Saltine cracker toffee, a.k.a. Christmas crack, is a holiday tradition in our house! My version has buttery toffee, melted white chocolate, and sweet-tart cranberries set on top of crispy salted crackers. It’s quick, easy, and perfect for parties and gifting.
Looking for more easy Christmas treats? Try my festive Christmas bark, these chocolate caramel popcorn balls, and my easy kolacky cookies, too.
This Christmas crack recipe has saltine crackers covered with sticky-sweet caramel toffee, melted chocolate, and a sprinkling of chewy dried cranberries. It’s my snack of choice to pair with Macedonian Bambus (red wine + cola, don’t knock it ‘til you try it!). I love the contrast of the salty crackers with the sweet toffee and chocolate, and it’s so easy to make and customize with fun, festive toppings.
I like to think that they call this Christmas crack because it’s a) just as addictive as, say, crack chicken, b) it’s made with crackers, and c) it “cracks” when you break it up before serving. It’s one of my favorite holiday traditions, and I can’t wait for you to try it, too!
Why I Love This Christmas Crack Recipe
- Tasty toppings. With its white chocolate and sweet-tart cranberries, my version of Christmas crack is semi-inspired by the Cranberry Bliss bars from Starbucks. Coincidentally, it’s great washed down with a cinnamon dolce latte. You can easily change up the toppings and flavors depending on what you and your family like.
- Make-ahead. This Christmas candy is a perfect make-ahead treat for the holidays. It stores like a dream and makes a great snack all season long.
- All occasions. Saltine cracker toffee also makes a great stocking stuffer, classmate gift, party treat, and cookie tray add-on. In my house, a plate of Christmas crack + hot chocolate + a Netflix Christmas movie = holiday bliss!
What You’ll Need
You want to grab just 5 ingredients, plus any toppings, to make a generous batch of this cranberry white chocolate Christmas crack. Check out my notes here, and scroll down to the recipe card for a printable ingredients list with the full recipe details.
- Saltine Crackers – This is our crispy, salty cracker base. If you don’t have saltines in the house, Ritz crackers or Graham crackers make a good substitute.
- Butter and Brown Sugar – You’ll melt the butter and brown sugar together to make an easy homemade toffee. You can use light or dark brown sugar.
- White Chocolate – White chocolate bars will melt more smoothly, however, chocolate chips also work great here. You can also use dark chocolate, milk, or semisweet chocolate. The better quality you use, the better your Christmas crack will be! Chop the chocolate up beforehand so that it melts easily.
- Vegetable Oil – Or coconut oil. Oil helps the chocolate melt smoothly and harden to a glossy, snappy finish. You could also use Crisco here.
- Dried Cranberries – Or any toppings you’d like! Chopped nuts, crushed candy canes, mini chocolate chips… there’s no wrong way to decorate your saltine toffee.
How to Make Saltine Christmas Crack
Gather your saltines and let’s do this! Christmas crack is a snap to make, and it’s ready in ~15 minutes, give or take.
- Prepare the saltine crackers. Start by lining a jelly roll pan with foil and giving it a spritz with cooking spray. Then, arrange the saltine crackers in a single layer inside the pan.
- Make the toffee. Melt the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Next, bring the mixture to a boil and cook for a minute, stirring frequently, until the color deepens. Pour that evenly over the saltines. Your crackers might move around here, and if they do, use a rubber spatula to scootch them back into place.
- Bake. Pop the saltine toffee into the oven to bake at 400ºF for 4-5 minutes, until bubbly.
- Melt the chocolate. In the meantime, melt the white chocolate with oil in a double boiler. Stir constantly while the chocolate melts, and take it off the heat just before it’s fully smooth. It’ll continue to melt as you stir it off the heat.
- Assemble. Take out your saltine cracker toffee and pour half the chocolate over top, spreading it out into an even layer. After a minute, pour the remaining chocolate over and smooth that out, too. Lastly, sprinkle over the dried cranberries.
- Chill. Place the Christmas crack into the freeze for 20 minutes to set. Afterward, break the crack into pieces, and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Line the pan. Lining the jelly roll pan with aluminum foil before you start makes clean-up much easier afterward.
- Use a candy thermometer. Make sure not to over or underheat the butter and brown sugar mixture for the toffee. I usually watch for the color to darken to know when it’s ready to pour. If you aren’t comfortable eyeballing it, use a candy thermometer to check that the temperature of the toffee reaches 270ºF before you pour it over the saltines.
- Gentle hands. Be careful when pouring the toffee over the crackers and spreading the chocolate after baking. You don’t want the crackers to move around too much on the baking sheet. If they do, however, do your best to nudge them back into place with a spatula.
Christmas Crack Variations
- More toppings. I mentioned it earlier, but there are loads of toppings that you can try. In addition to the dried cranberries I use here, top your Christmas crack with crushed candy canes, pretzels, mini M&Ms, sprinkles, or chocolate chips.
- Add nuts. Sprinkle over crushed pecans, peanuts, almond slivers, hazelnuts, or candied spiced nuts.
- Swap the crackers. Use Graham crackers or Ritz crackers instead of saltines.
- Change up the chocolate. Instead of white chocolate, top your toffee with melted semisweet, milk, or dark chocolate instead. You can also play around with melting mint chocolate chips or peppermint chips, like Andes mints.
How to Store
- At room temperature. Store Christmas crack in an airtight container or Ziploc bag on the counter for up to 5 days. If your kitchen is especially warm, though, consider keeping it in the fridge and serving at room temperature instead. It stays fresh in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- Freeze. I LOVE freezing Christmas crack for last-minute treats down the road. Freeze the cooled toffee airtight for up to 1 month and thaw at room temperature. Separate any layers with a sheet of parchment paper to prevent them from sticking.
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Prep. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil and grease it with cooking spray.
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Start with the saltine crackers. Arrange the saltines over the greased foil, one next to another, in a single layer; set aside.
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Make the caramel. In a small saucepan, combine the butter and light brown sugar. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the butter is melted. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil; continue to cook, stirring frequently, until it turns a caramel color; about 1 minute.
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Cover the crackers. Remove from heat and pour it over the crackers. The crackers will start to move around; use a rubber spatula to set them back in place. Bake in the oven for 4 to 5 minutes or until the mixture is bubbly.
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Melt the chocolate. In the meantime, set up a double boiler and combine chopped chocolate chips and vegetable oil in the top bowl. Melt the chips, stirring constantly, until most of it has melted but remove from heat while a few lumps are still present. The chocolate will continue to melt while you continue to stir it.
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Assemble. Remove the saltine toffee crackers from the oven. Pour HALF of the melted chocolate over the crackers and smooth it out with a knife; let it stand for 1 minute. Then, slowly pour the rest of the melted chocolate and smooth it out again using a knife or an offset spatula. Add dried cranberries on top.
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Cool & serve. Place the Christmas crack into the freezer for 20 minutes, or until cold. Afterward, break it up into pieces for serving.
- Store in an airtight container.
Calories: 359kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 163mg | Potassium: 127mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 294IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 81mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
