Christmas Crack Recipe

With the holidays nearly upon us, now is the time of year when I always love to find new treats to prepare to enjoy with my family or give as gifts to friends, teachers and other special people. I especially love when a delicious treat I find happens to also be a snap to prepare! The yummy treat I’m sharing today, which our family calls Christmas Crack, is a dark chocolate toffee bark candy make with an unexpected ingredient: saltine crackers! This saltine toffee crack absolutely melts in your mouth, and it is beautiful when packaged up and given as gifts. And because it is so incredibly easy to prepare, this is a wonderful recipe to prepare with kiddos, too! Read on for the delicious details.

Christmas Crack Ingredients

• 48 saltine crackers
• 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
• 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate can be subbed here)
• 1/2 cup toffee bits
• Holiday-colored jimmies (optional, but very festive!)

(Note: The printable version of this recipe is available below.)

Directions

To begin, preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Line a 15×10-inch jelly roll pan with heavy duty aluminum foil, and spray with non-stick spray. Arrange the saltine crackers in rows on the pan, lining them up so the edges meet and there is no space between them. 

Combine the butter and brown sugar in a large microwave-safe bowl. Heat on HIGH power in 1-minute intervals, stirring after each interval, until sugar is completed dissolved, about 3 minutes total. Stir in the condensed milk. Pour the mixture evenly over the cracker layer. Place the pan into the heated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, until the butter/sugar layer is brown and bubbly.

Oh my heavens, does that look good, or what?

Pull the pan out of the oven and place on a cooling rack. While everything is still piping hot, measure out 1 cup of the dark chocolate chips…

…and then sprinkle those beauties evenly over the whole lot. Allow everything to stand for about 2 minutes (this will soften the chocolate for spreading) before using the back of a spoon (or a small spatula, if you have one) to spread the chocolate into an even layer over the surface of the bars.

Now, measure out 1/2 cup of the toffee bits, along with 2 tablespoons or so of the holiday jimmies.

Sprinkle the toffee bits in an even layer over the surface of the toffee (sneaking a few nibbles of the toffee for yourself in the process, of course!). If desired, add a pop of festive holiday color by sprinkling on the holiday jimmies.

Now the hard part–avoiding the urge to dig right in! Allow the Christmas crack to cool completely (I find placing the entire pan in the freezer for 15-20 minutes usually does the trick, but you can also do this on the countertop if you’re not in a hurry). When cool, break the bark into cracker-sized squares. To store, place in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. (Although I can’t imagine it would ever last that long!)

You honestly cannot imagine how delicious this Christmas crack is until you try it for yourself. Each crumbly bite truly melts in your mouth, and the combination of salty and sweet flavors here is absolutely, positively addicting! 

I love that this saltine toffee crack is easy enough for my kiddos to help with, and as they get older, it is something they could definitely make all on their own! 

Amy @ Positively Splendid

Having grown up in a home brimming with sewing notions and paintbrushes, Amy has a deep love for all things creative. On any given day, you’ll find her knee-deep in her latest creative endeavor, with projects ranging from sewing and crafts to home decor and kid-friendly ideas. Amy believes that everyone, regardless of skill level or experience, possesses the ability to create something beautiful, and Positively Splendid was born of her passion for helping others harness their innate creative potential.