Saltine Cracker Candy Recipe {Easy Saltine Toffee AKA Christmas Crack}

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If you love sweet and salty desserts, this Saltine Cracker Candy is for you! Rich, buttery toffee surrounds crunchy soda crackers. Top with sweet chocolate!

If there’s one homemade candy that I can eat my weight of, it’s Christmas Crack. Saltine Cracker Candy. Saltine Toffee. Soda Cracker Candy.

It has a million names (similar to this orange cake) but there’s no mistaking this candy when it makes an appearance on holiday dessert bars.

It’s amazing and it’s easy.

A close up of food with Toffee and Chocolate

Ingredients for Saltine Toffee

Saltine Cracker Candy takes only 4 basic ingredients to make:

saltine crackers
salted butter
dark brown sugar
chocolate chips

Are soda crackers the same as saltines?

Yes! Saltine crackers are also called soda crackers most likely because of the baking soda that is the crackers.

How to Make Saltine Cracker Toffee

You’ll only need about 15 minutes or so to make this toffee. It takes about 15 minutes of hands-on prep work and then several hours of setting time for the chocolate and toffee to firm up.

Preheat the oven to 400º Fahrenheit.
Line a 12×17” baking sheet with parchment paper.
Lay out the saltine crackers on the lined baking sheet. We made ours in a 6×8 rectangle for a total of 48 crackers.

**Pro Tip: You can also use Ritz butter crackers or even graham crackers. Graham crackers will not give you the sweet and salty flavor, but they still work!**

saltine crackers laid out on a baking sheet

Place the butter and the sugar in medium saucepan. Heat and stir over medium low heat until the butter is melted.

Allow the sugar mixture to come to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling and bubbling all over, set the timer for 3 minutes. If at all possible, don’t mix the sugar at this time. Just let it boil. If you do need to mix it (if the butter seems like it is separating), don’t scrape the sides of the pans.

boiling butter and brown sugar for toffee

After the mixture boils, pour it as evenly as possible over the saltine crackers.

Use a spatula to spread it lightly if needed, but it will bubble and spread as it bakes in the oven.
Bake for 5 minutes.
Remove the pan for the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top.

chocolate chips on top of saltine toffee

Place the pan back in the oven for another 1 minute to allow the chocolate chips to melt.
After that minute, take a spatula and lightly spread the chocolate so it covers the top.

spreading chocolate chips on top of saltine toffee

While the chocolate is still melted, decorate the top of the toffee with whatever you’d like: nuts, candy, sprinkles, chocolate chips, etc.
Allow the toffee to cool to room temperature. Then allow the chocolate to set completely either at room temperature or in the fridge.
Cut or break the toffee into pieces and store in an airtight container.

Can you freeze saltine toffee?

Because this candy has saltine crackers that could potentially get soggy when you defrost them, you’ll generally hear that you shouldn’t freeze saltine toffee.

However…we freeze it quite often with no problems…and it is AMAZING eaten cold from the freezer. Maybe we’ve never had a problem with it being soggy because we eat it too quickly? Not sure.

If you’re giving this as a gift, it would be safe to store it at room temperature until you gift it just to be sure it doesn’t collect moisture.

closeup of saltine toffee with sprinkles

How long can you store Christmas crack?

This candy is safe to store at room temperature for about 7 days in an airtight container. Be sure it isn’t too warm where you are storing it so it doesn’t melt together.

Toppings for Saltine Toffee

Topping ideas are endless for this easy bar candy. Here are a few of our favorites:

sprinkles (for any occasion)
chopped nuts
white chocolate drizzle
toffee bits
crumbled bacon (oh yes we did!)
crushed pretzels
mini chocolate chips
coarse sea salt

You can also use pumpkin spice Hershey kisses and melt them on the top for pumpkin spice saltine toffee!

A close up of a person holding a piece of saltine toffee

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you use light brown sugar instead of dark brown?

Yes! You can use light brown sugar. The dark brown sugar just gives it more of a toffee flavor.

Can you use foil instead of parchment paper?

Yes! Use foil if you don’t have parchment paper. It will work just fine.

Can you use margarine instead of butter?

No. For the best flavor and best all around results, use real butter.

Do you use salted butter or unsalted butter?

We use salted butter in most of our baking. It helps with that salty sweet flavor combo.

Can I add vanilla to the toffee?

Yes! If you want to add vanilla, gently mix it in after the sugar mixture has boiled and you’ve taken the pan off the heat. Remember not to scrape the sides of the bowl. We recommend 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Do I need to use a candy thermometer for saltine toffee?

No, as long as the sugar mixture is at a full rolling boil, just boiling it 3 minutes will do. If you want to use a candy thermometer, aim for the “soft ball stage” which is 235-245 degrees Fahrenheit.

My caramel is sticky. What did I do wrong?

If the toffee (caramel) is too sticky, you didn’t boil it long enough. Make sure the sugar mixture is at a rolling boil and boil for a full 3 minutes.

Can you use a different kind of chocolate?

It’s best to use regular size chocolate chips to melt on top of the toffee. You can use any flavor chocolate chips you’d like: semi-sweet, milk chocolate, dark chocolate or even white chocolate. Any works!

Why didn’t my chocolate chips melt?

Chocolate chips can sometimes not melt if they are old. Be sure you purchase fresh chocolate chips so they melt easily. A high quality chocolate often works best for melting.

My toffee layer is gritty. Why is that?

It’s best to cook the butter/sugar mixture over low heat until the sugar is dissolved, then boil it. This should help the toffee not be gritty.

Other Candy Recipes

Saltine Cracker Candy

4.75 from 4 votes

If you love sweet and salty desserts, this Saltine Cracker Candy is for you! Rich, buttery toffee surrounds crunchy soda crackers. Top with sweet chocolate!

Servings 48

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

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Ingredients

48 saltine crackers
1 ½ cups salted butter (3 sticks)
1 ½ cups dark brown sugar
12 ounces chocolate chips

Optional Toppings:

sprinkles
pecans
white chocolate
toffee

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400º Fahrenheit.
Line a 12×17” baking sheet with parchment paper.
Lay out the saltine crackers on the lined baking sheet. We made ours in a 6×8 rectangle for a total of 48 crackers.
Place the butter and the sugar in medium saucepan. Heat and stir over medium low heat until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved.
Allow the sugar mixture to come to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling and bubbling all over, set the timer for 3 minutes. If at all possible, don’t mix the sugar at this time. Just let it boil. If you do need to mix it (if the butter seems like it is separating), don’t scrape the sides of the pans.
After the mixture boils, pour it as evenly as possible over the saltine crackers.
Use a spatula to spread it lightly if needed, but it will bubble and spread as it bakes in the oven.
Bake for 5 minutes.
Remove the pan for the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top.
Place the pan back in the oven for another 1 minute to allow the chocolate chips to melt.
After that minute, take a spatula and lightly spread the chocolate so it covers the top.
While the chocolate is still melted, decorate the top of the toffee with whatever you’d like: nuts, candy, sprinkles, chocolate chips, etc.
Allow the toffee to cool to room temperature. Then allow the chocolate to set completely either at room temperature or in the fridge.
Cut or break the toffee into pieces and store in an airtight container.

Video

Notes

The calories shown are based on the candy being cut into 48 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 piece of candy. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information.**