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This Christmas crack recipe is a delicious homemade candy that’s impossible to resist! It’s salty, sweet, crunchy, and filled with chocolate and caramel.

Christmas crack is a great treat and filler for holiday cookie plates, along with Butter Mints, Turtle Candy, and Gingerbread Cookies!

Close up of Christmas crack recipe stacked and topped with sprinkles.

Reasons Why We Love It!

If you’ve never tried saltine cracker toffee before, it’s a homemade toffee made with saltine crackers, caramel sauce, and chocolate.

This candy recipe is deliciously crunchy and hard to resist (just like our classic Toffee Recipe and Pretzel Toffee).

  • Simple. With a quick prep time, these are a favorite!
  • Flavor. The salt of the saltine crackers balances out the sweetness perfectly.
  • Sharing. We love to break this saltine toffee up into pieces and add the treats to our cookie plates.
Toffee sauce mixed in a glass bowl.

Just a Few Ingredients

  • Saltine Crackers (about 35-40 crackers) You can also use Ritz crackers or graham crackers.
  • Unsalted Butter 
  • Brown sugar – We use light brown sugar but dark works too.
  • Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips Higher quality chocolate like Ghirardelli, will melt and set the best. Change the flavor and use white chocolate chips, dark chocolate, peanut butter chips, or milk chocolate chips
  • Sprinkles Add chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, or pistachios), crushed peppermints, holiday M&M’s, toffee bits, flaky sea salt, or a drizzle of white chocolate.
Close up of a pile of Christmas sprinkles.

How to Make Christmas Crack

  1. PREP. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a 10×15-inch pan with aluminum foil, or parchment paper, and lightly grease.
  2. CRAKERS. Place the saltine crackers on the baking sheet to cover the entire pan in 1 layer of crackers. 
  3. TOFFEE. Melt together the butter and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, bring it to a boil for 3 minutes while stirring constantly.
  4. BAKE. Carefully pour the mixture over the crackers. Spread it overtop so that all of the crackers are covered. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.
  5. CHOCOLATE. Add the chocolate to a medium heatproof bowl. Microwave on medium power for 1-minute bursts, stirring between each. When the chocolate is almost melted, stir until smooth. 
    • Spoon the chocolate over the crackers, and spread it smooth to completely cover the pan. Decorate with sprinkles. 
  6. CRACK. Let the toffee harden until the chocolate is set. Either at room temperature or in the fridge. Once completely hardened, remove from the pan and peel the aluminum foil off. Break/”crack” it into pieces.
Chocolate covered cracker toffee topped with Christmas sprinkles.

Recipe Tips

  • Gritty texture. The main culprit to grainy toffee happens while boiling the mixture. While stirring the mixture, consistently scrape the sides otherwise the sugar will crystallize on the sides of the pan.
  • Boil for 3 minutes. It’s important that the brown sugar mixture boils for exactly 3 minutes. If it doesn’t boil long enough the mixture won’t set and will just make the crackers soggy.
  • Giftable. Christmas cracker candy makes a great homemade gift. Wrap it in holiday cellophane bags or tins, and everyone will be excited to receive a batch.
Christmas crack stacked  and topped with sprinkles.

Storing info

  • Make ahead of time. Easily make Christmas crack candy in advance and have it on hand for cookie plates or neighbor gifts.
  • STORE in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days, in the fridge for 10 days, or in the freezer for 4-6 weeks.
Christmas crack broken in pieces and piled on a plate.

For More Homemade Candy:

Chocolate Fudge Recipe

10 mins

Recipe Video

5 from 234 votes

Christmas Crack Recipe

By: Lil’ Luna
Christmas crack is a delicious homemade candy that's impossible to resist! It's salty, sweet, crunchy, and filled with chocolate and caramel.
Servings: 40 pieces
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 5 minutes
Resting Time: 2 hours
Total: 2 hours 15 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 1 sleeve saltine cracker about 35-40 crackers
  • 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • sprinkles

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F.
  • Line a 10×15 inch pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease.
  • Place the saltine crackers on the cookie sheet to cover the entire pan in 1 layer of crackers. 
  • Melt together the butter and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
  • Once the butter is melted, bring it to a boil for 3 minutes while stirring constantly.
  • Carefully pour the mixture over the crackers. Spread it overtop so that all of the crackers are covered.
  • Bake in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.
  • Add the chocolate to a medium heatproof bowl. Microwave on medium power for 1-minute bursts, stirring between each. When the chocolate is almost melted, stir until smooth. 
  • Spoon the chocolate over the crackers, and spread it smooth to completely cover the pan. Decorate with sprinkles. 
  • Let the toffee harden until the chocolate is set. Either at room temperature or in the fridge.
  • Once completely hardened, remove from the pan and peel the aluminum foil off. Break/"crack" it into pieces.
  • Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the fridge for 10 days. 

Video

Notes

Make ahead of time. Easily make it in advance and have it on hand for cookie plates or neighbor gifts.
STORE. Saltine Christmas crack can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days, in the fridge for 10 days, or in the freezer for 4-6 weeks.

Nutrition

Calories: 113kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 12mg, Sodium: 3mg, Potassium: 59mg, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 145IU, Calcium: 12mg, Iron: 0.6mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
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About Kristyn

My name is Kristyn and I’m the mom of SIX stinkin’ cute kids and the wife to my smokin’ hot hubby, Lo. My mom’s maiden name is Luna, and I’m one of the many crafty “Lil’ Lunas” in the fam. On this site I like to share all things creative - from recipes to home decor to gifts and home decor ideas. Welcome!

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Recipe Rating




160 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    The brown sugar & butter, melted with on the saltines, is the greatest thing ever, especially when you add chocolate. These really are so addicting!

  2. 5 stars
    I Make this EVERY YEAR! And every year its a hit. Its easy to make, delicious, and festive. Thanks for the amazing recipe.

  3. 5 stars
    I’ve made THis REcipe about a dozen times and it turns out perfect every time! A tried and true family favorite in our house!