Easy Saltine Cracker Toffee

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Hi Bold Bakers!

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: My delectable Easy Saltine Cracker Toffee is pure holiday magic! With just 20 minutes of prep, you’ll transform everyday ingredients into a sweet and crunchy toffee treat. My advice: make a few batches of this classic because it is absolutely irresistible.

• Six ingredients: I’m always amazed at how saltines, butter, sugar, salt, chocolate, and nuts come together quickly to make a confection that tastes so special.
• 3 Easy Steps: Simmer the toffee sauce, pour on the crackers and bake, and finish with chocolate and pecans. That’s it!
• Candy bar vibes! The toffee sauce is spread over crisp saltines and swirled with melted chocolate. The three distinct layers make every bite crunchy, crisp, and creamy.

Toffee’s deep, mellow, toasty sweetness never gets old. The salt and molasses-rich brown sugar gives an edge of pleasant bitterness that keeps the flavor complex and never cloying. The holidays are perfect for trying my range of other toffee-flavored recipes. Steamed Sticky Toffee Pudding is a gorgeous, festive dessert that takes only 30 minutes to put together. Serve individual Traditional English Toffee Pudding at a party topped with Vanilla Ice Cream. And Classic English Toffee is perfect for gifts–just pop a few pieces in a cello bag and tie it with a ribbon.

Table of Contents

• What is Easy Saltine Cracker Toffee?
• Tools You Need
• Key Ingredients and Why
• How to Make Easy Saltine Cracker Toffee
• Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips
• Make Ahead and Storage Instructions
• FAQs
• More Quick Holiday Treat Recipes

What is Easy Saltine Cracker Toffee?

• Easy Saltine Cracker Toffee is my version of the layered confection made from saltine crackers topped with toffee sauce, chocolate, and pecans. After baking, this cracker toffee sits at room temperature to set hard. Then, it’s easy to break it into pieces for serving.
• This recipe goes by many other names: Christmas crack recipe, saltine cracker candy, saltine toffee bark, and holiday candy crack.
• The exact origins of Easy Saltine Cracker Toffee aren’t clear, but it started appearing in the 1970s in the Midwest. Variations of this saltine toffee treat have become a staple at the festive season. You’ll love this quick recipe when the holidays get hectic!

Tools You Need

• Measuring spoons
• Measuring cups
• Kitchen scale (optional)
• 10×14 inch (25 ½ x 35 ½ cm) jelly roll pan
• Parchment paper
• Offset spatula

Key Ingredients and Why

Saltine crackers

• Fresh and crispy, with a delicate, light neutral flavor, saltine crackers are the ideal base for this delightful toffee. Their bubbly texture gives them a satisfying crunch.
• You can also use soda crackers, which have a flakier texture, to make soda cracker toffee.
• For a different taste, you can also use Graham crackers or Ritz crackers.
• Use my Homemade Saltine Crackers Recipe for a 100% homemade version!

Dark brown sugar

• Dark brown sugar is cooked with butter to make the sauce for this cracker toffee recipe.
• Because it has more molasses than light brown sugar, it has a deeper, more caramel flavor and cooks down to a gooey texture.
• Make your own dark brown sugar or enrich light brown sugar with my recipe, How to Make Brown Sugar.

Butter

• Silky, melted butter gives the sauce a luxurious texture.
• The dairy-fresh, slightly salty butter flavor combines perfectly with the brown sugar.
• Butter contains natural emulsifiers, which bind the sauce’s ingredients into a smooth, cohesive mixture.

Salt

• Salt enhances the sugar and chocolate flavors and keeps the toffee from being too sweet

Milk chocolate

• Smooth and creamy milk chocolate is an ideal contrast to the crisp toffee and crunchy saltine crackers.
• Milk chocolate, sweeter than bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, sets off the saltier, toasty toffee to perfection.

Pecans

• Pecans, with their rich buttery flavor and crunch, and to the pie.
• Toast the pecans to bring out their peak flavor.

How to Make Easy Saltine Cracker Toffee

Prepare to make the toffee sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. Line a jellyroll pan with parchment paper (or aluminum foil).
3. Cover the pan with a single layer of saltine crackers.

Cook the toffee sauce

4. In a medium saucepan, cook the dark brown sugar, butter, and salt. Simmer over medium heat for five minutes.

5. Pour the brown sugar mixture over the crackers.

Bake and finish the Easy Saltine Cracker Toffee

6. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes, until toffee is bubbling.
7. Sprinkle with chopped chocolate.
8. After the chocolate is melted, about 5 minutes, use an offset spatula to spread it evenly. Top with chopped pecans.

9. Let cool and set for a few hours at room temperature before serving.

Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips

• This saltine toffee recipe can get very sticky, so don’t skip the putting parchment paper on the rimmed baking sheet!
• To speed up the process of setting the chocolate, you can refrigerate the saltine toffee for 20 minutes.
• You can replace the milk chocolate chips with dark chocolate chips semi-sweet chocolate chips if you wish.
• Instead of pecans, feel free to use almonds, walnuts, or hazelnuts.
• You can try making this candy recipe with our Homemade Saltines or Matzah Crackers.

Make Ahead and Storage Instructions

Make ahead tips

• Make the toffee sauce ahead, cool, and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.
• When you’re ready to assemble the cracker toffee, warm the sauce over low heat, stirring constantly until it’s thin enough to pour.

How to store leftovers

• Store leftover saltine toffee candy in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.

FAQs

Can I make this saltine cracker toffee recipe gluten-free?

• Yes, you can make this saltine cracker toffee recipe gluten-free. Simply use a gluten-free cracker for the base.
• Gluten-free variations of saltine crackers are usually labeled “table crackers.” You can also use gluten-free matzah-style crackers.

How would I make this saltine cracker toffee vegan?

• To make this saltine cracker toffee vegan, you can substitute equal amounts of vegan butter and vegan chocolate.

What can I use instead of nuts?

• Substitute crushed pretzels for another type of crunchy topping.
• Crushed peppermint candies dress this saltine cracker toffee up for Christmas.
• Use festive sprinkles: red and green for Christmas, blue and white for Hanukkah, or festive gold and silver for any occasion.
• Skip a crunchy topping and swirl white chocolate over the milk chocolate.
• Or melt butterscotch chips or peanut butter chips, and swirl over the milk chocolate layer.

More Quick Holiday Treats

• Boozy Holiday Rum Balls
• Sugar Cookie Truffles
• Chocolate & Orange Fudge
• Gingerbread Mug Cookie
• Hot Chocolate Truffles

Try These Recipes!

Irish Whiskey Fudge Recipe

Heavenly Champagne Truffles Recipe

Sweet And Nutty White Chocolate Bark

Candy Cane And Chocolate Peppermint Bark