Christmas crack is a delicious holiday treat of sweet buttery toffee sandwiched between a crispy cracker bottom and a rich chocolate coating with a perfect pecan crown.
Christmas cookies may rule the holiday season but this stuff will likely be the most popular treat you make the whole season. At least that’s how it is in my house! How can you beat that combo of sweet-n-salty….chocolate and nutty….and rich homemade toffee is nothing short of irresistible!
Looking to round out your Christmas cookie tray? Boy, do I have some yummy additions for it! On my tray spritz cookies are an absolute must! Everyone in the family loves making and eating these babies.
My Christmas sugar cookies have the perfect texture and roll out beautifully. Oh and I’ve included a wonderful pourable glace that adorns them easily!
Bischoff cookies have the perfect holiday warm spice combo and are the perfect dunking cookie for coffee or tea.
Let’s whip up an Ah-ma-zing treat!
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What I Love About This Christmas Crack Recipe
There are so many awesome qualities about this crave-worthy treat it’s hard to choose a favorite but here’s a couple worth noting.
- Sweet-n-salty rich flavor
- Super easy to throw together
- Everyone goes crazy for this stuff
Christmas Crack Video Tutorial
Recipe Notes
- Pecans: Toast the pecans before sprinkling them over your candied concoction. Toasting pecans helps crisp up the nutty flesh while activating the oils to enhance the buttery caramel notes which marry nicely with the toffee.
- All about that base: Saltines are my preference in this recipe, obviously, but you can experiment with other bases for this dish, just be sure to cover the bottom of your pan with whatever you choose. You can try a Christmas crack graham crackers version and use about 10 whole graham crackers.
- You can also make this Christmas crack recipe with Ritz crackers, which will take about 54 crackers, or make this Christmas crack recipe with pretzels using mini-pretzels broken up just a bit (the twisty shape, not the sticks).
- Toppings: Semisweet chocolate is great to offset the sweetness in my version, but you can try milk chocolate for a slightly sweeter treat or even dark chocolate.
- I don’t suggest making this a white chocolate Christmas crack recipe because it really needs the slight bitterness from the cocoa powder in the chocolate to avoid being too sweet, but you can drizzle some white chocolate on top for lovely color contrast.
- Feel free to substitute walnuts or other nuts for the pecans, or even skip the nuts altogether if you’re not a fan (or have an allergy). Some alternative toppings that would be great to try are crushed toffee bits, M&Ms, crushed pretzels, or your favorite colored sprinkles.
- Butter: I use regular, salted butter in this recipe. Substituting unsalted butter won’t impact the texture, but you may want to add a smidge of additional salt unless you just prefer a less salty version.
How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge?
You can keep your Christmas crack in an airtight container in the fridge and it’ll keep for several days. But, don’t expect it to stick around that long! When I make a batch of this stuff it disappears really quickly.
Can You Freeze This?
I don’t recommend freezing and then thawing your Christmas crack recipe. The crackers tend to lose that yummy crunch factor which would be an injustice.
Since you can throw together an entire batch in less than 20 minutes, there’s really no need to freeze ahead.
Make Ahead Tips
This is one of those insanely delicious treats that tastes even better after it’s had a little time to set up in the fridge. The recipe recommends 4-6 hours of fridge time before serving but I think that overnight is best.
Since this tasty treat keeps for several days in the fridge, you can throw it together a day or two before you need it and it’ll be ready to go when you are.
Serving Recommendations
Colorful holiday cookie trays aren’t the only place to serve this crave-worthy Christmas Crack. ~One taste and you’ll see. It also makes a fantastic family FAV, after-dinner treat, or movie night snack.
For the adults, I love serving spiked hot chocolate or apple pie moonshine along with this little candied snack. It makes the perfect sippin’ sidekick!
Recipe Variations
- Use pretzels or Chex mix instead. Swap the Saltines and try making Christmas crack with pretzels or throw together your Christmas crack recipe Chex style.
- Add toffee bits. Indulge your Christmas crack toffee fantasies and sprinkle toffee bits on top of the chocolate.
- Use graham crackers instead. Assemble your Christmas crack with graham crackers for a whole new world of sweet crunchy flavor they’ll request again and again.
More Christmas Cookies Recipes
- Chocolate Christmas Cookies
- Christmas Butter Cookies
- No Chill Sugar Cookies Recipe
- Italian Christmas Cookies
- Soft Gingerbread Cookies
Christmas Crack Recipe
Ingredients
- 30 saltines
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 12 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil. Spray with a nonstick cooking spray (15X10X1 inch)
- Lay Saltines in a single layer in a pan.
- Add butter and brown sugar to a heavy-bottomed saucepan and melt over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and cook just until it turns caramel color, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt. Pour mixture evenly over crackers.
- Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes or until mixture is bubbly. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over top. Let sit a couple of minutes, then using an offset spatula and spread chocolate to cover. Sprinkle top with pecans.
- Let cool then refrigerate until completely cold, at least 4-6 hours. Peel away the foil and cut or break into pieces.
This is the first time I’ve ever made anything like this. Why did my butter and sugar not combine? Thank you in advance for your reply my! Kari
Hi Kari. I’m guessing you didn’t heat the butter and brown sugar long enough for it to melt. When it melts they combine easily.
Two or three times a year I start to have fever dreams about this stuff. At that point I run off a batch and gobble it all up. It’s just not for Christmas anymore. Now I know why they call it crack
Thank you, Scott Shannon!
This is my favorite candy, my grandma use to make but I never had the recipe can’t wait to make this for my kids
Hey Wendy! I make it all year ’round! Hope you enjoy the recipe <3