Need a last-minute treat? Try our best-loved Cracker Candy (aka Christmas crack candy). It's got the perfect amount of sweet, salty, and nutty flavor. Start with the basic recipe for Caramel Cracker Candy that coats graham crackers with a buttery brown sugar topping before swirling-in chocolate. Topped with nuts and toasted coconut flakes, it's got the perfect amount of sweet and nutty flavor. Good luck eating just one piece.
Cracker Candy Ingredients
The best part about cracker candy is you can customize it with your favorite ingredients. We provided our favorite recipes below, but here is the general breakdown of ingredients to make your next batch of Christmas crack candy.
- Crackers: Any cracker will do, but we especially enjoy using saltines, rich butter crackers, and graham crackers (chocolate or classic!).
- Butter: A stick of salted butter is great, or you can use plant-based butter.
- Sugar: This is combined with butter on the stove top to make a caramel-like sauce.
- Chocolate or Baking Chips: Semisweet chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, peanut butter—choose a meltable baking chip.
- Toppings: Go sweet, savory, or use a combo to achieve the perfect cracker candy bite. Try nuts, seeds, dried fruit, potato chips, and pretzels.
Christmas Crack Candy Variations
Once you've got the basic Christmas crack recipe complete, go for one of five variations by our Test Kitchen. Keep the salty-sweet theme going by utilizing rich rectangular crackers, potato chips, and pretzels. Give the cracker candy some fireside flair by making a s'mores version. Add a fruity twist with some cranberries. For a richer flavor, try the dark chocolate Christmas crack candy made with saltines, pepitas, and toffee bits. No matter which version of cracker candy bark you make, everyone is going to be asking for the recipe to be able to make more at home.
How to Store Cracker Candy
Layer pieces between waxed paper in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.
Ingredients
Caramel Cracker Candy
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11 to 12 graham crackers
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1/2 cup butter
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1/3 cup packed brown sugar
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1/4 teaspoon salt
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1 teaspoon vanilla
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2 cups semisweet chocolate chips or peanut butter-flavored chips
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1/2 to 3/4 cup toasted nuts (pecans, peanuts, almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, or walnuts)
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1/4 cup sweetened coconut flakes
Directions
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 15x10-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil over edges. Grease foil. Cover bottom of prepared pan with crackers, breaking to fit or overlapping as needed.
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In a medium saucepan bring butter, brown sugar, and salt to boiling, stirring to melt butter. Boil gently, without stirring, 2 minutes. Remove from heat; add vanilla.
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Evenly drizzle mixture over crackers. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until bubbly. (The caramel mixture will fill out the spaces between the crackers during baking.) Place pan on a wire rack. Sprinkle with chips; let stand 5 minutes to soften.
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Spread melted chips over crackers; sprinkle with nuts and coconut. Let cool 30 minutes. Chill1 hour or until firm. Use foil to lift uncut bark out of pan; carefully break into pieces.
Cracker Candy Recipe Variations
Here are a few ways to put a twist on our cracker candy recipe.
Potato Chip-Pretzel Cracker Candy
Prepare as directed, except substitute 39 to 40 rich rectangular crackers for the graham crackers and milk chocolate chips for the semisweet chips; omit nuts and coconut. Sprinkle with ⅓ cup each broken and crushed potato chips and pretzels.
Dark Chocolate Cracker Candy
Prepare as directed, except substitute 40 saltine crackers for the graham crackers and dark chocolate chips for the semisweet chips; omit coconut. Sprinkle with ⅓ cup toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and ¼ cup each chopped dried apricots and almond toffee bits.
Chocolate Cookie-Peppermint Cracker Candy
Prepare as directed, except substitute chocolate graham crackers for the plain graham crackers and white baking chips for the semisweet chips; omit nuts and coconut. Sprinkle with ½ cup broken chocolate sandwich cookies with mint or white filling and ¼ cup crushed peppermint candies.
Holiday Cracker Candy
Prepare as directed, except substitute 6 to 7 flatbread crackers with sea salt for the graham crackers and white baking chips for the semisweet chips; omit coconut. Sprinkle with ⅓ cup each salted pistachio nuts and snipped dried cranberries.
S'mores Cracker Candy
Prepare as directed, except substitute milk chocolate chips for the semisweet chips; omit nuts and coconut. Sprinkle with ½ cup tiny dried marshmallow bits and ⅓ cup crushed graham crackers.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
| 156 | Calories |
| 11g | Fat |
| 15g | Carbs |
| 2g | Protein |
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings Per Recipe 24 | |
| Calories 156 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 11.3g | 14% |
| Saturated Fat 5.7g | 29% |
| Cholesterol 10.2mg | 3% |
| Sodium 86.1mg | 4% |
| Total Carbohydrate 14.8g | 5% |
| Dietary Fiber 1.3g | 5% |
| Total Sugars 11.2g | |
| Protein 1.7g | 3% |
| Vitamin D 0mcg | 0% |
| Vitamin C 0mg | 0% |
| Calcium 15.8mg | 1% |
| Iron 0.7mg | 4% |
| Potassium 90.9mg | 2% |
| Fatty acids, total trans 0.2g | |
| Vitamin D 0IU | |
| Alanine 0.1g | |
| Arginine 0.2g | |
| Ash 0.5g | |
| Aspartic acid 0.2g | |
| Caffeine 9mg | |
| Carotene, alpha 0mcg | |
| Choline, total 6.7mg | |
| Copper, Cu 0.1mg | |
| Cystine 0g | |
| Energy 652.7kJ | |
| Fluoride, F 0.1mcg | |
| Folate, total 8mcg | |
| Glutamic acid 0.4g | |
| Glycine 0.1g | |
| Histidine 0g | |
| Isoleucine 0.1g | |
| Leucine 0.1g | |
| Lysine 0.1g | |
| Methionine 0g | |
| Magnesium, Mg 27.7mg | |
| Manganese, Mn 0.2mg | |
| Niacin 0.5mg | |
| Phosphorus, P 46.5mg | |
| Pantothenic acid 0.1mg | |
| Phenylalanine 0.1g | |
| Phytosterols 0mg | |
| Proline 0.1g | |
| Retinol 31.7mcg | |
| Selenium, Se 2.4mcg | |
| Serine 0.1g | |
| Starch 1.5g | |
| Theobromine 70.6mg | |
| Threonine 0.1g | |
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 0.5mg | |
| Tryptophan 0g | |
| Tyrosine 0.1g | |
| Valine 0.1g | |
| Vitamin A, IU 118.3IU | |
| Vitamin A, RAE 32.3mcg | |
| Vitamin B-12 0mcg | |
| Vitamin B-6 0mg | |
| Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 2.9mcg | |
| Water 1.3g | |
| Zinc, Zn 0.4mg | |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
