Saltine Toffee Bark (AKA Christmas Crack)
So deliciously addictive (hence the name!), this Saltine Toffee Bark (AKA Christmas Crack) tastes sweet, salty, chocolaty, and takes only 20 minutes or less to make! It reminds me of brittle candy but oh-so-much-better and so much simpler to make! Perfect as a holiday gift!
Year after year, I see this delicious-looking chocolaty treat during holiday season! I’ve always been intrigued as to why it’s so popular that it even garnered the name “Christmas Crack!” Is it that good that it’s nickname connotes something you can get addicted to?
So finally, this year I decided to make this scrumptious looking saltine toffee bark that seems to entice me on all my social media channels every holiday season.
Every third Friday of the month, at our church, we have a young and married gathering either in our place or any other family who’s willing to host.
This month we naturally scheduled our Christmas party for December 17, a Friday, based on our usual practice. I thought to myself, since we all have to contribute something for our potluck, I decided to make this.
I thought I can finally not only taste this myself but let others try it too and see if it lives up to the hype it gets on the internet.
Thankfully, it was very easy to make so I managed to just make it the same day of the party and simply chilled it for later (to ensure the chocolate doesn’t melt!) until party time!
I can report that everyone who tried it loved it! It made a huge batch – at least 40 pieces (depending on how you break it up) but there wasn’t much left after we were done with it. Not much for me to eat later!
Someone even said, “This is dangerously addictive!” Ha ha. That really made me laugh. Perhaps the saltine toffee bark earned its notorious nickname name after all.
It reminded me of brittle candy (which I love) but honestly, I think this is so much better in taste! It’s so much easier to make too because you don’t need any candy thermometer or measuring any temperature! That is a sure winner in my book!
So, if you haven’t, by any chance, ever tried this saltine toffee bark at all – I highly recommend it! Promise you won’t be disappointed – it’s absolutely delicious and only has 5 ingredients (I added heath bars to mine so it ended up being 6!)
I also included step-by-step photo instructions so there’s no worrying about messing it up. It’s crazy easy so don’t worry, you won’t mess it up!
With regards to taste, your tastebuds are at once treated to a sweet-salty-chocolaty combination of flavors with each bite! So deliciously complex and truly amazing!
Don’t wait anymore and be sure to include this in your holiday menu! Everyone will love you for it!
NOTES ON INGREDIENTS FOR SALTINE TOFFEE BARK (CHRISTMAS CRACK)
- Saltine crackers (about 48 pieces)
- Butter (use unsalted)
- Dark Brown Sugar (for better flavor and nice color)
- Chocolate Chips (use semi-sweet)
- Pecans (or use your favorite nuts)
- Heath Bar (crushed, optional – but for added deliciousness – why not?)
HOW TO MAKE SALTINE TOFFEE BARK (CHRISTMAS CRACK)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Begin preparing the ingredients of the saltine toffee bark as you preheat the oven.
2. Line a regular-size cookie sheet with saltine crackers in single layer. I used about 48 crackers in total.
3. Place the sugar and the butter in a saucepan. Using medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil. Once it begins to boil set a timer and let boil for 3 minutes. Do not do anything at this point – do not stir and leave the toffee sauce to cook on its own.
4. Once the timer is done, immediately pour the toffee sauce over the saltines and spread it all over to cover the crackers completely.
5. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 5 minutes. Immediately, remove from the oven (you don’t want it to burn so watch this carefully!). Sprinkle chocolate chips all over the crackers. Let sit for 5 minutes. That should allow the chocolate to melt.
6. Spread the melted chocolate all over.
7. Sprinkle all over with chopped pecans and crushed heat bars, if using.
8. Cool completely then break into pieces.
Saltine Toffee Bark (Christmas Crack)
Ingredients
- 48 pieces Saltine crackers
- 1 cup Butter, unsalted
- 1 cup Dark Brown Sugar,
- 2 cups Chocolate Chips, semi-sweet
- ½ cup Pecans or your favorite nuts
- ½ cup Heath Bar, crushed, optional (but for added deliciousness – why not)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Begin preparing the ingredients of the saltine toffee bark as you preheat the oven.
- Line a regular-size cookie sheet with saltine crackers in single layer. I used about 48 crackers in total.
- Place the sugar and the butter in a saucepan. Using medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil. Once it begins to boil set a timer and let boil for 3 minutes. Do not do anything at this point – do not stir and leave the toffee sauce to cook on its own.
- Once the timer is done, immediately pour the toffee sauce over the saltines and spread it all over to cover the crackers completely.
- Bake in the pre-heated oven for 5 minutes.
- Immediately, remove from the oven (you don’t want it to burn so watch this carefully!). Sprinkle chocolate chips all over the crackers. Let sit for 5 minutes. That should allow the chocolate to melt. Spread the melted chocolate all over.
- Sprinkle all over with chopped pecans and crushed heat bars, if using. Cool completely then break into pieces.
Notes
Nutrition
Last updated on December 1st, 2023 at 10:20 pm
My favorite dessert looking forward to preparing.
Looks good
I make this every year, everyone loves it.
I also add white chocolate chips after I spread out the milk chocolate chips, then I swirl the white chips on top of the chocolate ones.
That sounds absolutely yummy!
Can I use whole wheat saltines
Use the saltines of your choice. Some even use graham crackers.
Made it for the first time… just now
Wonderful! Hope you liked it!
Do you stir the brown sugar and butter before the mixture boils to prevent separation?
You can stir and mix the sugar and butter before it boils then follow the direction and don’t touch it after that. Hope that helps! Thank you!
How long can these be stored for and still taste great?
Christmas crack can last for up to 5 days at room temperature if stored in an airtight container. To make it last longer, you can break into pieces and place in freezer safe bags for up to 3 months. But seriously, if serving this for a holiday party – this won’t last, I never had any leftovers!
Do you have to use unsalted butter?
Because the saltine crackers are already salty, it’s better to use unsalted butter. If you don’t mind extra salt on the butter, then you can try it if you like.
Do we need to line the baking sheet or grease it beforehand so the toffee doesn’t stick?
Hi Charles! I used a good non-stick baking sheet so it wasn’t an issue for me but certainly feel free to use parchment if you like and for easier clean-up too. Thank you and enjoy!
My chocolate chips didn’t melt. They got crumbly instead. What did I do wrong?
I honestly don’t know how to answer this question – could be a number of factors – did you allow it to melt long enough – every chocolate chip brand melts differently – is your chocolate not expired or is it good quality? The clue would probably rely on the kind of chocolate chips you used. A normal chocolate chip should melt easily so I am not sure why yours didn’t. This is the first time I have heard of this problem. Perhaps you can try another chocolate chip brand.