These easy saltine cracker toffee bars are perfect for anyone who loves sweet and salty desserts, and they’re so easy to make! You can top them with chopped or slivered nuts, but I usually just give them a little bit of flaky sea salt on top. These bars go by a few names, one of the other popular names is “Christmas Crack”, but I always grew up calling these “Sweet & Salty Bars”.
When I was little, these were one of my grandmother’s go-to treats to make, and they were always my favorite! My grandmother always made them with margarine rather than butter, which come out incredibly ooey gooey. Eventually I tried making them with butter, and I was surprised at how hard and crunchy the toffee portion came out. I was hoping for a texture somewhere in the middle of those two, so I tried making them with half margarine and half butter, and the results were perfect! Now this is my go-to way to prepare them.
These bars are a great sweet to keep on hand in the freezer. They’re delicious eaten straight from the freezer, or after warming up on the counter for a few minutes. I usually pack them in freezer zip bags on layers of wax paper, and they don’t take up too much freezer space. If you plan on finishing them off in a week or less, they also store great in the fridge.
Key Tips – Easy Saltine Cracker Toffee
Use 1/2 butter and 1/2 margarine.
- If this recipe is made with two sticks of butter, the toffee portion will come out brittle and crunchy. If it’s made with two sticks of margarine, the toffee will come out very soft and gooey. When made with 1 stick of each, the toffee comes out like a soft but firm caramel, and I think it’s the perfect texture for these bars!
- It may seem silly to use two ingredients that are so similar, but it really does have a big impact on the final texture of these simple bars.
Use good quality chocolate chips.
- This recipe works great with chocolate chips, so you don’t need to splurge on baker’s chocolate bars (unless you want to). That being said, I’d recommend using high quality chocolate chips (like Toll House or Ghirardelli).
- I always use dark chocolate for these bars, but they’re also great with semi-sweet.
Be very careful when handling the tray out of the oven.
- After baking, the shallow baking sheet will be full of hot, liquid caramel. You have to be very careful when removing it from the oven to make sure it doesn’t tip and spill. I highly recommend using two hands to handle the sheet rather than attempting to grab it with just one.
Freeze the bars longer to make breaking them up easier.
- The more frozen the bars are, the easier it is to break them up into individual portions. I usually freeze them for a few hours (or even overnight) for the best results. That said, if you’re in a rush or just cant wait any longer, one hour in the freezer should be enough!
Dietary Restrictions – Easy Saltine Cracker Toffee
This dish is naturally Vegetarian
A Note On Serving Sizes
I’ve listed the serving size as one bar that is about the size of a saltine cracker, which has 100 calories. The size of your bars may vary because they don’t always break into evenly sized pieces.
Easy Saltine Cracker Toffee
Equipment
- 1 jelly roll pan (a cookie sheet with raised edges)
Ingredients
- 40-50 saltine crackers
- 8 tbsp margarine 1 stick, can sub butter, see notes
- 8 tbsp butter 1 stick, can sub margarine, see notes
- 1 cup light brown sugar do not sub dark brown sugar
- 1 10-12 oz package dark or semisweet chocolate chips
- flakey sea salt or nuts, for topping optional
- non-stick spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° F
- Line a large Jelly Roll pan (or rimmed cookie sheet) with aluminum foil, spray with nonstick spray, and arrange the saltines salt-side down in a single layer. Break some crackers into smaller pieces to fill in the edges as needed.
- Melt together the butter and margarine in a saucepan over medium heat. Once melted add the brown sugar. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is bubbling all over and turns a caramel color. Allow the mixture to boil for about a minute, then remove from heat (be careful to ensure it doesn’t boil over).
- Mix well, then pour the mixture over the crackers, covering them as evenly as possible. Put the jelly-roll pan into the oven and bake until the mixture begins to bubble, about 3 minutes. Very carefully remove the pan from the oven, taking care to keep it level, as the pan can easily spill.
- Set the pan down on a heatproof flat surface. Use a butter knife or spatula to re-level any overlapping crackers back into a single layer. Once the mixture has stopped bubbling, scatter the chocolate chips evenly over the top. The chips will take a few minutes to melt completely (it may look too sparse before the chips melt, but don't worry, they will cover all the bars). Spread them as they melt to form an even layer of chocolate on top. Optionally, top with flakey sea salt or slivered nuts once the chocolate is partially set.
- Once the pan is cool to the touch, transfer it to the freezer or fridge and chill until completely cooled (I use the freezer). Once fully chilled, remove from the freezer and peel off the aluminum foil. Break the bars up into pieces, about the size of 1 saltine (it’s okay if the size varies piece to piece). Store in an airtight container between layers of wax paper in the fridge or freezer.
Notes
Nutrition
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If you like this recipe, you may also enjoy my Dark Chocolate Coated Nutty Buddies, Fudge Filled Pumpkin Bars, and Easy Candied Pecans! More dessert recipes coming to the site soon! My old dessert recipes can still be found on Instagram.
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