Crack Candy (with Peppermint) is a delicious Christmas treat that takes only 15 minutes to make. A recipe with four basic ingredients and easily customizable toppings that's perfect for a holiday!
Toffee has been a historic part of Christmas celebrations for a minimum of a century. However, the discovery and availability of saltine crackers forever changed how this famous treat was made.
I was hooked on crack candy at my first taste years ago! The toffee is light and crisp with a delicious caramel flavor. Often known as Toffee Bark, Saltine Toffee, Xmas Crack, and Saltine Cracker Candy, the recipe is the same regardless of the name.
While I love my Easy Shortbread Cookies, they take a while to make and decorate. This Crack candy and my holiday-chex-mix are quick and easy to make, look festive, and make cute and affordable Christmas gifts to share.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- No thermometer needed - Some recipes for toffee require constant stirring and candy thermometers to ensure a perfect texture. This recipe requires no extra tools or gadgets.
- Delicious - The perfect balance of crunchy, sweet, and salty, you won't be able to stop eating this. It's addictive!
- Customizable - There are many ways to switch up the recipe with different crackers and toppings. It can taste like a brand-new candy each time.
- Perfect for gifting - This is a great addition to a cookie plate or to package and gift independently.
Ingredient notes
- Crackers - I like to use saltines as they're thin and crispy, adding to the texture of the toffee.
- Butter - My favorite butter to use for most desserts is Kerrygold. Its high-fat content gives it a depth of flavor that works great for the toffee.
- Brown Sugar - I like to use dark brown sugar as it has a higher molasses content, almost double that of light brown sugar, which gives the toffee a richer taste.
- Chocolate - I use Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can use any brand or variety. Dark chocolate, white chocolate, a mix of 2 different types of chocolates, everything works.
- Mints - I use any hard red and white mint candy I can source. It can be crushed candy canes or the small round variety I have in the picture.
- Tahitian vanilla Sea salt flakes- This is not essential, but both the vanilla and sea salt flakes enhance the taste of the toffee and chocolate and take the crack candy to the next level. I highly suggest using this if you can source it.
Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete list of ingredients with measurements plus recipe instructions.
Substitutions & variations
- No chocolate - Make the crack candy with just the crackers, toffee, and toppings.
- Different flavors - Add a drizzle of white chocolate, peanut butter, or butterscotch to the chocolate before you sprinkle the toppings.
- Different crackers - Try the crack candy with graham crackers, Ritz crackers, or Carr's table water crackers.
- Different toppings - I love using peppermint for Christmas, but coconut, nuts, candy, or plain old sprinkles work great for the rest of the year.
- No toppings - Sometimes, keeping it simple works best, and crack candy without any toppings works great.
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Step-by-step instructions
- First step - Add the butter and brown sugar to a saucepan and cook on high heat.
- Second step - Watch the mixture as it melts, stirring periodically to mix it well.
- Third step - Cook until it reaches a boiling mixture, then reduce the heat to medium-high.
- Fourth step - Cook undisturbed at this point for exactly 3 minutes. This is essential for the toffee to form.
- Fifth step - Line a baking sheet with foil, spray it with nonstick spray, and place the crackers in neat rows. The crackers should be evenly lined up and touching but not overlapping.
- Sixth step - Pour and then spread the prepared toffee evenly over the crackers and bake it in a 350-degree oven for 5 minutes so that it can become a hard and sticky toffee.
- Seventh step - When you remove the pan from the oven, the toffee will be bubbling, and the crackers may have separated slightly. Gently move them back into alignment and sprinkle the chocolate chips on them as evenly as possible.
- Eighth step - Within 30 seconds to a minute, you will see the chocolate chips turning glossy. Use a wide spatula and spread them into a thin, even layer over the toffee.
- Ninth step - Place the peppermints in a tightly sealed Ziploc bag.
- Tenth step - Use a rolling pin to break the candy into small pieces.
- Eleventh step - Sprinkle the crushed peppermint over the slightly melted chocolate.
- Twelfth step - Place the pan with this prepared crack candy in the fridge for 2 hours. Once completely chilled, remove the foil and cut it into even pieces or break it into jagged pieces for a more rustic look.
Expert Tips
- Dessert board - Add the candy to a holiday charcuterie board for a sweet treat.
- Use a hair dryer - If your chocolate cools down before you finish spreading it, use a hair dryer to melt it again.
- Jelly Roll Pan - The raised sides of a jelly roll pan make it much easier to work with the ingredients as you make the candy.
- Use nonstick spray - Make sure to spray the foil with nonstick spray. This ensures that it won't stick to the candy after it cools.
- Cool in the fridge - Cooling the candy in the freezer takes less time but can cause the different layers to separate. For best results, cool it in the fridge for a longer period.
Recipe FAQS
Stirring the toffee as it cooks gives it a soft, praline-like texture. I like to leave it alone, which results in an English toffee texture. This gives the candy the desired 'crack' it's famous for.
The candy must reach a temperature of 300-310 degrees Fahrenheit to harden. Ideally, this should happen after the 3 minutes of boiling and 5 minutes in the oven. Factors such as humidity can play a role in the candy not hardening properly. If your candy is not setting, I suggest you use a thermometer to ensure the perfect temperature has been reached.
Crack candy can be stored in an airtight container on the counter or fridge for up to 2 weeks and in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Other recipes you may like
For more Pakistani recipes like this, check out 20 popular Pakistani recipes. If you decide to try this recipe, Please don't forget to leave a rating and comment below! If you take a picture then tag me on Instagram! Thank You!
Crack Candy
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Ingredients
- 40 saltine crackers
- 1 cup brown sugar (see notes)
- 1 cup salted butter
- 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
- ½ tsp Tahitian vanilla sea salt (see notes)
- ¼ cup Mints (see notes)
- nonstick spray
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Line a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray. (see notes)
- Lay out the crackers evenly, with no overlapping, just all the edges touching in the pan.
- Melt the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan and bring it to a boil.
- Cook the mixture for exactly 3 minutes using a timer. (see notes)
- Pour it over the crackers and spread evenly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes.
- Use this time to place the mints in a sealed Ziploc bag and crush them using a rolling pin. Set aside for later.
- When you pull the baking sheet out of the oven, sprinkle the chocolate chips in an even layer over the hot toffee.
- As soon as the chips become glossy, start spreading them using a wide spatula.
- Sprinkle the crushed mints over the chocolate quickly before it hardens.
- Chill in the freezer for 2 hours before breaking into pieces.
Sharda chawla
Thank you Nosheen ??? I made these last year and making them again that recipe is very easy and well explained…can’t go wrong.
untoldrecipesbynosheen
Thank You Sharda. Glad you like the recipe and made it again this year.
Sajid Choudhry
Just made these for gifting out...followed your recipe to a T, including Kerrygold which is my all time fave. Yummy!!
untoldrecipesbynosheen
Thank You. I’m glad you liked the recipe and it turned out great!
Robina
Your recipes are to die for, and yet easy to make.Fantastic.Keep it up.Love,Bina
Nosheen Babar
Thank You so much Robina. I appreciate your feedback .