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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.
Beat Christmas crack recipe ever! Buttery caramel sprinkled with mini chocolate chips atop salted cracker squares. Oh my yum
This is the best crack recipe ever! Buttery caramel on salted cracker squares with mini chocolate chips sprinkled atop. Oh my word
The best Christmas crack I’ve had, and I’ve tried a bunch of recipes. Perfect texture and the best taste!
This is gooood. I’m a big texture girl and this is the perfect amount of crisp and chewy. Obviously I’ll eat way too many.
This was so yummy! I followed the amounts exactly, but I adjusted my time and temperature a bit. I did 320 for 7 minutes. That is the case with every recipe for me just because of how my oven is. I used milk chocolate and toasted slivered almonds on top. Hubby and son loved it. Thank you so very much!
Very easy to make! Thanks so much. I also just sprinkled the mini semi sweet choc chips on the hot caramel when I took it out of the oven and it spread fine!
Firstly I want to say I make this every year for Christmas gifts and my family loves it so much that they call me back a day later they will be asking for me for more. It’s easy to make and I put smashed candy canes on mine. I love this Christmas crack
Holiday family favorite!. Even the teen was able to make it by themselves this year (2020). So super easy. and usually have the ingredients in the pantry. Promise you can’t go wrong with this recipe. (NOTE: we usually make the recipe (and prefer) with Club crackers.) ENJOY!
“Or if you’re in the Midwest, do you ever do that thing where you store your Christmas treats outside on the patio or in your garage?“
Lol yeah we call that the walk-in (walk-in freezer). Didn’t realize that was a Midwestern thing! Excellent recipe. Thanks!
We do this in Southwest Virginia too! Lovely to have a “walk-in”!
Pretty great post. I love this recipe