The Ultimate Christmas Crack Recipe (Paleo & Gluten Free!)
This Christmas Crack recipe is the most delicious twist on a classic holiday favorite. Gluten Free & Paleo, this treat is sure to be a party favorite!
This post was originally posted in 2018 and updated with new photos and copy on 10/30/21.
Any other Christmas Crack fans out there?! The sweet, salty, and addicting toffee cracker treat that everyone loves at cookie exchanges? It’s called Crack for a reason! I love this stuff and wanted to create a gluten free, grain free, and dairy free version. It tastes just as good (in my humble opinion) without any of the junk!
What Makes This Recipe Work
Christmas Crack Candy is a holiday staple. It’s typically made with Saltine Cracker’s, a sweet caramel brown sugar mixture, and covered with chocolate and frozen to perfection. Some people even like to make their Christmas Crack with white chocolate and top with crushed candy canes. It becomes this amazing toffee cracker candy that is totally addicting. It’s such a cute gift to put in a tin and give to your neighbors. I just had to recreate this recipe!
I call this the Ultimate Christmas Crack Recipe because with so many people dealing with dietary restrictions, this truly is the toffee treat that everyone can enjoy. All 5 ingredients are gluten free, grain free, paleo, and if you use vegan butter, it’s dairy free and vegan! This crack candy is the gift that keeps on giving! Your Holiday guests will thank you!
Ingredient Notes
These are the 5 simple ingredients that make Christmas Crack, well, the best Christmas candy ever!
- Simple Mills Grain Free Sea Salt Crackers: Most Christmas Crack recipes call for Saltine crackers, but Saltines aren’t gluten free! These Simple Mills Crackers are grain free and I love them! They do have a slight rosemary/savory taste, but I like that it balances out the sweet caramel and chocolate. You can find these at most Targets, Wegmans, and on Thrive Market. I also get them at Costco! Feel free to use any type of gluten free Saltine replacement and it will work just fine.
- 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.
- coconut sugar: I use coconut sugar instead of brown sugar in my caramel sugar mixture because it has a lower glycemic index and keeps my Christmas crack Paleo!
- butter: I like to use Kerrygold Grass Fed unsalted Butter. I’ve also made this with Miyoko’s Unsalted Vegan Butter and it turned out amazing!
- vanilla extract: just a hint of vanilla adds so much flavor!
How to Make this Christmas Crack Recipe
For as good as Christmas Crack tastes, you’d think the step-by-step process would be way harder than it is! In just a few easy steps, this Christmas Crack recipe comes to life!
- Lay out the crackers on the pan.
- Spread the caramel sugar mixture evenly over the crackers and bake.
- Pour melted chocolate evenly over the caramel sugar mixture and crackers.
- Freeze!
- Okay, Step 5 is just to enjoy this yummy, toffee crack!
*See the recipe card for more detailed instructions!
Mary’s Tips & Tricks
Storage
Refrigerator: Christmas Crack candy is best stored in the refrigerator.
Freezer: You can also freeze it and let it thaw for 10 minutes before eating.
Gifting
Tins: If you want to gift this yummy crack candy to your neighbors or friends, I recommend storing it in the freezer before putting together your tins. Line the tin with parchment paper, place the Christmas Crack in the tin, and keep it in the freezer until you’re ready to gift! Write a cute note letting them know the proper storage instructions.
FAQs
- What other Gluten Free crackers will work? 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, and more!
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Can I use a dairy free butter substitute? You can, however, it’s best to use vegan butter like Miyoko’s or Kite Hill. Some of my readers have had issues with ghee.
More Holiday Treats Please!
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The Ultimate Christmas Crack Recipe (Paleo & Gluten Free!)
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
Equipment
- 9x13 inch pan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400. Line a 9x13 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!
75 Comments on “The Ultimate Christmas Crack Recipe (Paleo & Gluten Free!)”
So simple to make and absolutely delicious
Made this for my moms gift basket this year.. it was so good it didn’t make it in the basket but on the table instead. Good chewy and crispy texture.. will make again.
Nowhere on this page does it show any instructions for using ghee like one of the other comments says. I tried twice.. both attempts failed. I made this last year perfectly and so I’m not sure why it’s not working for me this year with the ghee
This is a staple for us around Christmas! Always a crowd pleaser! I love to finish it off with some flaky sea salt! You always make us look good in the kitchen, Mary!
I just ordered some simply life crackers and cannot wait to make these for our Christmas festivities!! But I’m confused….some of the comments mention coconut cream, but I don’t see it listed as an ingredient? If someone could clarify for me that would be great…Merry Christmas to everyone and thanks for the wonderful recipe!!
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Hi Vanessa, you can store it in the fridge for up to a week!
This looks so good! What a great way to enjoy Christmas treats while sticking to the good stuff!
Thanks Suzanne!
This is my go-to sweet to make during the holidays! So delicious and turns out great every time.
Oh man, I wish I had looked at the comments before diving in! I tried to use some soy free earth balance butter that I had left over from the holidays and like someone else has already shared, the caramel came out as a (very tasty!) sticky mess. Oops! So easy to make though, I’ll have to try again when these run out.
I can taste the rosemary in the crackers but I really don’t mind. These are very sweet but that just means I’ll eat a smaller portion at a time which is probably for the best anyways 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
I love being able to enjoy treats without worrying about being in pain later. Last year I tried with ghee and it did not turn out well. This year I used the vegan butter and it turned out perfect.
So glad to hear it turned out well- thanks Faith!
These taste very good. A bit sweet but my main gripe is that after refrigerating there was a slight white film of butter that hardened on top making them not the prettiest to display 🙁 Did anyone else have the same issue? Not sure if I did something wrong. I otherwise enjoyed them and will still serve them to friends.
Hi! Sorry there was a film – not sure why that would occur? I am curious what type of coconut sugar did you use?
Great recipe!! I used Miyoko’s vegan butter and half coconut sugar and half light brown sugar and it was amazing! You definitely don’t taste anything off with the crackers she recommends since there is a hint of rosemary in them. The key is to cover your cookie sheet with parchment paper so it’s easier to remove from the pan. I did the quick cool method by putting in the freezer for 2 hours. It’s SO addictive and I can’t stop eating it!
Thanks so much Brenda!!
I love this idea. However, the final taste had an undertone of onion and garlic from the crackers. I made another batch with gf graham crackers and it was SO MUCH BETTER.
Hi Tara – I specified that you could use any type of cracker you want (but that I had used Simple Mills) – glad it worked for you with graham crackers!
This was my first time trying the recipe. We have a dairy allergy so we used Flora Plant Butter. It worked great as a substitute. The reason for two stars is that we disliked the flavor profile. The “herby” flavor from the crackers mixed with the sweetness of the Carmel and chocolate just didn’t blend well together. Highly suggest using a different cracker. Otherwise the recipe works well.
I’m making this for the first time with ghee. I see coconut cream listed in ingredients but it’s not listed in the instructions so I added it to the ghee, coconut sugar, maple syrup and water (after already boiled and whisked so I did the process over.)
Hi Lindsey! There is a separate set of instructions for using ghee – you just need to scroll down a little bit. You did it the right way if you added the coconut cream after you removed everything from the heat! Hope it works out for you!
Hi Mary, any tips for getting the parchment off the bottom? Seems really melded together and not peeling off. I made with butter!
Did you possibly use wax paper instead of parchment? The reason I ask is that my husband did the same thing when helping our son bake some macaroons and it would not peel off the bottom. Typically parchment paper doesn’t have that same reaction.
I use parchment every time – I don’t have wax paper here. As long as you spray it first with cooking oil as directed, you should have no issue removing it! 🙂
I used vegan butter and it was delicious!
Hey Beth, with the vegan butter, did you go the Ghee route with the coconut milk, or the other? Trying to figure out which version of the recipe to use with vegan butter. Thanks!
I enjoy these year round! My family (who doesn’t eat paleo) LOVED them too and probably ate more than me 😂. Super yummy!
I literally can’t say enough about this recipe! I made these with my husband for Christmas and we have made them so many times since. I was shocked with how much the caramel tastes like the real thing. They are so easy to make and taste amazing! The most difficult part about this recipe is having enough self control to not eat them all in one sitting! 🙂
Thanks Kelsey! I know these can be quite addicting 🙂 haha I appreciate your kind words!