As soon as I see the first Christmas commercial on television, my mind is ready for the holiday season! One of the first things I always want to make is this easy Christmas Crack recipe. You might know it as Saltine Toffee Candy but we just call it Christmas Crack!
Why Christmas crack? Two reasons.
1. It’s SO easy to make. You know I like easy. It only takes 15-20 minutes to make. (Of course, you need to let it cool but in less than an hour you can be enjoying it!)
2. It’s DELICIOUS! It has the perfect sweet and salty taste combo.
So get ready to make this because Christmas is coming and you know everyone will be wanting sweet treats!
If you love chocolate, peanuts, and your Crockpot, check out our Crockpot Candy Crack recipe too!
CHRISTMAS CRACK RECIPE
If you’re looking for something easy to take to a holiday party or even to a cookie exchange (yes, I’ve done it and no one complained), then this Christmas candy crack is a safe bet.
You can make a lot of it in a short amount of time and it’s always a hit!
Plus, if you want to get creative, you can even change it up a bit. Start with the basic saltine toffee crack recipe here and then make a few changes like:
- Ritz crackers with milk chocolate and nuts
- Graham crackers with white chocolate and sprinkles
- Pretzel chips with white chocolate and crushed peppermints
But make sure you always make at least one traditional batch of this mock toffee recipe because it’s a classic!
HOW TO MAKE CHRISTMAS CRACK
You can scroll down to get a printable recipe for this easy recipe. But I promise it’s super simple to make!
You’ll need a few basic ingredients besides your Saltine crackers and chocolate. So be sure to see if you have brown sugar and butter before you head out to the store.
You’ll also need semi-sweet chocolate chips, Jet-Puffed marshmallow bits (or substitute mini marshmallows), red and green M&M baking chips (you can also use mini candies), and some Christmas themed sprinkles!
Once you have all your ingredients, there are just a few steps to delicious holiday crack!
CHRISTMAS TOFFEE RECIPE
Check out how easy this recipe is to make! Here’s what you do!
Heat the oven and line a jelly roll pan with foil. Then fill the pan with crackers. Don’t overlap them!
You’ll add the brown sugar and butter to a pan and heat until it begins to boil. Let it boil for 2-3 minutes until it’s a nice golden color. Then take it off the heat and pour over the crackers. (It doesn’t have to be perfect, just get the crackers covered!)
Pop the pan into the oven for 5 minutes and then pull it out and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. YES! There’s no need to melt your chocolate beforehand! How awesome is that?
Put the pan back into the oven for 4-5 more minutes or until the chocolate chips have melted. Then you can use a spatula to spread it a bit more smoothly if you like.
Top it with the mini marshmallows, candies, and sprinkles for a festive look! Then put it in the refrigerator to cool and harden. Once it’s cooled, cut or break into pieces and then try not to eat all of it! (Good luck!)
Christmas Crack
Ingredients
- 24 Saltine crackers
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 cup 2 sticks butter
- 11 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup Jet-Puffed mallow bits
- 1/2 cup red and green M&M baking chips
- Christmas sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 15 x 10 jelly roll pan with aluminum foil.
- Fill the entire bottom of the pan with crackers, placing them side by side but not overlapping. Set aside.
- Add the brown sugar and butter to a medium saucepan. Place on medium heat, stirring continually until the butter melts, until a low boil begins. Boil for 2-3 minutes.**
- Remove from heat and allow to cool for one minute. Pour over the top of the crackers.
- Place pan in the oven and bake for 5 minutes.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips on top of the crackers. Return to oven and bake for an additional 4-5 minutes or until the chocolate chips have melted.
- Immediately sprinkle with the mini marshmallow bits, M&M candies and sprinkles.
- Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow the chocolate to cool and harden.
- Before serving, cut or break into squares.
Notes
CHRISTMAS CRACK FAQs
Can I leave out the marshmallows, candy, and sprinkles?
Absolutely! You can top your Christmas crack toffee with anything you’d like! During the holidays nuts are popular, so are crushed peppermints! Or you can just roll with the chocolate on top!
This recipe is as flexible as making a Christmas bark candy recipe. You can add things as you like! It’s just almost like a candy bark with saltines actually!
Can this recipe be doubled?
It can easily be doubled if you have an event with a lot of people or you’re looking to make some homemade Christmas gifts. All you have to do is double the ingredients list and use two pans instead of one.
How long does Christmas Crack stay fresh?
If you store your toffee in an airtight container, it should stay fresh for 1-2 weeks. We’ve never had it last that long though! We eat it all WAY before then!
Can I make Ritz Cracker Candy or Graham Cracker Toffee with this recipe?
The great thing about this recipe is that you can tweak it to get some variation!
I would try white chocolate chips with graham crackers! And I love Ritz crackers with chocolate so that would be a tasty twist on the traditional saltines Christmas Crack recipe!
I’ve actually been pondering if pita chips might work for a different take on this, but I’ll probably stick to my classic Christmas Crack because I’m hooked!
Comment and tell me if you’ve tried Christmas Crack. What’s another one of your favorite holiday treats to make or enjoy?
MORE HOLIDAY RECIPES
I have never tried this but it sounds delicious!!! We make one where we take peanut butter and marshmallow fluff and mix. Put in between 2 ritz crackers and cover in melted chocolate…YUM
I love the taste of grahamcrakers and chocolate, the added goodies on top make it extra special! It is very festive with all the sprinkles in green and red, and so easy to make!
I have always made no bak oatmeal cookies, but those are messy to make. This sounds so much better!
I have never tried Christmas Crack I love peanut butter balls for the holiday.
I have never tried this, but it looks good.
I haven’t tried it, but it looks great. My friends mom used to make scrapple, it was pretzels and marshmellows and butterscotch chips.
I never heard of this before but it sounds like something that my family and I would love. Usually we make fudge, Kahluha and Rum balls along with traditional sugar cookies.
I have never tried Christmas Crack, the peanut butter balls
I haven’t had Christmas Crack but my mother-in-law makes a lot of homemade treats for the holidays. My favorite is her chocolate covered peanut clusters.
I havent tried it before but I am thinking about making it for Thanksgiving
I want to make puppy chow or cookies
I love peppermint bark during the holidays! !
I’ve never tried it before but I love cut out cookies.
I haven’t tried it, but it looks yummy!
Never tried it. I do like eggnog cake
I’ve never tried Christmas Crack before but it looks great! I love to make Christmas chex mix!
I have not tried that and I love to bake christmas cookies
My grandma’s peppermint bark is my favorite.
I’ve never tried it, but it looks delicious! I love sweet potato pie on the holidays!
I haven’t tried it. I like sweet potato casserole.
I have never tried or heard of this treat before but I think my daughter would love it.
i haven’t tried this, but it looks so yummy!
I have tried it. We like to make seven layer bars.
I have not tried Christmas crack.One of my favorite holiday treats to make is snicker doodle cookies.
No, I haven’t tried Christmas Crack yet, but I’d like to. I love homemade Christmas cookies
I have not tried it before and I love Christmas cookies
I have not tried the Christmas crack but your recipe looks great and I’ll definitely try this year. I love baking dark chocolate chip cookies with sea salt!
I have never tried Christmas Crack before. I like frosted sugar cookies and fudge.
I’ve never had this but I just bookmarked this page for the recipe. Looks delish and so easy to make
I have not tried Christmas Crack as of yet. It looks delicious and I hope to try it soon. I like having homemade Mellow Cups at Christmas time.
I haven’t tried it but it looks soooo good! My Christmas sweets tradition is “snowball cookies” – chocolate cookies rolled in powdered sugar. They’re so yummy.
I haven’t tried Christmas Crack. I like Bûche de Noël.
I haven’t tried this recipe but it looks tasty! This year I found a recipe using chocolate graham crackers, almond bark, and candy topping. Similar idea to this one!
I have never tried this before. We like Seven layer cookies at the holidays.
I have not tried Christmas crack. I like to make candied pecans for the holidays.
I have never tried this but definitely will be. My favorite holiday treats are peanut butter balls, homemade fudge, rock candy and divinity.
Yes. I tried it last year, Now that I have the recipe I will be making it
I have never tried this but I have had Halloween bark.
I have never tried this before. I really enjoy peanut brittle around the holidays.
I’ve never tried this but it looks amazing!
I haven’t tried Christmas Crack, but I have tried Christmas Rice Krispes.
My grandmother’s velveeta fudge is my favorite holiday candy.
I haven’t but it looks yummy. One of our favorite holiday treats is Trifle which is made from my great Grandma’s recipe.
Haven’t tried it yet but looks great. I love peanut brittle
I havent tried christmas crack before. I love to make pnut butter fudge.
This is the first time I have heard of Christmas Crack.
I love the food pictures here – so festive.
For Christmas I enjoy white fudge.
thank you
I haven’t tried it before, but it looks delicious! I love sugar cookies at Christmas!
I have never had Christmas crack, but I will be making this for my family this holiday season! I love fruitcake!
I have not tried Christmas Crack. I like to make and eat snowball cookies.
This sounds amazing, but no, I haven’t tried it. I love to make gingerbread cookies….jam thumbprint cookies and cherry cheese pie.
I have not tried Christmas crack. My favorite sweet treat is fudge.
I have not tried it but do like to make ritz pb crackers. Take a ritz cracker swipe some pb on it and dip it in chocolate..sooooo good 🙂
I haven’t tried it but it looks delicious! My favorite is a holiday chex mix.
I haven’t tried this yet. We like to bake cookies and brownies during the holidays.
I have not tried this but it looks yummy!
Peanut Butter Fudge~
I haven’t tried Christmas Crack. My favorite holiday treat to make is gingerbread cookie.
I haven’t ever made this. I love to make divinity and Martha Washington balls at Christmas!
I’ve never had it but it looks good!
I have not tried Christmas crack yet but it looks delicious! One of my favorite holiday treats is chocolate dipped peanut butter ritz sandwich cookies!
I have tried a similar version of Christmas Crack and it was delicious. I can’t wait to try this one out.
I have not tried it,looks so good. I always loved my grandmas church windows..rolled colorful marshmallows and chocolate
I have not tried it but it looks really yummy. I like to make peanut butter balls or pumpkin rolls. Thank you!
I have not tried nor have heard of Christmas Crack before reading your blog post. During the holidays, I tend to eat a bit too much of homemade Almond Roca.
I’ve never tried Christmas Crack, but it sounds tasty. I like making peanut butter buckeyes during the holidays!q
I have never tried Christmas Crack before. I do love eating peanut brittle!
I haven’t tried this yet. I like making Peppermint Candy Cane cookies.
Thanks for the contest.
I have never tried Christmas Crack, but definitely will this year! I like making caramel corn.
I have tried Christmas Crack and we love it. I haven’t put the Christmas sprinkles and candy on top and yours looks so good I am wondering why I didn’t think of it myself! We also love making home made fudge and shortbread cookies for the holidays.
I haven’t tried it yet. I love making chocolate chip cookies.
I haven’t tried it, but it looks Good.
I have never tried it, but it looks tempting and the kids would love it. We just do the decorated sugar cookies
I have not. I love plain sugar cookies
We’ve never made this before or even tried it. We usually make chocolate chip cookies.
Yes, I love Christmas Crack. I also like baking and decorating sugar cookies.
I’ve never tried Christmas Crack before. I love sugar cookies around the holidays
I have not tried this treat. My kids would love to try this. We make cow cookies for the holidays!
I have never made Christmas Crack but would love to try it! My family loves to make buckeyes!
never made it before but will make some around Christmas when the family comes up I will make it with graham crackers.
Yes, someone brought it to a luncheon/dinner at work and it was fantastic. Another favorite that HAS to be made every year is the classic Rice Krispie Treats.
I didn’t like the Christmas Crack, my 2 favorites treats for Christmas time are chex party mix and gourmet caramel corn. Both make big batches and are absolutely addictive.
I have not tried Christmas Crack but it sounds really good. We love to make smores bars with golden grahams sprinkled with red and green candies.
I make this at Christmas every year but I’ve never put the extra toppings on it. I may have to try that this year. I also make homemade chocolate covered cherries each year.
I have never tried Christmas crack, but I put it on my list to make this year. We always make sugar cookies and decorate them!
I’ve never tried Christmas Crack but definitely need to!
My favorite treat to make during the holidays are Reese’s Temptations.
https://www.hersheys.com/reeses/en_us/recipes/reeses-peanut-butter-temptations.html
I have never tried Christmas Crack candy, but it certainly looks delicious.
I haven’t tried it, but it sure looks good! I like to make (and eat) white chocolate bark with crushed peppermint!
I have not tried it but I’m going to. My favorite treat is eggnog.
I haven’t tried it but it looks great! I like peanut butter balls!
no. i have not tired it. my favorite is making and eating brownies.
I haven’t tried this before. It looks delicious. I love making and eating fudge.
I have not tried it but it looks delicious. I love peppermint bark this time of the year
I haven’t tried it, but I love anything with chocolate.
No but it looks amazing. I love Peppermint Bark
I have had Christmas Crack. I love fudge!
I have never tried this, but it looks amazing!
I’ve never tried it but it looks delicious! We also enjoy making judge and gingerbread men.
I have not tried it. I like fudge
Never tried it,looks good.
I have tried it and I really want to make it this year. I also love peanut butter blossoms and fudge!
-Lauren
I have never tried the Christmas Crack, in fact had never heard of it before. We always make fudge for Christmas, a holdover from the days when my grandmother was the goodie maker.
I’ve not tried it, but it looks delicious. One of my easy favorites is Oreo Balls.
I have tried it and really liked it! I think I will make some this year.
No i have never tried Christmas crack but i want to!
I have never had Christmas Crack but it sure looks DELICIOUS! I like Pumpkin Pie, and also Pumpkin spiced tea. Yum. Thanks and God bless!
No I have never tried Christmas crack. This is the first time I have ever heard of it.
MMMM, I have never had Christmas crack but I would love to make it. It looks fabulous. We like to make lemon sugar cookies.
I have not tried this yet, but it looks so good!
I’ve never made it before. I do make toffee chex though.
I have never had Christmas Crack but it looks good! I love fudge!
I’ve never had it but it looks super yummy! My favorite Christmas treat is Cinnamon Buns! I know they’re an all year snack, but I love them on Christmas day most of all.
I have never tried this particular recipe for “Christmas Crack” although I do enjoy the Sweet and Saltines recipe from Trisha Yearwood every year for the holidays. It has a very similar base without all the toppings.
Thank you for the giveaway. I’ve tried a different version of Christmas crack, but this version looks really good! I love sugar cookies with frosting and fudge!
I plan on making this in a few days for my Christmas party on Saturday.
I have not tried it but want to. Fudge is always a fav at our house
I,ve never tried Christmas crack.I enjoy fudge around the holidays.
I have not tried to make it. I have friends that do and always share with me.
Yes, our family loves it! Another favourite treat is Special K bars! Yumm
I’ve never had Christmas crack. My momma used to make candy cane cookies. Yum!
I have not tried this, but I printed the recipe and I’m going to!
I not tried it but I would love to. My Mom’s chocolate oatmeal no bake cookies are my fave treat!
yes, it’s delicious.
I have not tried it. I enjoy baking and eating chocolate chip cookies.
I have never tried Christmas Crack, and my favorite treat is homemade peanut butter balls for the holiday season.
I have never tried Christmas Crack but it sounds very good. i have made white trash for Christmas and that is good too.
I’ve never tried Christmas Crack. I’ve never heard of it until now.
I have not tried. My fav is sweet potato cupcakes w/ cream cheese frosting!
I have made Christmas Crack before. It is so good and everyone loves it.
love peppermint bark during the holidays
never tried it, always like chocolate cake
Have never made crack. We have a tradition to have the neighbors come over and we make smores in the fireplace and have a potluck as well. Even the big kids have returned with their kids to participate – lots of fun
I think I’ve had crack candy before, but I’m not a 100% sure when or where. 🤔
I have never tried Christmas Crack. I like to make fudge and caramel corn at the holidays.
I have never tried Christmas Crack before but I am all about regular toffee so I can only imagine my whole family would love this too.
I’ve had candy crack before, but not Christmas Crack.
I never tried Christmas Crack, we just make the basic’s cookies and cupcakes.
We have not tried this yet… but I am saving this because this would be perfect for my kids to make! We made peppermint bark last year and it was great, but this Christmas crack looks amazing!
I’ve never tried it. I love eating frosted sugar cookies.
I haven’t tried Christmas crack but I’ll make it this year, it looks so good!
I have not yet tried this; Mom’s Christmas Spritz Cookies are a treat!
I haven’t tried Christmas Crack before, but I love making pecan divinity and walnut fudge.
No I have not tried it. I love seasonal pies, Fudge
My friend makes this every Christmas…so yummy!
Yes, my mom made it for the first time last Christmas and everyone loved it.
I’ve had a something similar to that. We love to make Potato Candy at Christmas and we like making fudge.
I haven’t tried it but it looks delicious. I llike to make chocolate walnut fudge for a Christmas treat.
I have not tried it, but it sounds phenomenal and I may make it this year!
I have never tried Christmas crack. My favorite recipe is cherry cordials.
I have tried Christmas Crack. It’s surprisingly delicious. I like to make Mexican Wedding cakes/cookies during the holidays. They’re my favorite Christmas cookie.
I haven’t tried it but I would love to do so. I like Candy Cane Bark. I also like Amaretto chocolate cheesecake, which we only make this time of year, for the holidays.
I have tried christmas crack candy. I also like peppermint bark candy during holidays.
I have not tried it. My favorite Christmas treat to make is my mother-in-law’s peanut butter fudge.
Nope, but I like that one with the baked Chex mix!
I love Christmas Crack! I haven’t tried this exact kind before but I’m sure it tastes awesome. My personal favorite for the holidays are gingerbread cookies!
I HAVE NOT TRIED CHRISTMAS CRACK, OUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY TREAT IS HOMEMADE CHEX MIX 🙂
I have made plain Christmas Crack, but this takes it to a whole new level!
Christmas crack and white trash are 2 staple holiday desserts in my householdd!!
I have tried Christmas Crack. but I have never made it. It is delicious!
I haven’t tried it. We like to make chocolate chip cookies.
I haven’t tried Christmas crack yet but we love to make homemade Christmas cookies.
I haven’t tried Christmas Bark. We love to make M & M cookies.
I’ve never tried Christmas Crack before, I bet my granddaughter would love this. I followed and tweeted on twitter as @ccmoore105
Yes I have tried Christmas Crack! It’s been so long and this brought back memories! Awesome. I am going to make some very soon!
I have not tried this before but my family loves when I make peanut butter fudge
I have never tried it but looks yummy!!! Our favorite is peanut butter balls!!
Never tried but sounds yummy!
I have never tried Christmas Crack before but it sounds delicious. I make several cookies for the holidays, my favorite are Mexican Wedding Cookies, so good.
I have never tried Christmas Crack I love peanut butter balls for the holiday.
I have never tried this Christmas recipe before. One of my favorite holiday treats is snickerdoodles. We usually add red and green sugar crystals to the cinnamon sugar mixture.
I have never tried this but it looks really good. My favorite holiday treat is my dad’s cookies, especially his chocolate crinkles.
Looks soooo good.
I’ve never tried this recipe. My favorite Christmas treat is rocky road.
Melt three bags of chips (for example: chocolate, butterscotch, and peanut butter) with ½ cup of peanut butter. Add 2 cups of peanuts and a bag of mini marshmallows. Mix and spread into a pan. Stick in freezer to set. Cut and enjoy.
I haven’t tried it as of yet. I like to make Frosted Sugar Cookies and fudge during Christmas.
I think I may have. I know a co-worker brought in some brittle his wife made and it was amazing!
I haven’t tried it but it looks awesome! My favorite holiday treat is fudge.
no i never have
I have not tried it. I like gingerbread.
I’ve never made it, but it looks delicious. I’m saving the recipe. Thanks!
I have not tried Christmas crack
I have not tried Cristmas Crack as of yet. My favorite Xmas treat to make is pecan pie.
Yes, and I absolutely love it! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I wanted some things to make for parties and this just fits. I also used to make this one thing…. It involved pretzel sticks and m&ms and chocolate… but it was years ago.
I have never tried it but I want to! Looks so easy! My favorite things to make are snowballs and peanut butter blossoms!
I have never tried Christmas crack however I would like to. My Sister makes an amazing fudge treat that she only makes around the Holidays.
I haven’t tried Christmas Crack but it looks like a fun recipe to try with the kids. My favorite holiday treat to make is Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls.
No I haven’t but it looks good. I love peanut butter balls
Because the Christmas Crack Recipe looks as delicious as it does, I can’t wait to try this special recipe out. I only hope I will be able do as good as you did in the heartwarming photos.
I have never tried it. For Christmas, I like to make gingerbread man cookies, a fruitcake, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, roll out sugar cookies in Christmas shapes, and sometimes fudge.
I haven’t tried Christmas Crack but we like to make traditional toffee and divinity. My granddaughter makes an easy treat with graham crackers with a spoonful of peanut butter on top and covered with melted chocolate.
I have never made Christmas Crack. I like to make Mock Turtle Candies, which are made with a pretzel twist, a Rolo candy and a pecan half.
Our favorite holiday treat —> Sticky toffee pudding !!!
No, I have never tried it. But it sounds like something my family would love!
I have never tried Christmas Crack but would love too. We make Christmas cookies each year.
Yes! This is one that gets made most years. It’s so easy but delish.
I’ve tried crack. Do you think this recipe is anything like the real thing? I’m a recovering addict but if this is anything like the real deal, I think I’ll try it!
Epic fail for me. I should have known better but I was in a hurry. You really need to change this to : Bring to a low boil without stirring and boil until a candy thermometer reads 225 degrees or a drop forms a hard ball in ice water.
I even boiled it for 4 minutes instead of your 2-3 and I’ve got grainy caramel instead of toffee.
Thank you for your advice. I’ve always found that as long as you stir until the butter is melted, 2-3 minutes is enough time. I will add a note about using a candy thermometer for those who might have one at home.