The BEST Cracker Candy Recipe
This Cracker Candy Recipe is the ultimate Christmas treat: a buttery cracker covered in delicious toffee topped with melted chocolate and cookie crumbs. There may be lots of variations out there, but this is the best one you’ll ever make!
This cracker candy recipe goes by a lot of names: Christmas crack, saltine toffee, cracker candy, crack candy, and toffee bark.
I knew it growing up simply as toffee.
Whatever you want to call it, most of the recipes out there call for saltine crackers, butter, brown sugar, and chocolate chips.
However, my recipe uses a buttery cracker and Hershey’s chocolate instead which make the toffee even more flavorful and rich!
My husband loves this cracker candy so much that he’s threatened to eat the entire pan while I’m out shopping.
It’s that good!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Place 54.5 Club crackers in a lightly greased sheet pan lined with parchment paper or foil.
Melt 1 cup of butter and 1 cup of brown sugar in a heavy saucepan and then bring to a boil. BOIL the mixture for 3-5 minutes without stirring.
Pour the sugar mixture over the crackers and spread out evenly. Then bake in the oven for 5 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and place 3 broken XL Hershey’s bars on top of the crackers.
Once the bars are shiny and melted, spread the chocolate out evenly across the toffee.
Sprinkle the candy with 1/2 cup finely chopped vanilla wafers.
Allow the cracker candy to set on the counter or fridge for 2 hours then break into pieces.
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
Make sure you set timers for the boiling and baking. I’ve made that mistake in the past and this recipe can get ruined very easily. Just set a timer and trust the process.
You’ll want 54.5 Club crackers because 55 crackers don’t fit evenly in the pan and 54 will leave a gap. There’s usually at least one broken cracker in the sleeve so just use that one!
It’s difficult to get the toffee all of the way to the edges of the pan because it’s sticky and can pull the crackers up when you try to spread it. Just do it gently and get it as close as you can. It will spread as it bakes.
You can use whatever size Hershey’s bar you want, it just needs to cover the entire pan. The original recipe calls for 6 regular size Hershey’s bars, but I chose to use the XL size. The amount should equal between 9-12 ounces.
This recipe tastes the best with the vanilla wafer crumbs on top, but if you want to try something different, consider topping it with:
- M&Ms
- Crushed candy canes
- pretzels
- sprinkles
- chopped pecans or walnuts
- English toffee bits
More Like This
Looking for more yummy Christmas treats? You’ll love these!
- Jam Thumbprint Cookies
- Marshmallow Fudge
- Cinnamon White Hot Chocolate
- Chocolate Almond Balls
- Mini Cherry Cheesecake Bites
- Sticky Sweet Chex Mix
FAQ
Your cracker candy is chewy because you didn’t cook it long enough on the stove.
You need to boil the sugar and butter mixture for at least 3 minutes for enough moisture to boil off so the candy will set.
Cracker candy will last for up to 2 weeks if properly stored in an air-tight container.
Although, it’s never made it that long in this house…
You can substitute Club crackers for saltine crackers in any cracker candy recipe, which is what I highly suggest.
They are buttery and have more flavor than saltine crackers so your toffee will taste much better.
You could also try using graham crackers, Ritz crackers, or pretzels. Just know that anything that doesn’t have a flat edge will be difficult to get straight in the pan.
The best way to crack cracker candy is with a knife or your bare hands.
I’ve used a knife in the past when I haven’t used parchment paper and the toffee breaks quite easily. However, this year, I cooked the sugar mixture a little longer and used parchment paper so I was able to pull the candy right out of the pan and use my hands.
If you break the candy with your hands, it will have jagged edges and no two pieces will look the same.
If you want a more uniform look, use a knife to cut along where the crackers touch each other so you get nice looking square/rectangle pieces.
The chocolate probably separated from the cracker candy because you didn’t cook the sugar mixture long enough, your chocolate didn’t melt properly, or you changed the temperatures for the candy to quickly.
You need to make sure that you boil the sugar mixture for at least 3 minutes or the butter may separate from the sugar. You also should use Hershey’s chocolate instead of chocolate chips to ensure it will melt properly. And make sure to put your candy either on the counter or in the fridge and not in the freezer to set.
Even after following all of these tips, the chocolate is bound to separate from a few pieces. We leave those pieces on the pan and let anyone eat them. I think they were gone in 10 minutes this year 😉
I hope your family loves this Christmas crack recipe! If you make it, be sure to take a picture and tag me on Instagram with @ashcroftfamilytable and use the hashtag #ashcroftfamilytable!
The BEST Cracker Candy Recipe
Ingredients
- 54.5 Club crackers
- 1 cup butter, no substitutes
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 XL Hershey’s bars, 4.4 ounces each
- ½ cup vanilla wafers, finely crushed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Place crackers in a lightly greased sheet pan lined with parchment paper or foil.
- Melt butter and brown sugar in a heavy saucepan and then bring to a boil. Boil the mixture for 3-5 minutes without stirring.
- Pour the sugar mixture over the crackers and spread out as close to the edges as you can, being careful not to move the crackers too much. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and place broken Hershey’s bars on top of the crackers.
- Once the bars are shiny and melted, spread the chocolate out evenly across the toffee.
- Sprinkle with finely crushed vanilla wafers.
- Allow the cracker candy to set on the counter or fridge for 2 hours then break into pieces using a knife.
