Saltine Cracker Toffee
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Sweet, crunchy, buttery and chocolaty, this saltine cracker toffee has the perfect combination of flavors! This toffee is pretty easy to make, and it’s the kind of treat that you and your family will have great memories of enjoying pieces from cookie trays shared at the holidays.
Why We Love Saltine Cracker Toffee
- Easy To Make – This toffee is super simple to make and makes a large batch! No candy thermometer is needed, and you only need simple ingredients for this easy treat.
- Delicious Buttery Flavor – The sweet, buttery toffee topped with gooey chocolate, these flavors all work with the salty flavor of the crackers in the best possible way.
- Great For Gifts – Make this delicious toffee for little sweet gifts for the holiday season wrapped up in a bow! You can also add it to cookie trays and other dessert platters. This sweet treat is a holiday tradition for many families for a good reason!
Some people call this toffee Christmas crack because it’s sweet, cracks in your mouth when you bite it, and is hard to stop eating at just one piece! This treat is the ultimate holiday indulgence, and I know your family and friends will look forward to this recipe when you make it.
Ingredients For Saltine Cracker Toffee
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions below in the recipe card.
- saltine crackers – salted, we want to fill the pan
- brown sugar
- butter salted. I used salted butter, if you have unsalted butter add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the mixture.
- vanilla extract
- chocolate chips – I used semi-sweet, but you can use dark chocolate or white chocolate as well.
- toppings (optional) sprinkles, chopped pecans or walnuts, chocolate candies (like M&Ms), peanut butter chips, etc.
How To Make Saltine Cracker Toffee
- Preheat the oven to 400°. Line a 10×15 rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray generously with spray cooking oil or line with parchment paper.
- Lay crackers salted side down in a single layer on the baking sheet.
- Place a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add brown sugar and butter and bring to a rolling boil, where the entire top of the mixture is boiling across the top. Time and boil at a rolling boil for 3 minutes while stirring continuously until the mixture is lighter in color and bubbling. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla immediately into the brown sugar mixture.
- Pour toffee over crackers, spreading as needed to cover crackers in an even layer. Bake toffee crackers for 5 minutes then remove from the oven and turn the heat on the oven off.
- Sprinkle chocolate chips over the toffee layer and return to the warm but not on oven for 1 minute. Remove from the oven and spread melted chips over the toffee.
- Immediately sprinkle chopped nuts, sprinkles or any additional toppings you choose over the toffee.
- Let the toffee cool for 30 minutes on the counter, then chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours or until completely cool and set.
- Using the crackers as a guide, cut with a sharp knife into 35 pieces. You can also break it up into random-sized pieces like it is a saltine toffee bark. Then serve and enjoy!
Saltine Toffee Variation Ideas
- Swap The Toppings – I’ve used a combination of pecans and sprinkles, but you can substitute your favorite chopped nuts or even bits of toffee like Heath bar toffee bits. You can also drizzle white chocolate or colorful candy melts over top of the toffee to create swirls. Colorful small candies like M&Ms or crushed-up candy canes are also are also fun on this sweet and salty treat.
- Use Different Chocolate – Dark chocolate chips go really well with this toffee, and white chocolate also works well too. Milk chocolate chips can be used also and is delicious but is not my favorite compared to semi-sweet chocolate or dark chocolate when paired with the toffee mixture. You can even try adding peanut butter chips or butterscotch chips mixed with the chocolate chips for a twist.
- Try Using Other Crackers – Graham crackers swap easily in for saltines in this recipe, and give it a slightly different flavor. Thin flat pretzels or buttery Ritz crackers also make a great toffee.
How Long Will Saltine Cracker Toffee Last?
Why Is My Saltine Cracker Toffee Chewy?
Likely if the toffee is too chewy it means that it needed to boil just a little bit longer. Keep it at a rolling boil across the entire surface of the toffee liquid.
Can I Freeze Saltine Cracker Toffee?
Yes this saltine toffee recipe does freeze well! Place it in a freezer-safe container or freezer zip-top bags. Expect that the toffee will taste best if eaten within 2-3 months after freezing.
How Long Will Saltine Cracker Toffee Last?
Store this saltine cracker toffee in a covered airtight container and it will easily last for a week.
If you are giving this toffee as a gift or just need it to last a little longer place the container of toffee in the refrigerator to keep it fresher. If your house is on the warm side or you live in a warmer climate it’s best to store the toffee in the fridge.
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Saltine Cracker Toffee
Saltine cracker toffee is a simple Christmas candy recipe that is easy to make and is perfect for gifts. Also known sometimes as "Christmas crack," your family and friends will love the sweet, buttery and salty flavor combo in this easy recipe.
Ingredients
- 35 pieces saltine crackers salted, you need about 35-40 crackers for one batch to fill the pan
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup butter salted
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups chocolate chips semi-sweet
- toppings (optional) sprinkles, chocolate candies (like M&Ms), peanut butter chips, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°. Line a 10×15 rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray generously with spray cooking oil or line with parchment paper.
- Lay crackers salted side down in a single layer on the baking sheet.35 pieces saltine crackers
- Place a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add brown sugar and butter and bring to a rolling boil, where the entire top of the mixture is boiling across the top. Time and boil at a rolling boil for 3 minutes while stirring continuously until the mixture is lighter in color and bubbling. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla immediately into the brown sugar mixture.1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup butter, 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour toffee over crackers, spreading as needed to cover crackers in an even layer. Bake toffee crackers for 5 minutes then remove from the oven and turn the heat on the oven off.
- Sprinkle chocolate chips over the toffee layer and return to the warm but not on oven for 1 minute. Remove from the oven and spread melted chips over the toffee.2 cups chocolate chips
- Immediately sprinkle chopped nuts, sprinkles or any additional toppings you choose over the top of the chocolate.toppings (optional)
- Let the toffee cool for 30 minutes on the counter, then chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours or until completely cool and set.
- Using the crackers as a guide, cut with a sharp knife into 35 pieces. You can also break it up into random-sized pieces like it is a saltine toffee bark. Then serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
This is a recipe that I find I need to babysit a little when you have the toffee mixture on the stovetop. It moves fast, and walking away from the toffee mixture once it starts boiling can mean that it is either under cooked (which can cause gritty toffee or chewy toffee) or overcooked (which may cause the toffee to have a burned flavor.)
You can cool this toffee a little faster. Cool for 30 minutes on the counter. Then cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Then transfer the pan to the freezer for an additional 30 minutes. This takes about 30 minutes off the chilling time to set the chocolate and the toffee.
Some readers have been reaching out saying they are having trouble with the chocolate chips seizing or not melting. I am especially hearing this with Tollhouse brand chocolate chips. One way to avoid this is to melt the chocolate chips on half power in the microwave with a 1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil or another cooking oil. Stir the chocolate chips every 30 seconds, then place them back in the microwave for another 30 seconds at half power over and over again until a chocolate sauce forms, usually about 2-3 minutes. Then you can pour the chocolate sauce over the toffee when you would have added the chocolate chips. Be careful not to get any water or liquid in this chocolate sauce, including a wet spoon to mix or the chocolate can seize.
Nutrition
Calories: 127kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 0.2g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 54mg | Potassium: 41mg | Fiber: 0.03g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 162IU | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 0.1mg
Did You Make This?
I would love to see it! Share your thoughts with me in the comments below!
First time making this and it came out perfect!! Just curious if you store in refrigerator or not
So glad you enjoyed Shaina! You can store this one in a covered airtight container on the counter for about a week just fine. It can extend the freshness though storing it in the refrigerator for a little longer.
I made it but the butter didn’t go runny after 3 min
It was still kind of grainy so I threw it out,not happy
Hi Elaine, it sounds like you may not have brought the mixture all the way to a boil before you started counting the minutes. It has to be boiling all across the top of the mixture, not just the edges. This allows the brown sugar to dissolve. Temperatures of different stovetops are also not completely consistent. Did you watch for the mixture to become lighter in color? These things will hopefully help you next time to make sure the sugar fully dissolves. Hope that helps for another time.
Delicious! Made exactly as in recipe, topped it with chopped walnuts, and it turned out perfectly. My only problem is making myself ration it – I find it hard to stop with just one square. Best solution was to give most of it away!
Perfect, so glad it was so tasty Mary! Sometimes that is the hardest part!
This was delicious and easy. My husband was skeptical but really enjoyed them!
It turned out sugary and not smooth like a toffee. I timed the boiling and followed directions. What went wrong?
If the toffee is sugary, it sounds like the sugar may not have fully dissolved. That usually means it either needs boiled slightly longer in the pot (maybe it wasn’t a full boil?) or maybe they weren’t stirred continuously? That’s my best guess from what you’ve described.
Just made this.. came out perfect. I’ve used many recipes over the years. This one is the easiest and the best! Thanks
I mixed semi sweet and chocolate chips and most of the chips did not melt even after I put back in oven. Has anyone else had that happen?
Mine didn’t melt either. They looked like they seized, which is weird. Not sure what went wrong.
I’m making right now and my chocolate chips aren’t melting either 😞
Hey Melissa, can you tell me what brand of chocolate chips you are using? I suspect some of the chocolate chip companies are starting to add more oil to their chocolate, making it harder for them to melt.
First batch I made the chocolate also seized. Nestle roll house chocolate chips. Had the same problem with Christmas baking. Today I made again with hersheys chocolate chips. Worked perfectly.
Thanks for this!! I thought, what a loser, can’t even melt chocolate. Mine seized and lumped up too. Ugh.
If I can’t find Hershey’s I’ll try bulk barn chocolate melts! They are flat and seem to work in microwave- maybe even melt then spread. Thanks !!
First time I’ve made this and it turned out great. You can’t beat the buttery toffee flavor!