Christmas Crack. What a funny name.. until you try some and then you realize how true it is! This stuff is addicting! I’ve actually never made it before until this week – I was shocked at how truly simple it was to make and only 5 ingredients! I mean, hello easiest Christmas treat ever!!
I’m pretty sure all Christmas crack recipes are the same, or at least pretty similar. I wanted to write my own post on how to make Christmas crack because the ones I found online were all super unhelpful. None of them explained the steps very well and if I didn’t already know what I was doing I probably would’ve run into some trouble.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
- 1 cup dark brown sugar OR 1 cup light brown sugar + 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 sleeve saltine crackers
- 2 cups chocolate chips (whatever kind you like)
- 1/3 cup roasted pecans, chopped
SPECIAL SUPPLIES:
- parchment paper or baking mat
Grab a large baking sheet, not a flat one, but a jelly roll pan, one that has edges. Line it was parchment paper or a baking mat. I think this dessert is better off with parchment paper because I made it with just my baking mat. In the end it worked out totally fine, but when I poured the hot caramel over the crackers and baked it, it spread out a lot. If I used parchment paper I would’ve made it extra large to go over the sides of the pan.
Okay.. back to the crack!
Preheat the oven to 400*F.
Lay out all the saltine crackers on the parchment paper/baking mat – I made a 5×7 grid and I used all but 3 crackers in the package.
In a medium saucepan, add in 2 sticks of butter. I always like to let the butter melt about halfway before adding in the sugar.
I only had light brown sugar on hand so to make it dark brown sugar I just added a tablespoon of molasses in with the firmly packed cup of brown sugar. Add the sugar (& molasses if you need it) to the butter. Use a rubber spatula and stir every 30-60 seconds.
Let this mixture come to a full boil… as in, bubbles coming up even when you’re stirring. Then, let it boil for a solid 3 minutes.
Immediately, pour the caramel over the saltine crackers, making sure they’re all coated, and pop the pan into the oven. They need to bake for 6 minutes at 400*F.
Pull the pan out – and don’t panic if all the crackers have spread out. I panicked a little but later I realized it’s okay that they spread out, and this is also why I recommend using the parchment paper rather than a baking mat.
Pour all the chocolate chips over the hot caramel and let it set for 5 minutes.
Then take a spatula or an offset spatula and spread the melted chocolate all over, covering the whole layer. You can use whatever type of chocolate you like best. I used 1 cup of semi-sweet and 1 cup of milk chocolate. I usually don’t have dark chocolate on hand but I think dark chocolate would taste the best because it would help offset the sweetness of the caramel.
Sprinkle over the roasted and chopped pecans.
Roasted Pecans : I made my roasted pecans before I started anything else. I let the oven get to 375*F and chopped the pecans finely. Then I spread them out onto a small baking sheet lined with a baking mat and let them roast about 3-5 minutes. Any longer and they would’ve burned. Just keep an eye on them. Then by the time I needed them they were cooled off and ready to go!
The recipe I was following said to immediately stick the whole pan into the fridge. I don’t know about you, but I’m not putting a 400* hot pan into my fridge. So let the pan cool to room temperature and THEN stick it into the fridge to totally cool, about 2 hours.
Once it’s cooled, take it out of the fridge and break it into pieces. It’s much easier to break up when it’s super cold straight from the fridge.
It tastes like toffee from a candy shop! It’s SO tasty! Christmas crack was so much easier to make than I thought and it really took almost no time at all from start to finish.
This is best kept in the fridge.. although if you live in a cooler climate than I do it’ll probably be okay out on the counter for a bit. It’s been unseasonably warm around here these days so it’s definitely better in the fridge down here.
This is such a great little treat to make for your kids, or to give as neighbor gifts, or to make for playgroup.. which is what I did!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Christmas Crack
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter 2 sticks
- 1 cup dark brown sugar or 1 cup light brown sugar + 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 sleeve saltine crackers 40 crackers
- 2 cups chocolate chips whatever kind you like, or a combo: dark, milk, semi-sweet
- 1/3 cup chopped and roasted pecans
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400*F.
- Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper or a baking mat and lay out the saltine crackers in an 8x5 grid. set aside.
- in a medium saucepan, begin melting the sticks of butter. Once partially melted, add in the brown sugar (& molasses if you're using light brown sugar). continually stir this mixture until it comes to a full boil. Let boil 3 minutes.
- Remove caramel and immediately pour over saltine crackers, making sure they're all coated.
- Pop pan into the oven for 6 minutes. Remove from oven and pour over the chocolate chips in an even layer.
- Let the chocolate melt for 5 minutes then using a rubber spatula or offset spatula, spread the melted chocolate to completely coat the caramel.
- Sprinkle the roasted/chopped pecans over the chocolate and let the whole thing come to room temperature.
- Put the pan into the fridge for about 2 hours for it to set. Break it into pieces and enjoy!
