11/20/2025
So most of you have eaten, or are at least familiar with, the holiday sweet called “Christmas Crack”. Tasting very similar to Almond Roca, Christmas Crack is made by arranging crackers side by side on a rimmed baking sheet, covering them with homemade caramel, topping with melted chocolate and ending with a sprinkling of nuts, sprinkles, flaky sea salt or what have you. Looks easy. Sounds easier.
My first batch was a total failure (although I am taking it to Les Schwab or some other business staffed by young men who will eagerly eat anything…) The second batch is sitting on my counter. It is “adequate”. I am confident my third batch will be amazing. Here’s what I learned so you can skip right to third batch quality!
1) Line your baking sheet with culinary parchment, not foil. You will save yourself the trouble of picking foil bits off the bottom of your candy.
2) Just use saltines. Personally, I would never eat a saltine. Well, maybe if I was starving. I bought a package of Club Crackers to use for this and they were adequate but saltines were SO MUCH better! The candy really needs the crisp saltiness of the saltines. The club crackers were underwhelming at best.
3) Fill every corner of your baking sheet with crackers. You will have enough caramel, I promise. I “times and a halfed” the caramel recipe on my first batch because my baking pan was larger and held more crackers. Bad idea. The crackers were swimming in caramel and floated all over the pan. I made the regular amount of caramel for the second batch but reduced the number of crackers to the suggested amount. Because the crackers didn’t fill the entire pan, they too floated all over. As a nod to my OCD, I want my crackers regimented and orderly.
4) Make sure your chocolate is fresh and spring for chocolate bars instead of chocolate chips. Last year’s chocolate (what’s that, right?!), especially in chip form, will not melt. It will get warm and seize up into unappetizing globs when you try to spread it. Chocolate chips contain a stabilizer that helps them maintain their “chipiness” in cookies. You want smooth, melty chocolate to top these delicacies.
Last, but not least, the recipe. I hope the holiday baking gods smile on you.
Christmas Crack
Line a rimmed baking sheet with culinary parchment paper. Be sure it extends up the sides so no caramel leaks underneath. Preheat the oven to 350.
Arrange saltines side by side on the entire bottom of the baking pan. Break some in half if you need to fill in the edges.
Make the caramel: Melt 1 c. of butter in a saucepan. Add 1 c. of packed brown sugar and stir until combined. When the mixture begins to fully boil, turn the heat to medium low and allow to boil without stirring for 3 minutes. Set your timer.
Pour the hot caramel over the crackers, spreading to cover. Pop the caramel covered crackers in the oven for 5-10 minutes until the caramel is melty and brown.
Let the crackers sit on the counter for a minute or two to allow the caramel to firm up a bit. Top with a couple broken chocolate bars. Chocolate is best measured with your heart so go wild. The residual heat will melt the chocolate but you can speed up the process by returning the baking sheet to the warm oven for a minute or two. Spread the melted chocolate and top with chopped toasted almonds and a fine sprinkling of sea salt or whatever suits your fancy. Your Christmas Crack with be perfect. I promise!
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