Best Christmas Crack Recipe

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This is the best Christmas crack recipe because it's easy to make, super delicious, and addictive! Add it to your cookie exchange next to other delicious holiday treats like these classic shortbread cookies and pecan bars!

Christmas crack scattered on a black marbled tray.

I make this Christmas crack recipe several times during the holidays and have been making it for over 15 years! It's one of the holiday treats that take up most of the space on the cookie trays I bring to my family gatherings during Christmas because it's the one everyone always wants to eat the most!

All you need is a few basic ingredients to make this stuff, and the best part is you probably already have all of them in your kitchen. Like all of Cup of Flour recipes, the goal is to make them approachable for you, with ingredients that will be accessible to you at any grocery store or that you likely conveniently already have. To learn more about how Cup of Flour can help you make recipes easily, check out the About page!

Reasons you'll love this recipe

EASY: This is one of the easiest recipes you will ever make. You only need five ingredients, and It will take you all about 15 minutes to make!
FESTIVE: Who doesn’t love Christmas crack during the holidays? It's what everyone looks and hopes for on the dessert table!
ADDICTIVE: This stuff is so good it’ll be hard to put down! The perfect balance of sweet and salty will make your taste buds tingle and your mouth water!
TASTY: This Christmas bark is layered with saltine crackers layered with a velvety smooth caramel and semi-sweet chocolate finish, topped with some chopped roasted pecans.

Sixes pieces of Christmas crack stacked on a wooden table.

Ingredients

CRACKERS: Soda crackers/saltine crackers with salted tops are the best crackers to use for Christmas crack. They have virtually no flavour, and the salt helps balance out the sweetness of the caramel and chocolate. Use 1 pack.
BUTTER: Salted or unsalted butter will both work just as well. Choose your preference. This butter will help make the caramel layer. You will need 1 cup.
BROWN SUGAR: This gets melted with the butter to make the delicious caramel in this recipe. Use 1 cup.
VANILLA EXTRACT: This will add a hint of vanilla to the caramel. Use 1 teaspoon.
CHOCOLATE CHIPS: This recipe uses semi-sweet chocolate chips because the caramel is quite sweet. So to avoid this recipe being overly sweet, semi-sweet chocolate seems to be the perfect option. For people who prefer milk chocolate, go ahead and use that instead. It tastes amazing, but it's just a tad sweeter. The choice is yours! Use 1 package (250 grams).
PECANS: This might be the best part! You will need 1.5 cups of chopped pecans to sprinkle over the Christmas crack. Highly recommended to roast these in the oven beforehand, the roasted nutty flavour makes this recipe taste so much better.

Equipment

BAKING SHEETS: 1 for roasting the pecans and 1 for preparing and baking the Christmas crack.
SMALL POT: For making the caramel.
SPATCHULA: For spreading the caramel and the chocolate chips over the crackers.
MEASURING SPOONS AND CUPS: For measuring the ingredients.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350° F or 177° C.
Prepare two baking sheets with tin foil and spray.
On one of the prepared baking sheets, lay out the crackers, salt faces up. Set aside.
Chop pecans and place them on one of the prepared baking sheets; roast in the oven for 3-5 minutes. Set aside.
Add the butter and brown sugar in a small pot on medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil and stir for 5 minutes.
Add vanilla extract to the same pot, and stir for 1 more minute as it boils.
Pour caramel over the crackers. Use a spatula to distribute it evenly. Bake for 5 minutes.
Add the chocolate chips to the hot caramel when it comes out of the oven. Use a spatula to spread the chocolate chips.
Sprinkle the pecans all over.
Allow to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Place in fridge for 1 hour or until completely frozen.
Crack into pieces using your hands.
Store in an air-tight container in the fridge or the freezer.

Christmas crack in a Holiday cookie tin.

Recipe tips

Roast the pecans. This really elevates the flavour of this Christmas crack. It gives a warm, toasty, festive roasted nut flavour that everyone is looking for during the holidays.
Wait for the dessert to cool before cracking. It won’t crack properly and probably create quite a mess if you try to crack it while it's still warm and not fully solid.
Keep the Christmas crack stored in the fridge or freezer. It's best to do this so the chocolate doesn’t melt at room temperature. It will be ready to eat from the fridge, and it will be ready in 5 minutes if taken to eat from the freezer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are other toppings I can use instead of pecans?

Any nuts! Peanuts are an amazing alternative, and almonds and walnuts also taste great. Other options are crushed candy cane, sprinkles, m&ms, pretzels etc.

How to store Christmas crack?

Store them in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

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