Averie Cooks » Chocolate Saltine Toffee

Chocolate Saltine Toffee

by Averie Sunshine on December 13, 2011

I’ve heard this toffee called Christmas Crack.

I think that name is most fitting but others have more P.C. names for it and some variations on the recipe.

Debbie made Matzoh Caramel Buttercrunch, which inspired Chocolate-Covered Caramelized Matzoh Crunch, which inspired Chocolate Caramel Crackers.

They all used matzoh whereas I used saltines.

Paula Deen also uses saltines and she calls it Pine Bark

Really Paula, with all that butter, sugar, and chocolate, and the best name you could come up with is Pine Bark?

I call it easy and amazing. And crack-like.

But because I didn’t want a bunch of crack addicts Stumbling my site, I kept certain words out of the recipe title. They may still come trolling, but they’ll be surprised when they get here and find this instead of what they may have been looking for.

Recipe looks a little long but I am just being extra thorough explaining the steps. It’s very easy: Boil sugar and butter, pour over saltines, bake, add chocolate chips. Done. But I want to make sure no one messes up their crack so am being very detailed.

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Chocolate Saltine Toffee (with vegan and gluten free options)

30 to 40 saltine crackers (I have seen recipes call for 40 but I used about 32 crackers)

1 c butter (2 sticks)

1 c brown sugar, packed (I used half light and half dark because that’s what I had on hand and open)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (some recipes I have seen do not call for it, but I recommend it)

1.5 to 2 c chocolate chips (I used one 12-ounce bag of TJ’s semi sweet morsels, also see optional note below)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9 x 11 pan or similar with aluminum foil and spray it very well with cooking spray. (Do not try to make this without using foil; you will hate yourself). Place saltine crackers in a single layer on the bottom of the pan. (Some recipes suggest using a jelly roll pan which may allow for a slightly bigger batch, i.e. 40 crackers, but it’s a bit too shallow for my comfort zone and didn’t want any bubble-overs)

In a saucepan on the stovetop, combine butter and sugar and bring to a boil while stirring constantly. Once a boil is reached, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 3 to 5 minutes or until mixture has thickened some. Take care not that your simmer is not too fast/too high because it will be prone to bubbling over or scorching. Stir mixture frequently while it simmers to avoid bubbling over or scorching (The taste of burnt butter and sugar is awful so do not burn it)

After mixture has thickened a bit, remove it from the heat, wait 30 seconds, add the vanilla extract and stir.

Pour mixture over the prepared pan with the saltine crackers. Bake this in the preheated 350F oven for 5- 7 minutes, or until toffee/liquid becomes bubbly.

After removing the pan from the oven, let it sit for 3-5 minutes.

Sprinkle on the chocolate chips and wait for 3-5 minutes, letting them soften and melt a bit, and then spread and smooth them into an even layer with a spatula.

Optional: After smoothing the chocolate, add nuts, seeds, graham cracker crumbs, toffee bits, dried fruit, candy bits, or swirl in some peanut butter or other nut butter.

Optional: Use other types of chips, such as butterscotch, white, peanut butter, etc. either in addition to or in a half-and-half combination with the dark chocolate chips for your top layer.

Let cool very well and if desired for expediting purposes, refrigerate or freeze until hardened. Break into pieces the size of your choice.

Store in an airtight container on the countertop. Or, for longer term storage, freeze it. I freeze all my desserts regardless and have been eating this straight out of the freezer.

To keep gluten free, use GF crackers or make your own GF saltine crackers

To keep vegan, use margarine/Earth Balance and use a vegan cracker

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I recommend making this for a holiday party or as a Homemade Holiday Food Gift for folks on your to-buy-for (or to-make-for) list.

You may not necessarily want it all around your house. Because it’s really, really addictive. As the name would imply.

There is also no saltine cracker taste. The crackers make for the perfect toffee base that holds all the gooey, caramely, wonderfulness together.

But you definitely don’t bite into the toffee and say oh, this tastes like saltines.

When I gave it to Scott and asked him what he thought was in it he said, “chocolate?” Yes, good call, Einstein. But he had no clue there was toffee in it.

This is an iPhone picture taken in a very hot Aruba kitchen at about 11:17pm the other night as the chocolate chips were poured over the almost finished ~~crack~~ saltine toffee.

Between the 86F degree evening, no A/C in the kitchen, the stovetop that I had on to boil the butter and sugar, and then the 350F oven that was on, I’m pretty sure you could have fried an egg on my forehead I was so hot.

Same thing when I was trying to take the pictures the next day. It was literally melting before my eyes.

The brown sugar + butter base and the chocolate top? Not exactly Caribbean heatproof. Best to keep this stuff chilled or at normal (wintertime in the U.S.) room temperatures

But this stuff was well worth every hot, melty moment.

Questions:

1. Have you ever tried Christmas Crack, Chocolate Saltine Toffee, or something similar?

2. What’s the most addictive holiday treat you make or like to eat at someone else’s house?

I am going to say the White Chocolate Peanut Butter Vanilla Puppy Chow ranks right up there for me.

Or else the original dark chocolate puppy chow, too.

Edited to add: The Chocolate Saltine Toffee was featured on FoodGawker where the editors of Martha Stewart and Martha’s Circle noticed it and featured it on Martha Stewart’s site.

See this post for more info.

The news and feature made for one of my happiest and proudest blogging moments. To say I was shocked, but incredibly honored, is an understatement.