This Peanut Butter Christmas Crack, also known as saltine toffee, is so easy to make and so addictive, you’ll quickly see why it’s affectionately referred to as “Christmas Crack”.
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 pass so quickly.
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.
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?
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Pantry Staples – You might already have everything on hand to make this saltine toffee.
- Crowd Pleaser – It’s always a hit every holiday season & luckily, it makes a big batch because it goes quickly.
- Festive – Switch up the sprinkles for whatever occasion you’re celebrating (or skip them, but that sounds sad).
Helpful Tools
- Lipped Baking Pan – you don’t want all that hot goodness oozing off the pan.
- Medium Saucepan
- Silicone Spatulas – for spreading the hot goodness. An offset spatula is also helpful.
- Microwave Safe Bowls
- Sprinkles! to make it festive
Ingredients
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe, why you need them, and possible substitutions. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card with measurements.
Jump- Crackers – I use one sleeve (about 40 crackers) of saltine crackers as the base of the toffee. You can also use graham crackers or pretzels to switch it up.
- Brown Sugar – The mixture of brown sugar and butter is what makes toffee toffee. The molasses flavor really stands out.
- Butter – I personally like to use salted butter for a little balance in the sweetness, but unsalted butter works as well.
- Chocolate Chips – I like to use a high quality chocolate chip, Ghirardelli is my brand of choice, so it melts nicely. I have tried store brands (& even Nestle) and didn’t like the results. I personally like to use dark chocolate but semi-sweet chocolate chips or milk chocolate work well, too.
- Peanut Butter – Use a “regular” peanut butter like Jif or Skippy, not a natural peanut butter.
- Sprinkles – I like to use various holiday sprinkles in stripes so when you break it apart you have a variety.
How to make Saltine Toffee
This section shows you how to make this recipe, with process photos showing the steps to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
Jump- Step One: Line a lipped baking sheet with foil or a silicone baking mat and lay the saltines out in a single layer, leaving a little space between each.
- Step Two: Melt the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan, stirring until it comes to a boil and then leave it alone to simmer for 3 minutes. You’re aiming for it to hit nearly 300°F. Pour that mixture over the saltines and bake for 5 minutes in a 400°F preheated oven.
- Step Three: While that’s in the oven, melt the peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl. Take the crackers out of the oven, tuck any floating ones carefully under the toffee and then pour the peanut butter over the top, gently spreading it into an even layer.
- Step Four: Evenly sprinkle the chocolate chips over the peanut butter and put the pan back into the oven to melt for 1 minute. Once melty, gently smooth into an even layer.
- Step Five: Add whatever sprinkles you want evenly over the top.
- Step Six: Place the whole pan into the freezer to set for an hour, or in the fridge for 2 hours. Once fully set and chilled, break apart into various sized pieces.
How to serve it
I personally like it cold, straight from the fridge but peanut butter saltine toffee is great on a platter of classic Christmas cookies.
It also pairs really well with other treats like candied pecans, candied cashews, or praline pecan cookies.
It’s really fun to package up into holiday tins to give as gifts.
- 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 foil or parchment paper) to help with clean up. Toffee is sticky – try my Toffee Doodle Cookie recipe, too!.
- 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). You could also use peanut butter chips in place of actual peanut butter.
- 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&M, 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.
Storage
How long does Christmas Crack last in the fridge?
It’ll last about 2 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge.
At room temperature, it will last about a week in a covered container.
Freezing Instructions
To freeze saltine toffee, let it cool completely and freeze it in zip top bags for up to three months. If you have multiple layers, lay wax paper in between each so it doesn’t stick together.
When you’re ready to eat it, take it from the fridge to the counter for just about 10-15 minutes.
FAQs
What is Christmas Crack candy made of?
Really simple ingredients – saltine crackers, butter, brown sugar, chocolate chips, and peanut butter in our case.
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. You want it to get close to 300°F.
Need more no bake holiday recipes? Try these:
Click here to view my entire collection of no bake dessert recipes.
Peanut Butter Christmas Crack
Video
Ingredients
- 40 saltine crackers one sleeve
- 1 cup butter I use salted
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 6 Tablespoons peanut butter melted
- 2 ½ cups chocolate chips I used Ghirardelli baking chips
- holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° F and line a lipped baking sheet with tin foil (or a silicone mat) and generously spray with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- Line the crackers in the pan, leaving a little space between each one.40 saltine crackers
- 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.1 cup dark brown sugar, 1 cup butter
- While the toffee is baking, melt the peanut butter in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl – it will probably only take about 30 seconds, stir, maybe another 15-20 seconds.6 Tablespoons peanut butter
- Remove the pan from the oven, the toffee will be bubbly. Tuck any floating crackers underneath the toffee with a spatula and pour the melted 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.2 ½ cups chocolate chips
- Remove the pan from the oven and smooth the chocolate chips into the melted peanut butter into one smooth layer.
- Sprinkle with various sprinkles.holiday 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.
Notes
- Use a lipped baking pan—this recipe gets messy without one.
- Line the pan with a silicone mat, foil, or parchment for easy cleanup (toffee sticks!).
- Peanut butter is optional—skip it or use peanut butter chips instead.
- Try swapping saltines with graham crackers or pretzels for a fun twist.
- Use good-quality chocolate—semi-sweet, milk, or white all work.
- Top with sprinkles, mini M&Ms, or chopped nuts—or skip toppings if preferred.
- Keeps up to 2 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge; 1 week at room temp.
- To freeze: cool completely, layer with wax paper in zip-top bags, and freeze up to 3 months.
Nutrition
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.
Did you make this recipe?
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If you made this recipe, I’d love to know how it went in the comments section below.
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Originally published December 17, 2013; photos and text updated November 20, 2024.
This is the best bark ever!
I LOVE toffee and this recipe is the best! Thanks for sharing! 😀
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.
Which brand did you use? I always use Ghirardelli but tried to use a store brand & had terrible results.
Great cookie
Can you use light brown sugar?
Yes 🙂
So easy, so good. I used peanut butter chips, on top of the peanut butter. Lots of compliments and requests to share this recipe.
Happy to hear that! & love the idea of chips on top of the peanut butter.
I’m going to make it 👍
I hope you like it!
if replacing peanut butter with chips how much chips ? thank you
I haven’t tested that to give you an amount.
This turned out great. I used the pretzels because my sons and grandson love it with pretzels. Thank you for sharing. They will be surprised I made it because I lost the recipe.
So good with pretzels, too! I’m glad you found a replacement 🙂
Delicious! Just double checking that it is 2 sticks of butter instead of 1 stick. Thank you!
Yes, a cup of butter, which is generally two sticks 🙂