This was a recipe for Christmas Cracker Candy—also known as Christmas Crack (and I am sure with that kind of name it must be addictive!) It’s also known as saltine toffee.
But when I read the recipe, it boggled my mind to think you could possibly make wonderful toffee candy out of saltine crackers! What fresh magic could this be?
I feel certain my mother didn’t know this recipe existed, because toffee candy (Heath Bars, especially) was her favorite kind of candy.
This recipe is said to be quick and easy, ready in less than one hour! My kind of treat!
Ingredients 40 saltine crackers 1 cup unsalted butter ¾ cup granulated sugar 10 oz Ghirardelli white chocolate wafers sprinkles, optional
STEP 1: Place a piece of parchment paper (or aluminum foil) on a 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking sheet. Line with 40 saltine crackers in a single layer. This is about 1 sleeve of crackers. Set aside.
STEP 2: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
STEP 3: Melt your unsalted butter in a small pan, over medium heat, then add your granulated sugar. Bring this mixture to a rolling boil. Remove from heat once boiling.
STEP 4: Pour the melted butter and sugar mixture over the saltine crackers, slowly, making sure that all the crackers have been covered in butter. All that buttery goodness is going to create the melt in your mouth saltine toffee!
STEP 5: Bake toffee for about 13 to 15 minutes. You want to make sure that the crackers look lightly browned and caramelized.
STEP 6: Remove from oven. In a small bowl, melt the chocolate (I use Ghirardelli white chocolate wafers for best results). Using an offset spatula spread over warm toffee and immediately add sprinkles.
STEP 7: Allow the toffee to set up and harden (about 30 minutes) then use a sharp knife to break into pieces.
Store Christmas Crack in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days (if it lasts that long). ENJOY!
Have you ever heard of this candy? What's YOUR favorite type of Christmas candy? (Mine is fudge, but I'm willing to try new things...always.)
I've never heard of that either. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteI love that there are so many toppings you can use on it to change up the recipe--chocolate, white chocolate, crushed candy canes, nuts and chocolate...there were others, too that I can't remember now. But I think I stopped after I saw the chocolate and crushed candy canes...LOL I will definitely be making this.
DeleteI've never heard of it either, but what an easy, simple recipe., I can just imagine it with white chocolate and some slivered almonds. For some reason I don't like sprinkles. Yeah, I know, I'm the odd one out on that I'd love to make this with my grandson at Christmas. I wonder if before it's completely cooled if one can use Christmas cookie cutters and then just break up the outlines into extra pieces? Thanks for recipe.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, you know I might not use sprinkles but maybe some of that icing in a can. LOL At least it would be sugary and colorful. Have to wait until it all cools off though, to decorate with that.
DeleteI've never heard of using saltines to make candy. Very interesting. My favorite Christmas candy however is called Date Balls ... you cook dates and sugar and add Rice Krispies and roll it in coconut flakes ... decadent!
ReplyDeleteJES, I never heard of using saltines either, but evidently, they can be used for a huge variety of recipes I never would have known about. My sister tells me you can make a "mock apple pie" with saltines. Oh, DATE BALLS! I had not thought of those in years! My mom used to just love those!
DeleteOops. I had heard of it, tried it a few years back as did my mother. Once I went gluten free, no more cracker candy. But boy is it good. Doris
ReplyDeleteWell, shoot, Doris. I know my daughter won't be eating any of it either now that she can't have gluten either. I just have to make it and see for myself that crackers can actually be turned into toffee. LOL
DeleteGreat discovery, Cheryl! Thank you for sharing it. I wouldn't have thought of making candy with saltine crackers, and apparently many others wouldn't have, either. If an expert like your mother never made it, I'll bet it's fairly rare. My favorite Christmas candy is ribbon candy, which I hadn't heard about until my mother mentioned it years ago.
ReplyDeleteHi John! I remember my mom talking about how they got ribbon candy at Christmas. I had that a couple of times when I was very young--she considered that a great treat since that was probably all they had. Mom's favorite thing to make at Christmas was divinity--probably because that and fudge were my dad's two favorite things. I remember how hard it was to get the divinity to 'set up' just right and how she was soooo proud when a good batch came out. LOL Good memories!
DeleteI've seen a similar recipe made with graham crackers, but nothing with saltines. One of my favorites is the original Hershey Cocoa recipe for fudge. But you have to hold your mouth just right to make it. My aunt told me once as a girl (80+ years ago), she made a pan of fudge while her mother was gone, took it out in the woods and ate it all herself. But as mothers so often can, she was found out and got into big trouble!
ReplyDeleteOh, Vicky, that reminds me of the time my cousin Julie and I found the Milky Way bars our aunt Joyce had bought to make her 'famous Milky Way cake' for Thanksgiving dessert. There were 6 of them, and we were about 10-11, so we snuck them out of the fridge and ran off into the woods and ate them all. OH MY GOSH. When we came back to Granny's we had been found out and our names were mud. Back then there was NO PLACE open to buy replacement candy bars so no Milky Way cake. And Julie and I were sick from eating all that candy. LOL
DeleteI have a friend who makes this every year with one change. She uses club crackers and it's very tasty. I may try it this year. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteAgnes, I posted this over at the P&P blog and one of the readers over there said she uses club crackers, too, and told about how good it was. A couple said they used graham crackers, and some used brown sugar instead of granulated. Sounds like so many great variations!
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