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Chocolate Saltine Peanut Butter Toffee {Christmas Crack}

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This Chocolate Saltine Peanut Butter Toffee is so easy to make and so addictive, you’ll quickly see why it’s affectionately referred to as “Christmas Crack”.

tray full of saltine cracker toffee topped with christmas sprinkles

Saltline Toffee

Eight days til Christmas! Are you done shopping? I ordered my last present (I think) yesterday and it should be here tomorrow. Christmas really snuck up on me this year.

Kinda like this baby seems to be doing. I never had six months go so quick.

Anyway, I was helping to cater a party for my mom and decided to make this “Christmas Crack” last minute in addition to the peanut butter balls.

I had everything on hand in my pantry, maybe you do too. You only need really basic ingredients – saltines, brown sugar, butter, chocolate, and peanut butter.

Many versions of Christmas Crack don’t include peanut butter but I think pretty much *all* things should include peanut butter, so mine does.

tray of christmas crack

Such simple things but together – so good! I like it best straight from the fridge so it’s cold.

It doesn’t have to Christmas-y. You could use any kind of sprinkles. Or no sprinkles.

But, really, what’s life without sprinkles?

Tips to make this Christmas Crack a success

  • Make sure you use a lipped pan for this recipe. It could get really messy without a lip.
  • I also highly recommend using a silicone baking mat (or parchment paper) to help with clean up. Toffee is sticky.
  • Not everyone uses peanut butter in their Christmas Crack recipe. You could skip it if you don’t like it (but I’m not sure we can still be friends).
  • I haven’t tried it yet, but you can swap out the saltines with pretzels or graham crackers to add some variation.
  • I recommend using a good chocolate (you know I love Ghirardelli baking chips) but you could use semi-sweet, milk, or even white chocolate, if that’s what you like.
  • I always top with sprinkles to make it fun but you can skip that layer altogether or…fancy it up with other toppings. Like maybe mini M&Ms, or chopped nuts, use your imagination.
  • This Chocolate Saltine Peanut Butter Toffee keeps really well, up to two weeks, in an airtight container. I like to keep mine in the fridge & eat it cold.

If you’re into toffee, try my Toffee Doodle Cookie recipe, too!

Why is my Christmas Crack chewy?

Your Christmas Crack might be chewy if you didn’t use real butter or if you didn’t let the butter and brown sugar mixture boil for the full three minutes, as indicated.

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Chocolate Saltine Peanut Butter Toffee {Christmas Crack}

Melissa Williams | Persnickety Plates
This Chocolate Saltine Peanut Butter Toffee is so easy to make and so addictive, you'll quickly see why it's affectionately referred to as "Christmas Crack".
5 from 3 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Chill Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12 servings
Calories 483 kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 40 saltine crackers (one sleeve)
  • 1 cup brown sugar I used dark
  • 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
  • 2 ½ cups chocolate chips I used Ghirardelli baking chips
  • 6 Tablespoons peanut butter melted
  • various sprinkles optional

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 400° F. Line a lipped baking sheet with tin foil and generously spray with non-stick spray. Set aside.
  • Line your crackers in the pan, leaving a little space between each one.
  • In a large sauce pan, over medium heat, add the butter and brown sugar and bring to a boil, stirring to break it up. Once it starts to boil, leave it alone for about 3 minutes, without stirring. Pour the boiling mixture over the crackers and bake for 5 minutes.
  • While the toffee is baking, melt the peanut butter in the microwave (it will probably only take about 30 seconds, stir, maybe another 15-20 seconds).
  • Remove the pan from the oven, the toffee will be bubbly. Tuck any floating crackers underneath the toffee with a spatula and pour the peanut butter on top. Smooth it into an even layer with a spatula.
  • Evenly sprinkle on the chocolate chips and put the pan back in the oven for 1 minute.
  • Remove the pan from the oven and smooth the chocolate chips into the melted peanut butter into one smooth layer.
  • Sprinkle with various sprinkles.
  • Put the entire pan in either the freezer for at least an hour or the fridge for two hours.
  • Once cold and set, break up the toffee into random sized pieces.

Video

Notes

Store in an airtight container for up to 10 days. I like it cold, so I keep it in the fridge.
You can skip peanut butter if you don’t like it (or have allergies).
Serving size will depend on how you break up the toffee.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 483kcalCarbohydrates: 53gProtein: 5gFat: 29gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 305mgPotassium: 97mgFiber: 2gSugar: 42gVitamin A: 557IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 69mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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  1. Marilyn Clark says

    I LOVE toffee and this recipe is the best! Thanks for sharing! 😀

  2. Cathy Mcgill says

    After several yrs of not baking because of Covid restrictions and other illness I started baking again this yr. I have noticed that “chocolate chips” are not what they use to be….they don’t melt. My first batch of Crack while edible was not pleasing to the eye…the chips did not melt. My second batch was perfect because I melted the chips with a tablespoon of butter over a double boiler then spread it…no need to put back in the oven.

    • Melissa Williams says

      Which brand did you use? I always use Ghirardelli but tried to use a store brand & had terrible results.

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