Made with layers of saltine crackers, homemade toffee, and rich chocolate, this recipe for Saltine Cracker Toffee couldn’t be easier to make!
Often referred to as Christmas Crack, this irresistible treat is the perfect combination of sweet and salty and makes a delicious holiday gift or addition to your Christmas Cookie Tray when paired with Neiman Marcus Cookies and Cut Out Cookies.
Saltine Cracker Toffee
My great-grandma introduced my family to Saltine Cracker Toffee and we have been enjoying this treat for as long as I can remember. While we typically enjoyed this treat during the holiday season along with Snowball Cookies, Candy Cane Cookies, and Christmas Tea, there is no reason you can’t enjoy this no-bake dessert year-round.
This recipe is made with saltine crackers, hence the name Saltine Cracker Toffee. The layer of toffee is made with butter and brown sugar to create a rich, chewy, sweet candy layer and this dessert is finished with a layer of rich chocolate. It is sweet, salty, crunchy, chewy, and absolutely divine!
I can easily see why people call it Christmas Crack because it is exceptionally hard to stop yourself from shoveling it by the fistfuls into your mouth. However, my grandma would not approve of that name, so I still refer to it as Saltine Cracker Toffee to this day 😉
No matter what you choose to call this recipe, one thing we all can agree upon is that this simple treat is a winner!
Notes On Ingredients
- Saltine Crackers: The saltine crackers add a salty element to this no-bake dessert that will help to balance out the sweetness of the layers of toffee and chocolate. For this recipe, I typically use one full sleeve of saltine crackers.
- Butter: Be sure to use unsalted butter for this recipe, as the saltine crackers will add enough of a salty element to the candy.
- Brown Sugar: For a rich, caramel-like flavor, brown sugar is best. You can use either dark or light brown sugar with minimal differences.
- Vanilla: I find that adding just a touch of vanilla extract to the brown sugar butter mixture really enhances the nutty flavor of the toffee layer.
- Chocolate Chips: To create a rich, thick chocolate layer, use dark, milk, or semi-sweet chocolate chips. They will melt beautifully over the toffee layer, creating a luxurious finish to this sweet treat.
- Nuts (optional): My great-grandma always topped this candy with chopped walnuts, almonds, or pecans. The nuts add a nice crunch but are completely optional. Be sure to check the variations on Saltine Cracker Candy below for additional ideas for toppings. Although, there is nothing wrong with keeping this recipe simple and leaving it untopped!
How to Make Saltine Cracker Toffee
- Line a jelly roll pan or rimmed baking sheet with foil. Top the foil with a layer of parchment paper. The foil will make for easy clean-up, as toffee can be a bit difficult to clean from your pans and the parchment will make the saltine candy easy to remove from the baking sheet. Don’t be tempted to simply line your cookie sheet with foil, as the foil is likely to stick to your crackers and be difficult to pick off.
- Spread the saltine crackers out evenly over the baking sheet.
- Combine the butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once the mixture comes to a boil, allow it to cook for just 1 minute, whisking constantly. The mixture should be deep golden in color and rather bubbly.
- Remove the caramel from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
- Immediately drizzle the caramel mixture over the saltine crackers, to cover. If needed, use an offset spatula to spread the mixture over the crackers.
- Bake for 10 minutes, remove the pan from the oven, and turn the oven off. The caramel layer should be a rich, golden color.
- Evenly sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the crackers.
- Return the pan to the warm oven (that has been turned OFF) and let it sit in there for 1-3 minutes. This will give the chocolate time to fully soften and be easy to spread.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and then using an offset spatula or knife, spread the chocolate chips evenly over the crackers.
- Top with chopped nuts (or other additions) if desired.
- Let the Saltine Cracker Toffee cool to room temperature and then transfer the refrigerator to chill fully and for the chocolate to set up.
- After 30-60 minutes of chilling, remove the toffee from the refrigerator and peel it away from the parchment paper. Chop or break into bite-sized pieces.
Storage Instructions
Saltine Toffee should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Variations on Saltine Toffee
While my great-grandma’s recipe was made with the addition of chopped nuts, there are endless ways to change up this recipe to create delicious flavor variations of this candy.
- Peppermint: Swap out the chopped nuts for crushed-up candy canes, for a minty spin on this classic treat.
- Rocky Road: Sprinkle chopped pecans and diced mini marshmallows over the melted chocolate.
- M&M: Sprinkle mini M&Ms over the melted chocolate. During the holidays, I love to use festive colors to make it extra special. Red and green for Christmas or pastel colors for Easter.
- Almond Joy: Add chopped almonds and shredded coconut to the layer of melted chocolate.
- Pretzels: For an additional salty bite, sprinkle pieces of broken-up pretzels over the chocolate after it has been spread over the saltine crackers.
- Use Graham Crackers: Instead of using saltine crackers, you can use graham crackers to line your sheet pan. This will result in a much sweeter version of this treat.
- Peanut Butter Cup: Drizzle warm peanut butter over the layer of melted chocolate (before it sets up) and then sprinkle with mini peanut butter cups.
More Easy No-Bake Dessert Recipes
If you enjoyed this simple recipe for Saltine Cracker Toffee, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.
Saltine Cracker Toffee
Made with layers of saltine crackers, homemade toffee, and rich chocolate, this recipe for Saltine Cracker Toffee couldn’t be easier to make!
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Servings: 24
Calories: 207kcal
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Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a jelly roll pan or rimmed baking sheet with foil. Top the foil with a layer of parchment paper.
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Spread the saltine crackers out evenly over the baking sheet to form an even layer, salt-side up.
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Combine the butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once the mixture comes to a boil, allow it to cook for just 30 seconds, while whisking constantly. The mixture should be a deep golden color. Remove from the heat, and stir in the vanilla extract.
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Drizzle the caramel mixture evenly over the crackers, spreading to cover if needed. Bake for 10 minutes.
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Remove the pan from the oven and turn the oven OFF. Sprinkle the chocolate evenly over the crackers. Return the pan to the warm oven for about 1 minute, or until the chocolate is soft and glistening. It will not take more than a minute or two.
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Remove the pan from the oven, and use an offset spatula to spread the melted chocolate evenly over the crackers. If desired, sprinkle with nuts (or candy, etc) over the chocolate while still warm.
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Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature and then transfer the tray to the refrigerator to chill completely. This will take about 1 hour.
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Once the chocolate has hardened, cut or break it into bite-size bars. Store the toffee candy in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Nuts: Use chopped walnuts, almonds, or pecans OR omit the nuts.
Note on Salt: If using unsalted saltines, you will want to use salted butter or stir in ¼ to ½ teaspoon of kosher salt to your caramel mixture when you add the vanilla extract. You need a bit of salt to balance out the sweetness in this recipe.
Nutrition is based on 1/24th of the recipe without adding nuts.
Nutrition
Calories: 207kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 54mg | Potassium: 103mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 244IU | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg
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