a quick and easy recipe that is sure to become a holiday favorite
I was in college when I first tried Christmas Crack. One of my friends, who was lucky enough to have a cooking space in their dorm, whipped some up and brought it out to our study area to share during finals week. She was surprised to learn that I had never heard of it before, and gave me the first piece. It was buttery, crunchy, sweet, chocolatey... everything you could want in a dessert. After that, it was history! I have been making this staple Christmas candy every year, ever since. It is so easy to make, customizable, and you need only a few ingredients
(which you probably have laying around).
Make sure you add this recipe to your to-do list this Holiday season!
Gather your ingredients and line all of your crackers up before you start the "cooking" process. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and start the hardest part of this recipe.... lining the tray. (Aka, this recipe is so easy!)
We like to use Saltine crackers, or Ritz crackers, but you could definitely experiment with any kind of cracker you like. I think a captain wafer cracker would be amazing! Just make sure the cracker(s) you choose are nice and buttery with maybe a little salt to offset the sweetness of the candy element of this treat.
I used parchment paper in these pictures but foil works a little better. You can completely cover your baking sheet and prevent the liquid from running under.
Add your unsalted butter, brown sugar and salt to a pot with high sides. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-low heat and continue to cook for about 3-5 minutes (depending on the heat of your stovetop).
You want to make sure that the sugar is fully dissolved so that you don't get a gritty or too-soft toffee. There is a fine line, so it may take a few attempts to get it just right. You don't want to overcook it either, because then the cracker candy becomes too hard and difficult to chew. Find that sweet spot based on the heat of your stove and you are good to go!
An easy way to test is to take your whisk, dip it into the pot, and grab a small (cooled) dot of the mixture onto your finger. If it beads up you're good to go. If it is liquid-y and runs, it's not ready. If it won't come off the whisk easily, the batch is overcooked and you might want to toss it and start over again.
Once your mixture is a nice golden brown color with a decent boil, add your vanilla. Make sure to whisk through the mixture a few times just to ensure that everything is mixed well.
You definitely don't need to whisk it constantly, but an occasional whisk during the cooking time helps bring everything together.
After the vanilla extract has been whisked through, get ready to pour the mixture onto your tray of crackers that are lined up nice and neat. It is important that they are not overlapping because the recipe will be just enough to cover the crackers lying flat. You don't want any dry spots that don't get covered with the toffee.
Gently and slowly pour the mixture over the crackers. You may need to push a few crackers back down to create an even layer, but wait until you have the entire pot poured onto the pan.
It helps if you move in slow back and forth motions rather than pouring on just one spot. Try to move the pot around the entire pan for the easiest coverage. You will then want to take a rubber spatula or a knife to help evenly distribute the toffee mixture over all of the crackers. You may even want to shake the pan and/or tilt it back and forth to spread out the liquid.
Make sure you work quickly enough that the mixture doesn't start to harden before you get the crackers covered. You want to do this as quickly as possible to get a nice even layer.
Place the tray into the oven and allow it to cook for another 5 minutes. It will be very bubbly and your crackers will probably slide around again. That's okay. Just gently push them back into their rows when you remove them from the oven.
While the crackers are baking, go ahead and melt your chocolate. I poured the whole bag of chocolate chips into a microwavable bowl and heated it up for 1 minute. I then stirred the chocolate chips and continued to heat it in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each time, until I had a smooth chocolate mixture that was easy to pour over the baked crackers.
You could also do a double boil method. If you don't have a double boil pot, use a pot with a small amount of boiling water. Place a heat safe bowl on top of the pot with the chocolate chips in it. Make sure that the bowl does not touch the water and is big enough to sit on top of the pot, not in it. Continue to stir until your chocolate is completely melted.
Once the crackers have finished baking and the chocolate has been melted, get ready to combine the two. Ensure that your crackers are lined up as evenly and flat as possible before pouring on the chocolate.
Gently pour the chocolate in that same back and forth motion to get a more even distribution. Use a rubber spatula, knife or offset spatula to spread the chocolate on top of the toffee crackers. Be careful not to press too hard or move to fast, as you can disrupt the layers. You want them to stick together, but you do not want to mix them. Try to let the chocolate set just on top of the toffee mixture rather than combining them. Work quickly as the mixtures will cool very fast and can lead to clumping or uneven texture.
While the chocolate is still warm, go ahead and top your Christmas crack with whatever decorations you would like. I used red and green mini M&Ms to be festive... but you can get creative with whatever ingredients you would like! Try some sprinkles, crushed pretzels, chopped nuts, coconut, etc.
You can also make this recipe year round for other holidays! You can play with matching colors/toppings to those holidays as well. I just always make it at Christmas time, so I like to do the red and green.
Once the tray is room temperature, place it into the refrigerator. Let it cool for at least 2 hours, or overnight, before you break it into pieces. You can keep the shapes of the crackers or you can get creative and create random shapes and shards of any size that you'd like.
I hope you enjoy this recipe and make it your own! If you try it and love it, make sure you come back to let me know what you think! Don't forget to click the button below to subscribe to my email newsletters so that you never miss a new blog. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
I hope the rest of your year is filled with love, rest and happiness. 💕
Christmas Crack Recipe:
1 sleeve Saltine Crackers
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (chocolate chips or chopped chocolate work best)
Additional toppings of choice (sprinkles, candy, nuts, pretzels, coconut, etc.)
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees
Line your tray/cookie sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper
Lay out your crackers in even rows to create one flat layer
Place the butter, sugar, and salt in a pot. Bring to a boil and continue to cook for 3-5 minutes
Gently pour over the crackers and spread the mixture gently until all areas are covered
Bake in the oven for 5 minutes
Melt your chocolate while the crackers are baking using a microwave in 30 second intervals or by using the double boiling method
Remove the cracker tray from the oven and work quickly to evenly spread the melted chocolate on top
Once you have a smooth even layer, top with desired toppings (while the chocolate is still warm)
Place the tray in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours (overnight if possible) before breaking into pieces
Serve immediately or keep in an air tight container for about a week
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