Saltine Cracker Toffee
This Saltine Cracker Toffee was my grandma’s recipe. It’s addicting and one of my favorite chocolate treats! Some people refer to this Saltine Cracker Toffee as “Christmas Crack”, but we make it all year long.
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SALTINE CRACKER CANDY
A clear indication that my life has gotten really busy is the lack of blog updates. Life this week has been pretty crazy.
I’ve been washing two weeks of vacation laundry, getting into fender benders, taking kids to the doctor for strep throat, baking a whole lot of goodies for a church function, and getting ready for our friends to come stay with us.
But I haven’t forgotten this little blog of mine. In fact, I’ve been really reminiscent (thank you spell checker) lately and have been thinking about all the recipes that have been passed on to me from my family.
This Saltine Toffee comes from my grandma. My grandma Peterson always had her house stocked with See’s chocolates and her fridge stocked with Dilly Bars from Dairy Queen. Not the small factory made ones they have now. The huge handmade Dilly Bars with the big swirl in the middle.
Although you and allrecipes probably have 10,324 versions of this, this is the one my grandma made. So there.
And if you’ve never made this saltine cracker toffee recipe you are in for a treat. It’s a toffee made with saltine crackers for that extra crunch topped with melted chocolate. Simple ingredients. Easy. No candy thermometer needed.
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| Just line ’em up on the baking sheet. Some people use graham crackers but I like the savory tone of the saltines. Ritz crackers or pretzels could work too. |
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| You’ll heat your brown sugar mixture in a saucepan and then pour it over the crackers. This is what it should look like in the oven. |
WHAT IS CHRISTMAS CRACK?
Christmas crack is a saltine cracker covered in a brown sugar butter sauce and baked until it turns into caramel! The saltine cracker melts into the caramel making it a salty and sweet treat! The top is topped with chocolate for the ultimate indulgence.
OTHER DESSERT RECIPES:
Saltine Cracker Toffee
Ingredients
- 40 salted saltine crackers or enough to line your pan
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 cups milk chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips
- (optional) 3/4 cup chopped pecans
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a cookie sheet with at least a 1/2 inch edge or jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Line saltine crackers in a single layer on the cookie sheet.
- In a small pot combine sugar and butter and bring to a boil. Once mixture is at a boil, continue boiling for 3 minutes. Mixture should be a deep caramel color. Immediately pour over saltines and spread to cover crackers completely.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 5 to 6 minutes. It will get all bubbly and the crackers will look like they are floating. Remove from oven and straighten any crackers that have gotten out of line. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top and let sit a couple of minutes to melt. If your pan isn't hot enough you can even pop it back in the oven for a couple of minutes to melt them. Sometimes I melt the chocolate chips in the microwave for about 1 minute then spread it on. Spread melted chocolate and top with chopped nuts if desired. Cool completely. You can pop it in the fridge for a couple of minutes to help the chocolate set. Break into pieces and eat.
Notes
Source: Grandma Peterson
Loved these and so easy. Has anyone tried to freeze them?
They freeze well for me..in fact that is how I prefer eating them…ice cold from the freezer…lol also I top mine with bacon bits
Have made these a couple of times and they are fabulous! Addictive!
But I’m trying to get the amount of butter right. Is it 1 cup of melted butter, 1 cup of butter chopped into small cubes or something else? Is it possible to measure the butter by weight instead? I find that much easier!
It’s one cup of butter or 8 tablespoons (one stick). Then you melt it according to the instructions.
Thanks. What does one stick weigh? I keep seeing this come up in recipes but I’m in Australia and I’ve never heard of a stick of butter before
Thanks. What does one stick weigh? I keep seeing this come up in recipes but I’m in Australia and I’ve never heard of a stick of butter before
Ok. 1 stick is equal to 4 ounces or 8 Tablespoons. So a cup would be 8 ounces of butter.
1 stick of butter is 1/2 cup. You would need 2 sticks to equal 1 cup.
Yep, She was just asking the weight…
Hi – when I made these they were very “wet” even after cooling. There was a still a lot of liquid under the crackers. Is that normal? I put them in the freezer to try and get them harder, but it didn’t work so well. Any advice would be great!
Sounds like you may need to bake them a couple minutes longer so that the sugar turns into toffee. Every oven is different. Did the mixture boil and look all bubbly?
I am turning 50 this summer and I remember making these when I was a kid. It was super easy
and tasted great. I recently went to a party and the host had these on the table of desserts.
My friend made these for us at christmas and I was sooo impressed…. I did not have unsalted saltines or unsalted butter so I just used both salted and I have to say that the ones I made were much betterthan the ones that were sent, So if you don’t have salted butter don’t worry… EITHER WAY, my kids devoured them before they even finished cooling!!! Delicious!
Finally made these, they were so easy to make and so darn delicious, gonne be making more of these thru out the year to share with friends 🙂
i just made these, except instead i had to scratch off the salt on the saltines, and i used hersheys kisses for the chocolate. DELICIOUS. thank you so much!
Love, love, love this…. Made this recipe and could not believe how easy it was to make! Not only was it easy, but it is delish. This is a new family favorite!
I love these and have been looking for the recipe! Found yours on pinterest. Thanks!
Hey this look fantastic and I really want to try it out! But I didn’t really understood the chocolate part. Are you suposed to melt chocolate and pour over the chips?
@Sara, You can technically just pour on the chocolate chips and let them melt there and then spread them. Or you can melt the chocolate separately and pour it on.
I LOVE these bites, however, I can’t figure out what I am doing wrong with them. the toffee always turns out like caramel, chewy, that is. it never gets hard and crunchy for me. I boil gently for 3 minutes, pour over top and bake to 5-7 minutes at 400. It’s all bubbly and looks like I should take it out of the oven. But when it sets, I get chewy not crunchy. Everyone LOVES them, but I am frustrated! Should I cook them longer? Boil it longer? (I have an electric oven). Any help would be appreciated.
I love these! I have also added crushed candy cane on top at the holidays- always a hit!
@Anonymous,
You want to bring the mixture to a boil so you want it on high heat.
Is it low, med, or high heat? Can’t wait to try! thanks!
I found this post though Pinterest. The photo was so beautiful that I just had to come here to read the recipe! Love it! And love your site :-).
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Yummy yum yum. I’ve never heard of these, but made them out here in rural Brazil. They are cooling right now, and I snuck one ealy. OMGosh. Delish. Thanks!
I have been looking for the recipe! Just finished making them, they are cooling now. I’m so excited about being able to make them again!
wow! this is a crazy idea…but it looks amazing!
Made these for Christmas “neighbor” gifts…they are still raving and asking for the recipe…should I share? I probably will make them beg just a little longer…haha.
We used to make these long ago, I had forgotten the recipe. Thanks for the reminder.
I made these for a party we had Sunday, and they were a HUGE hit! I changed it up a little and put Heath Bar crumbles on top instead of nuts…thanks for the recipe! I’ll be keeping it handy 😀
ryananddanielle,
No these should not be soggy! I would either boil the mixture longer or bake them longer. Every oven is different so maybe yours cooks slower? Not sure.
does anyone know if these will freeze?
yes up to 3mon.ms
I made this according to the recipe, and 5-6 minutes in the oven at 400F was WAY too long. Everything was a charcoal disaster! I tried it again, and only left it in for 3 minutes and it was perfect and delish. It might be my oven, but maybe check it around 3 minutes!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. It looks amazing!
Ah I found these on your website last night and as I was looking through the ingredients realized I had everything in my kitchen. I made them and they turned out so delicious! I even used stale saltines (which I was a bit worried about but didn’t feel like running to the store) and you couldn’t even tell. Thanks for the great and easy recipe!
I loooove your website!!! Im pretty much addicted to it!! I made these tonight but there super soggy…. Are they suppose to be
I made these last night, but substituted flat pretzel crackers for saltines and it was DELICIOUS! Thanks for the recipe!
I made these tonight and they rocked! Thank yooooooooooouuuuu!!!
@Annette,
Mine usually hardens enough to stack them. I always put mine in the fridge to speed up the process.
I just made these!! Amazing! Wondering how to store them? Will the chocolate harden enough to stack them? Thank you for sharing this incredible treasure!
I do make these. My problem is that they tend to scorch on the edges before they set in the middle. I suspect my problem is that the brown sugar available to me is not cane, but disguised beet sugar. But I think I might have found a local source of cane brown sugar, so I’m going to try again. (I like to use club crackers, too. Very buttery.)
P.S. I really enjoy your blog! Thanks for writing it!
if you cant find cane brown sugar mix togeher white cane sugar with molasses thats all it is to being with
The only thing I don’t like about these is that I eat many more than I should.
@Brittney Ann,
Oh shoot! Yes, I did line mine with aluminum foil but you could use parchment paper as well. Sorry. Hoped they turned out.
Great Recipe (found it on Pinterest) Did you line the pan with Wax Paper before baking? The second photo looks like it’s lined but I can’t tell. Mine are now cooling (sans wax paper) but I’m hoping they transfer well!
I make this with pretzel sticks and white chocolate chips on top! We call it crack and now it’s served and made for every get together on the block! It’s soooooo yummy! And now I want some!
Well, it seems both your grandmother and mine had the same recipe. I’ve been making these for years and they are in high demand around Christmas time!
When we make these we sprinkle the chocolate chips on and put it back in the oven for a minute. They are very melty when they come out!
My mum makes this every Christmas to give away for gifts. I ADORE IT!
Just made these for the first time last night, and have been munching on them ever since! On on half on the pan I sprinkled butterscotch chips on top of the chocolate, so good!
I had to make this and then told everyone about it. I loved it. I was shocked at how much it actually tasted like the real toffee. And having made that before this was sooooo simple. I didin’t taaste any saltyness like others where saying. Maybe I used too much chocolate but I thought it was fantastic. And I agree that the chocolate should be warmed first. Would have made it easier to spread around.
Great way to use the Chocolate Easter bunnies that are headed our way.
This is perfection!!!
@Tracey,
I used unsalted butter. I think you could either use salted butter or salted saltines but both would be too much. You are right!
I made mine last night, never had this happen before, but it didn’t “set up” like in normally does?
What did I do wrong this time?
When it doesn’t set up it usually means that it wasn’t boiled long enough. Make sure it’s at a full boil before you start timing it.
My wax paper is sticking….if I bring back to room temperature will this help remedy the issue?
I made these last night! So delicious! Mine didn’t look anything like the first pic, but I think it’s because I couldn’t wait until they completely cooled to dig in! 🙂 Thanks!
I made these last night! So delicious! Mine didn’t look anything like the first pic, but I think it’s because I couldn’t wait until they completely cooled to dig in! 🙂 Thanks!
These look delicious! I can’t wait to make them! However, I’m wondering if you use salted or unsalted butter. It seems like it would be a lot of salt with the salted butter AND the saltines, so I’m not sure which to use!
The notes mentioned if crackers were salted use unsalted butter. If crackers were unsalted use salted butter.
My husband had me try making this with graham crackers instead of saltines. A bit dense for me (plus I like the salty vs. sweet of the saltines), but he thought they were fab! Also, note to self…no substituting margarine for the butter like I did last week…eek!
mmm!
i tried making these once, but yours look so much better!!!
I have missed you – even though I don’t know you! I made these and posted recipe tonight. LOVED THEM!! I feel sick!!
I always thought these sounded weird, but oh my goodness, they really do look delicious! Fine! I’ll have to try them
I know this is about saltine toffee but all I can think of now is Dilly Bars!
So I’ve always wanted to learn how to make toffee, this looks way easier than the real stuff.
these look amazing…
I have made Nicole’s Famous Crackers and they were delicious..I will be trying these … ;o)
I made these this weekend.. so simple and so delicious!!! I ate half the pan and decided I need to give the rest away to neighbors and friends! Thanks for sharig!
This looks wonderful! Sometimes, the simplest recipes are the best!
I’ve had this and it’s delicious. I think I will try and make it. The kiddos would think this recipe is awesome.
For all of you Jews out there–making this with Matzah is a wonderful seder dessert!
These look great! I love how some of the simplest recipes can turn out amazing. Yum!
WOW I love your desserts!!! I’m going to visit more often from now on!
Oh yumm! I have seen this before, but I’m so thankful for the reminder!! 🙂 Yours look delish!
My mom and I make this all the time… last time we decided to be clever and instead of saltines, we put butter snap pretzels on the bottom… OMG it was made of win!
This is my Daughters favorite candy for the Holidays! Thanks for posting it, I am going to make these soon!!
OMGosh! I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks the prefab Dilly bars pale in comparison to those from back in the day. There are about 5 DQs in my immediate area, and one of them still makes Dilly bars on site. And, yes, they look at me like I’m crazy when I ask for their homemade Dilly bars, refusing those from a box, plastic-encased flatsos. But, totally worth it. It’s worth a shot, if you have more than one DQ.
I make this with chopped roasted almonds on the top every year for an annual cookie exchange cause it tastes just like almond roca! Always a hit!
This is one of the best recipes I’ve seen in a while — LOVE it.
This is also delicious with milk chocolate chips. Typically I’m a semi-sweet girl, but I’ve gotta go with the milk on this one. I’ve been eating this stuff every Christmas for as long as I can remember!
I ABSOLUTELY love this stuff!!! Seems like grandmas always have the best recipes hey?!:)
Salty AND SWEET?! This is just what I need…. AND it’s so simple and I happen to have chocolate chips and saltines handy so I’m about to go pop ’em in my oven!
@Tarah,
She sure is! Love her!
Yum Yum Double YUM! I think my sister is your visiting friend! 😉
YUM! i love salty and sweet…. i am definitely gonna have to give these a try STAT.
LOVE making these! have to try it with the brown sugar though, i usually use white sugar!! mmm…i may have to make some now! lol
@Jennifer,
I’m so glad you said that! I totally have started using milk chocolate chips over the years. I will make the note in the recipe.
I love making these for parties. So easy and so delicious. I always make mine with dark chocolate chips and crumble some sea salt on the melted chocolate. 😀
I need to make these so fast it’s not funny- I love sweet saltine combos!
I love theses bars!! My sister and I mad a pan last week end and they were a favorite of every body”s.
Only thing I do different I only use 35 crackers and gives you more carmel.
One recipe I saw said to sprinkle nuts in the bottom of your pan before lining it with the crackers!!!!
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My chocolate is not setting up. What is wrong?
Did you chill it in the fridge?
I’ve never heard of these before; they look tastey!
They are absolute heaven! Super easy to make! You’ve GOT to try them! 🙂
They’re the best, right?!!
OMG! I had this at a holiday party and could not stop eating it!!
They had a different name for it though- CRACK! lol. I thought it was very appropriate considering how addicting these are. 😉
My cousin makes this a lot – so simple and it always goes FAST!
Simple and delicious!
Hope everything is okay with the fender benders and all is well!
My mom used to make these! She always sprinkled the top with chopped walnuts. Thanks for the memory 🙂