil for 3 minutes and this easy recipe goes from stove to oven seamlessly. That being said, if you like a hard toffee that snaps, boil for 3-5 minutes until a thermometer reaches 270°-280°F degrees. But really it is not necessary!
One of my favorite things about this saltine crack is that it will keep for up to 2 weeks! Just make sure to store it in an airtight container so that it stays fresh. It makes the perfect treat to gift during the holidays!
Yes, you can! Simply place in a covered container and freeze up to 3 months. Let it sit at room temperature about 20 minutes before serving or enjoy cold. It may change texture slightly but will be delicious.
Categorized as: 5 Ingredients Or Less, American, Candy + Fudge, Christmas, Desserts, Nut-Free, 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.
When do you put the chocolate chip on before or after you bake it?
Hi Sarah! You drizzle it on after you bake it. :)
This sounds delicious! Does it matter what type of butter you use (un/salted)?
Thanks.
Either will work, I tend to use salted butter! :)
Fantastic, thanks for posting your family recipe. I made this for my
Daughter in law’s baby shower. Everyone loved them. Thank you again for sharing your recipe.
I’m glad everyone loved them! My gramma constantly has these at her house and my family loves them too! :)
Thanks for not calling this “crack” candy.
I made these today, they taste really good but they don’t look like yours.. The toffee never thinned out when I cooked it in the oven. Not sure if I cooked the toffee too long or not long enough? When you melt the butter and cook it for 3 minutes, do you wait till it come to a boil and start timing from there or from the time the butter and sugar are melted together?
Hi Sandy! Once it comes to a boil, start timing for 3 minutes! I hope that helps, I’m sorry the toffee didn’t thin out when you cooked it. I hope it turns out better next time! :)
Thank you, I was so happy to find this recipe. An elderly Volunteer at my hospital used to make these for us and they were so delish!! Can’t wait to make for my o-workers.
I got the recipe from my gramma! Your co-workers will love having this special treat again! :)
Thank you thank you thank you! We used to go over to a friend of the family after Sunday school and she always had this and I absolutely loved it and couldn’t find the recipe.
You are very welcome! My gramma always had these growing up and I was so happy to have the recipe to make myself whenever I wanted! :) Enjoy!
This looks so easy and yummy! Can the crackers be layered in the pan or do they have to be a single layer? Thanks!
You can do either way! I like doing a single layer so the toffee coats them on the top and bottom and they look prettier…but my grandma layers them every time! Hope you enjoy! :)
Working on quitting smoking & trying not to eat everything in sight but want to try this! Will make them, eat one..or two..and give them to my daughter! Going to try to find those mini M&M’s to use too. Love that you are making such sweet memories with your grandma.
I hope you enjoy these as much as we do! Mini M&M’s would be perfect with these! :)
I made this from a Paula Deen recipe several years ago and can definitely vouch that it’s easy, dangerous and SO good! The Paula Deen recipe added chocolate chips on top, let them melt then spread it. Makes it extra dangerous but totally worth it!
This recipe is really yummy with chocolate chips on top too! And if you add m&m’s…it is even better! Love this recipe! Thanks for stopping by Justin!
If you layer the crackers does the toffee seep inbetween or do you do one layer and then the next? Looks awesome.
We always just layer the crackers and it seeps in between! You could try layering and pouring in between if you want them extra coated! :)
Does it matter what kind of butter? Salted? Unsalted?
I used salted, but either kind will work! :)
The first time I made this is was a huge success, but I used light brown sugar. The second time it went bad, and I used dark brown sugar. There must be something about less molasses in the sugar that makes these chewy and good! With the dark brown sugar it turned into sugary molasses taste, but no toffee.
I’ve only used light brown sugar when making these! Thanks for letting us all know that dark brown sugar doesn’t work!
Hi,
Thanks for sharing your recipe! I actually tried Trisha Yearwood’s recipe a year ago, burning the toffee/caramel part. Then I saw your recipe–you made it seem so easy and simple that I couldn’t stop myself from trying to make it too. I did exactly as you instructed, and I didn’t burn the toffee this time! It’s so yummy!
I always buy dark brown sugar, and I think it tastes like toffee. It doesn’t taste like just sugary molasses at all.
Thanks again!
I’m glad it worked out so well for you Chrissy! Thanks for your comment!! This recipe is definitely a favorite during this time of year!
I used another recipe that called for dark brown sugar and it din’t turn out . So I will try it again with golden yellow sugar and hope it turns out with this recipe.
Mine always works best with light brown sugar! Hope you enjoy!
I’ve made these with graham crackers and funny I should see this recipe because I’ve been craving them recently.
My grandma made a dip with the the brown sugar and butter and spread it on the crackers. She called it larup. Sooo yummy. Never thought about cooking it but it sounds yummy!
Yum, that sounds delicious! :)
I just have one question… what temperature do you cook the saltine cracker toffee in the oven? and how do you know its done?
I bake them at 325. When they are done they should be nice and bubbly and the sauce should look a little thicker and darker! Hope that helps! :)
Can I use the mini’s?
I think that would work! Just make sure to watch it in the oven so it doesn’t burn!
How long will these keep? I’m thinking of how far ahead of time I’ll be able to make these once Christmas rolls around.
These should stay fresh for about 2 weeks in an air tight container! They would be a perfect Christmas treat! :)
I love saltines. this sounds like such a yummy snack!
It really is delicious, my gramma has got my family hooked! :)
Such a great dessert or gift! I add chocolate and chopped pecans:) yummy.
Oooh I am going to have to try adding chocolate next time! These are so addicting…sometimes they are gone before I can give them away! ;)
OMG I love this..