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You’ll love this salty, sweet, crunchy, chewy saltine cracker candy, sometimes known as Christmas Crack, and you can make it in 15 minutes with just 5 ingredients!
I grew up eating Saltine Cracker Candy every Christmas. We stored the candy, and all of our holiday goodies, on the patio outside (or in the garage if it was going to be REALLY cold that night). Everything went in leftover ice cream pails or plastic tubs.
My favorite thing to do was build the cookie plate for Christmas morning. I’d choose a few of each and pile them on the large glass Christmas plate, building a collection of the best offerings from my mom’s annual baking day.
Christmas Crack always went on top and it was always the first treat to disappear. To this day, the cookie plate remains my favorite holiday tradition.
Table of Contents
Christmas Crack ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Chocolate: Sometimes chopped bar chocolate works better than chocolate chips. To melt the chocolate, you can either 1). melt it in the microwave and pour it over the top, or 2). sprinkle the chips on the hardened caramel topping, let them sit for a minute to melt, and then spread the softened chocolate chips with a spatula.
- Toppings: Try chopped pecans, pretzels, OREOs, M&Ms, toffee bits, peanut butter cups, toasted coconut, coarse sea salt, candy canes, or drizzles of white chocolate. Or, just leave it plain!
How to make Christmas Crack
I highly recommend a candy thermometer so you know when the caramel hits the right stage in hardness.
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a 15” x 10” x 1” pan with parchment paper, foil, or a silicone mat. Line up crackers in a single layer in rows on prepared sheet.
- Meanwhile, using a candy thermometer, melt butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 to 3 minutes (270 to 290 degrees if using a candy thermometer).
- Immediately pour over crackers and spread evenly with a spatula. Bake 5 minutes or until the candy hardens. Remove from oven.
- Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30-second increments at 50% power until melted. Spread over hardened caramel. (You can also sprinkle the chocolate chips over the hardened candy, pop it back in the oven until melted, and spread after that).
- Sprinkle nuts or other toppings and press into the chocolate using a greased spatula. Cut into squares while warm. Cool completely for at least 15 minutes and store in the refrigerator.
Do you need an instant-read thermometer?
Because you want to make sure the caramel is at the exact hardness, the best way ensure it doesn’t overheat with a good instant-read thermometer. I love my Thermapen One from ThermoWorks and it’s one of my most used cooking tools. I get nearly instant, extremely accurate results every time. In fact, we named it the top pick in our roundup of the best instant-read thermometers. You can also use it for cooking meat precisely!
It’s a bit pricey and you can get it for $99 at ThermoWorks. It does go on sale every so often, but if you want a more budget-friendly option, I also like the ThermoPop, which is only $15.99 at ThermoWorks and it makes a great gift!
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 12 servings of Christmas Crack.
- Storage: Depending on the season and the humidity, Christmas Crack should keep well in an airtight tin or container for about a week or longer at freezing temps (like on your patio or in your garage, Midwestern friends!).
- Freezer: Christmas Crack freezes well! Break or cut it into pieces and store it in freezer-safe bags for up to 3 months.
Cracker Candy FAQs
The caramel topping needs to get to the hard-crack stage or it will be chewy. This means you may have to bake it a little longer or adjust your oven temperature slightly (every oven is different). I insist on a candy thermometer.
Club crackers, graham crackers, or buttery Ritz crackers are all delicious bases for this candy.
Make sure the hardened caramel topping is still warm when you add the chocolate to prevent separation.
It might still be too hot. Let the candy cool until it’s easy to handle, then remove it from the foil or parchment.
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Christmas Crack Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 35-40 saltine crackers
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 1/2 cups chopped chocolate or chocolate chips (see note 1)
- 1 ½ cups toppings such as chopped pecans, crushed pretzels, M&Ms, or crushed OREOs (see note 2)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a 15” x 10” x 1” pan with parchment paper, foil, or a silicone mat. Line up crackers in a single layer in rows on prepared sheet.
- Meanwhile, using a candy thermometer, melt butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 to 3 minutes (270 to 290 degrees if using a candy thermometer). Immediately pour over crackers and spread evenly with a spatula.
- Bake 5 minutes or until the candy hardens. Remove from oven.
- Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30-second increments at 50% power until melted. Spread over hardened caramel. (You can also sprinkle the chocolate chips over the hardened candy, pop it back in the oven until melted, and spread after that).
- Sprinkle nuts or other toppings and press into the chocolate using a greased spatula. Cut into squares while warm. Cool completely for at least 15 minutes and store in the refrigerator.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Chocolate: Sometimes chopped bar chocolate works better than chocolate chips. To melt the chocolate, you can either 1). melt it in the microwave and pour it over the top, or 2). sprinkle the chips on the hardened caramel topping, let them sit for a minute to melt, and then spread the softened chocolate chips with a spatula.
- Toppings: Try chopped pecans, pretzels, OREOs, M&Ms, toffee bits, peanut butter cups, toasted coconut, coarse sea salt, candy canes, or drizzles of white chocolate. Or, just leave it plain!
- Yield: This recipe makes about 12 servings of Christmas Crack.
- Storage: Depending on the season and the humidity, Christmas Crack should keep well in an airtight tin or container for about a week or longer at freezing temps (like on your patio or in your garage, Midwestern friends!).
- Freezer: Christmas Crack freezes well! Break or cut it into pieces and store it in freezer-safe bags for up to 3 months.
YUMMMMMMMMM
Delicious! I have a friend who has made this for years. I made my first batch this past Christmas. Megan gave lots of helpful information with her extra tips. Here are mine….
Use extra large, heavy foil and spray it with baking oil spray.
The candy thermometer tip she added was soooo helpful. After pouring the caramel mixture over the crackers, I cooked mine in the oven at 375 for 5 minutes. It was bubbly. I used MINI semi sweet chocolate chips. I used her sprinkle right on the hot caramel crackers idea, let them melt for a few minutes and then spread it. After adding the pecans, I let it cool a bit and then put the pan of candy in the freezer for 20 minutes.
Had trouble melting the chocolate chips in the microwave but was successful with the double boiler. Turned out great. Also used Graham crackers instead of the saltine crackers. More flavor!!
I made this recipe on pretzel crisps w white chocolate chips. Put heath toffee bits on top..it was a hit 😁love this recipe thank you for sharing.
Is there any way to make it with the “Carmel” part softer? I’ve never tried this but I have people who can’t but into that part of it’s like brittle.
Mine didn’t turn as hard as brittle. I cooked it to the time specifications but it probably didn’t hit the right heat marks. So yes, it can be done. They taste great, just more of a Carmel roll Carmel texture than a brittle.
LOVE these. Made this just the way the recipe reads with a few ‘tweaks’.
I use foil WITHOUT any non-stick spray. They do not stick. The trick is to remove them from the pan/foil before they cool. Yes, they are still messy to handle at that point, but they ‘set’ as they cool. I don’t use the refrigerator at all. They are always eaten within a few days in my house.
I cook the butter/sugar mixture 2 to 3 minutes after it begins to boil (cooking on medium burner temp). You need to mix it quite a bit as you melt the mixture or it can burn.
300*F has always worked for me. At the 5 minute mark, my butter/sugar mixture is always bubbling. The cracker mixture is very hot when coming out of the oven and is hot enough to melt the semi-sweet chocolate morsels, why make more work or dirty dishes than you need to? Just sprinkle them on top of the cracker mixture immediately after you remove them from the oven. Spread them as they melt.
I sprinkle crushed almonds on top right after you finish spreading the chocolate, they stick to the top better that way. Almost any topping works.
Again, I remove them from the foil after a few minutes of cooling on the counter and place on a dinner plate to ‘set’.
No candy thermometer, no non-stick cooking spray and no pre-melting of chocolate needed.
They taste pretty good when warm too!
* NOTES: I cook the butter/sugar mixture on a medium burner setting. I cook with an electric stove and place the foil on a cookie sheet (the edges of the pan are short and cook better). The cookie sheet is placed on the middle rack in the oven.
Use non stick tinfoil for those that get stuck with paper. Didnt have any issues with that. Great recipe!
It’s easier to just sprinkle the chocolate chips on top, and then put tray back in the oven for a few min, they melt into a flat layer. Huge time saver!
The parchment paper stuck to the crackers. What did I do wrong? From reading other comments, I’m guessing I didn’t get the oven hot enough for the caramel to harden. Please advise, I want to try to make another batch.
Hi Shannon, you could try a hotter oven. Honestly you shouldn’t have to, and you might burn it if you do, but I am totally baffled by all the mixed experiences with this recipe. Some people have great success and love it, and some people have trouble. And I don’t know how to help! You shouldn’t need a hotter oven, and I don’t know how ANYTHING could stick to parchment, but I’m not there in the kitchen with you. So you could try a hotter oven, I just don’t know what will happen. But other people have luck with that. I’m so sorry about that! Good luck and Merry Christmas. -Meggan
Why not try using foil instead of the parchment paper? I’d definitely grease the foil very well with butter. (it taste better than cooking spray)
I just made this and i love how they came out ! The only question i have is after cooling them in the fridge for about an hour it’s hard to get the parchment paper off the bottom. Am i doing something wrong ??
I cool enough personally to touch then remove parchment/tinfoil then refidgerage