Totally Addicting Christmas Crack Recipe

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You’ll be addicted to this easy Christmas Crack recipe in no time! Only four ingredients- including saltine crackers, it’s a holiday favorite.

A few years ago I was invited to a very hip Hannukah party at a coworkers house, and I took along this Christmas Crack Recipe. 

My coworker is Jewish, and she had received a grant from somewhere to spread awareness of the Jewish religion in the United States. So she bought a ton of dreidles, made a jug of an unspecified blue cocktail with a sign on it that said “Jew Juice,” and had a party!

I decided to bring along this saltine cracker toffee because it’s so addicting. It’s also a really ugly recipe- it just looks weird if you don’t know what it is. 

That’s why, when I presented it to the hostess she looked at it kind of funny and then put it on top of the refrigerator. I ended up leaving the party early- but apparently a bunch of people arrived with the munchies and annihilated the entire batch. No one could remember where it came from, and the recipe was the topic of Monday’s watercooler. 

I’m going to tell you exactly how I make this recipe, and how to make it look a bit prettier too. That way, your contribution to the next party won’t be rejected because of aesthetics. 

Some of our other dessert recipes:

• Finnish Spoon Cookies
• Easy No Bake Caramel Marshmallow Krispie Treats
• Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookie
• Salted Caramel Bars Recipe
• Easy Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate Recipe
• Costa Rican Dessert Recipes

Christmas Crack Ingredients

One of the main ingredients of this recipe is saltine crackers- which you would never know is the base of the dessert. 

When we spend Christmas in Costa Rica, or when we are spending an extended amount of time living there, I sometimes want a taste of home. This is the perfect dessert to make when I’m homesick because soda crackers (called galletas soda in Costa Rica) are everywhere in Costa Rica.

Galletas Soda are part of the basic Costa Rican diet- we eat them a ton when we get together to drink coffee, on camping trips, or for breakfast. Common saltine cracker toppings in Costa Rica include tuna salad, cream cheese, margarine or jam.

So this is a fun recipe I can make in the United States or Costa Rica, and since it’s not as common in Costa Rica, it’s a novelty when I serve it to others.

Besides saltines, this recipe uses chocolate chips, butter, brown sugar and cooking spray, which I don’t even consider an ingredient. So really, this is a four-ingredient dessert recipe– and you probably have all the ingredients on hand right now. 

A note on chocolate chips- I have started to almost exclusively use these Guittard chocolate chips. They are handmade in San Fransisco, and the price per package is pretty comparable to TollHouse. The quality is so much higher- and they really make this recipe even better.

Then, if you are in Costa Rica and making this recipe, make sure to use butter not Numar. Numar just doesn’t taste right.

Looking for other Costa Rican desserts? Try our Tamal de Masa Recipe or our Tres Leches Cake Recipe.

Why Is This Saltines Toffee Called Crack?

If you are even asking the question, you have not tried it! It’s because once you take a small bite, you literally cannot stop eating it. 

Unless you don’t have the right recipe. Then it’s the wrong texture, not salty enough, just, blech.

I’ve spent years perfecting this recipe- it’s my take on Trisha Yearwood’s version from the Food Network, and it is so good. The perfect mix of sweet and salty, and great texture too. Yum.

Saltine Cracker Toffee Recipe Toppings

Ok, so remember when I told you earlier that this recipe is really ugly? That’s because it can be, But– you can add some fun toppings to the top layer of melted chocolate to make the dessert a bit prettier. The possibilities are endless, but here are a few of my favorite toppings:

• Christmas Sprinkles (or any other season)
• Snowflake Sprinkles 
• M and M
• Crushed up candy canes
• Sea Salt Flakes
• Chopped Nuts
• Bacon
• Drizzle melted white chocolate chips- or dye it different colors
• Crumble Graham Crackers or Oreos and put on top

Kitchen Tools To Make Christmas Toffee

Ok, so I can honestly tell you that if you do not have the right tools for this recipe, it is not good. I have tried to take every kitchen tool shortcut there is on Earth- mostly to avoid buying anything else for my kitchen.

But since I have started making this recipe so much more often, I can tell you that avoiding the right tools means you are cleaning up a sticky, disgusting mess. Here’s what you need for your recipe:

• Small saucepan
• Jelly roll pan with a lip/ridge– I like a 10 x 15 inch. If there is no lip, the entire dessert will melt to the bottom of the oven)
  • Note- the jelly roll pans are a bit smaller than a baking pan, and that is key, because it means the exact right of saltine crackers fit on the pan to make this a rectangle)
• Parchment paper (I tried with aluminum foil for years and all it does is stick to the dessert and make people cringe when their teeth hit the metal)
• Cooking spray- I love this Misto reusable sprayer can that I can just add whatever oil I have on hand and spray.

Easy Christmas Crack Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 sleeves saltine crackers- salted. (About 35-40 crackers)
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
• 1 cup brown sugar (light or dark is fine but I prefer light))
• 12 ounces chocolate chips (I prefer milk chocolate chips for this recipe)
• Cooking spray

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. 

In your saucepan, bring to a boil brown sugar and butter on medium heat, stirring occasionally.

While you are waiting for the mixture to come to a boil, line your jelly roll pan with parchment paper and then spray the paper with cooking spray.

Place your saltine crackers in a single layer on the baking sheet. You want them touching but not overlapping. 

Once the butter and sugar mixture boils, pour it evenly over the saltine crackers. 

Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the saltine/butter mixture and put it in the oven.

Bake for 3-5 minutes. You want your chocolate chips melted but not burned.

Remove the baking pan from the oven and use a spatula to smooth the chocolate chips evenly over the saltines. 

Clear a spot out of your freezer that is big enough for your jelly roll pan, and place the entire thing in the freezer for about 15 minutes. You want the whole thing to harden, so make sure to cool completely. 

Remove the pan from the freezer and break the toffee into uneven pieces. You can use a knife to do this, or just use your hands.

Bring the saltine cracker toffee back to room temperature and eat. You should store this in an airtight container- if it lasts that long!

Printable Recipe

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