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Christmas crack candy is a sweet, salty, and addicting toffee cracker treat that everyone loves during the holiday season. This gluten-free, dairy-free and healthier version of the saltine cracker toffee tastes just as good without any of the junk!
What Makes This Christmas Cracker Candy Amazing
Christmas crack candy, also known as "saltine toffee" is a must-have Christmas time staple. It’s typically made with Saltine crackers, a sweet caramel mixture, then covered with chocolate and cooled to perfection. This amazing toffee cracker candy is totally addicting and makes such a cute gift to put in a tin and give to your neighbors. It is my favorite of all the Christmas treats (alongside this Christmas Puppy Chow!
I call this the ultimate Christmas crack recipe because this truly is the toffee treat that everyone can enjoy. All 5 ingredients are gluten-free, grain-free, and paleo, and if you use vegan butter, it’s dairy-free and vegan! I think this gluten-free version tastes even better than the real thing. Perfect for those who have food allergies or intolerances. Want a version with pretzels? Try this Pretzel Christmas Crack for extra crunch!
Ingredient Notes
- Simple Mills Grain-Free Sea Salt Crackers: Most crack candy recipes call for Saltine crackers or Ritz crackers, but those aren’t gluten-free. These Simple Mills Crackers are grain free and so delicious. You can find them at Target, Wegmans, Thrive Market, and Costco. They are thin, crispy, and salty- the perfect cracker to balance out the sweet caramel and chocolate. They do have a bit of a savory rosemary taste to them. If preferred, you can also use gluten free graham crackers or gluten free salty pretzels instead! Schar Table Crackers are also a delicious option that kind of taste like gluten-free saltine crackers.
- Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels: I love these dairy-free dark chocolate chips for this recipe. If you have another favorite brand of dairy-free chocolate chips, feel free to use them for the chocolate shell. You can also use semi-sweet chocolate chips if that’s what you have on hand.
- Coconut Sugar: I use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar in my caramel sugar mixture to make this crack candy Paleo friendly! It has the same deep flavor but is a natural alternative.
- Butter: I like to use Kerrygold Grass Fed unsalted Butter. To make vegan Christmas Crack, I recommend using Miyoko’s Unsalted Vegan Butter. It will taste like the same delicious treat, but without the dairy!
- Vanilla Extract: Just a hint of vanilla adds so much flavor!
How To Make Gluten-Free Christmas Crack
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Line a 9×13 baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Spray with avocado oil or other cooking oil. Line the bottom of the cookie sheet evenly with crackers in a single layer until it is completely covered and they form the bottom layer. Set aside.
- Combine butter and coconut sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low heat and whisk vigorously for 3-4 minutes over a low boil. It will appear to separate, but that’s ok! Stir until it resembles caramel and is a rich brown color. You do not need a candy thermometer – just keep a close eye on it. Remove from heat immediately and add vanilla.
- Pour the caramel mixture over the crackers and spread out while keeping them in an even layer. Put into the oven and bake for 5 minutes until golden and bubbling.
- Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe dish in 20-30 second intervals, stirring in between. When the crackers and toffee mixture come out of the oven, let them cool for 1-2 minutes until the bubbling stops. Pour the melted chocolate overtop and smooth/even out using a butter knife to form the chocolate layer. Top with crushed candy canes, chopped nuts, or chocolate chips, if desired.
- Let the pan cool and refrigerate overnight (or for a minimum of 2 hours for best consistency). Alternatively, you can freeze the pan for 1 hour. Waiting is the hardest part of this recipe! Once ready, remove the foil/parchment paper and cut using a chef’s knife.
Mary’s Tips & Tricks
Storage: This Christmas crack recipe is best stored in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to one week in the refrigerator in an airtight container. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months and let it thaw for 10 minutes before eating. Make sure not to let it sit out at room temperature for too long or it could melt!
Different Toppings: Top with crushed candy canes, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, drizzled white chocolate, M&M’s, holiday sprinkles, or your favorite candy topping!
Gift Tins: This yummy crack candy makes the perfect holiday treat or gift for your neighbors or best friends. I recommend storing it in the freezer before putting together your tins. Then,
- Line the tin with parchment paper
- Place the crack candy in the tin.
- Keep it in the freezer until you’re ready to gift it!
- Write a cute note letting them know the proper storage instructions.
Recipe FAQs
Readers have used all kinds of gluten-free crackers for this Christmas crack recipe. You can really use any cracker! Some that work great are gluten-free graham crackers, almond flour crackers, Schar Table Crackers, and gluten-free pretzels. If you’re not gluten-free, you can use Ritz crackers, Saltines, club crackers, or any other salty cracker you like.
You can, however, it’s best to use vegan butter like Miyoko’s or Kite Hill. Some of my readers have had issues with butter substitutes like Earth Balance.
There are a few reasons this could have happened. Make sure you let the caramel boil for 3-4 minutes before removing it from the heat and pouring it over the crackers. Also, if you didn’t let the crack candy cool down enough before serving, there’s a chance it didn’t get enough time to firm up. Make sure to let it cool in the refrigerator or freezer to harden.
Yes! Follow the same instructions as the original recipe, just swap out the chocolate chips for white chocolate chips.
Unfortunately people have had issues making caramel sauce with ghee. It separates easily. I would avoid it and use vegan butter for this recipe!
More Gluten Free Christmas Desserts
- Paleo Buckeye Balls
- Peppermint Hot Chocolate
- Grain Free Apple Crisp
- Almond Flour Gingersnap Cookies
- Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms
The Ultimate Christmas Crack Recipe
Equipment
- 9×13 inch pan
Ingredients
- 1 4.25 oz box almond flour crackers (or any GF cracker of choice), I used Simple Mills sea salt grain free crackers. There are about 70 crackers in the box. Hu Kitchen is another good brand.
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups dairy free chocolate chips, I used Enjoy Life brand. Hu is great, too!
- 1 cup grass-fed or vegan butter, Kerrygold, Miyokos, and Kite Hill all work great.
- 1 cup coconut sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Line a 9×13 baking pan with foil or parchment paper. Spray with avocado oil or other cooking oil. Line the bottom of the pan evenly with crackers until it is completely covered and they form the bottom layer. Set aside.
- Combine butter and coconut sugar in a small sauce pan over medium high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium low and whisk vigorously for 3-4 minutes. It will appear to separate, but that's ok! Just keep stirring until it resembles caramel and is a rich brown color. Remove from heat immediately and add vanilla.
- Pour the caramel mixture over the crackers. Put into the oven and bake for 5 minutes until golden and bubbling.
- Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a microwave-safe dish in 40 second increments, stirring in between. When the crackers/caramel come out of the oven, let them cool for 1-2 minutes until the bubbling stops. Pour the chocolate overtop and smooth/even out using a butter knife.
- Let the pan cool and refrigerate overnight (or minimum 6 hours for best consistency!) Alternatively you can freeze the pan for 2 hours. Once ready, remove the foil/parchment paper and cut using a chef's knife (you can also use your hands but I find a knife works a bit better!). Serve and enjoy. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days!
Notes
- Line the tin with parchment paper
- Place the crack candy in the tin.
- Keep it in the freezer until you’re ready to gift it!
- Write a cute note letting them know the proper storage instructions.
Nutrition
All nutrition facts are an estimate and automatically calculated. While I fact check them using My Fitness Pal, please note that they may not always be 100% accurate and depend on ingredients used. Weigh your total and divide by the number of servings for the most accurate grams per serving size.
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This post was originally posted on October 29, 2021 and updated with new content on November 7, 2023.
Amazing! Better than store bought
This is the third year I’ve made this recipe. It is SO good and an absolute hit with everyone, GF eaters or not