This is the ultimate Halloween and fall season sweet treat that is made with saltine crackers and candy! An easy cracker candy recipe that is made with crackers with chocolate and has a saltine toffee base. If you like cracker bars, you'll love this easy candy recipe!
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Cracker candy is the ultimate sweet treat for any occasion, but I especially love making it during Halloween because I can use leftover Halloween candy to make this saltine candy crack. Cracker candy is a really easy candy to make. It's made with saltine crackers that is coated in toffee and topped with melted chocolate. If you've never made candy before or have been intimidated to try, this is one of the easiest candy recipes you will ever make. And, it only takes 25 minutes to make!
Ingredients You'll Need
There are only 4 required ingredients you need when making cracker candy: butter, brown sugar, saltine crackers, and chocolate morsels. I prefer using mini semisweet chocolate chip morsels because they melt quickly. Making the toffee is really easy and simply involves melting dark brown sugar and butter. I use dark brown sugar because it is made with molasses, which brings forth more of a toffee flavor. There is no need to add any additional salt because the crackers provide enough to tone down some of the sweetness. This is a salty cracker recipe so buy salted crackers instead of unsalted. The salt in the butter also helps cut some sweetness.
My preference is to use Reese's Pieces and pumpkin spice morsels, but you can use any type of candy you want. Leftover Halloween candy is fun to use when making cracker candy. I've used the miniature chocolate bars (Mr. Goodbar, Krackle, etc.), a crumbled up Snickers bar and even M&Ms chocolate and it was so tasty! I've also used twix chocolate bars and Nestle crunch bars. Milky way chocolate and kit kat chocolate are also really good. The candy combinations are truly endless!
Step-by-Step Recipe Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F. For this cracker candy recipe, start by lining a quarter (9x13) cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Expert Tip: The shiny side of the aluminum foil should be facing up to help maintain the heat while baking. Use your favorite brand of saltine crackers and lay them side-by-side on the cookie sheet so they are touching.
You want to make sure the crackers are laid out evenly and touching on all sides, but not overlapping. Expert Tip: Fold up the edges of the foil to keep the crackers in place and prevent the toffee from spilling out onto the pan.
Next, it's time to make the caramel toffee. Place the salted butter and brown sugar into a large saucepan. Set the stovetop burner to medium-high heat.
When the brown sugar and butter start to melt, they are going to start bubbling. Get a spoon ready because we are about to start stirring! You want the toffee caramel sauce to stay at a rolling boil until the toffee starts to get thick. Then, let the mixture boil for about 3 minutes, stirring to ensure it's not sticking or burning. You want the caramel toffee mixture to be maintained at a rolling boil so some of the moisture can evaporate.
After the caramel toffee is at the consistency above, pour it onto the tray of salted crackers.
Using a spatula, spread the warm caramel toffee as evenly as possible onto the salted crackers. Expert Tip: Make sure you spread the caramel toffee quickly because it will start to thicken and solidify. You can even use a basting brush to help spread.
Now that you have the caramel toffee spread evenly, put the cookie sheet of salted crackers topped with caramel toffee into the preheated oven. Your goal here is to let the mixture get hot and bubbly. This usually takes about 5 minutes so keep your eye on this process so it doesn't burn!
Once the caramel toffee is hot and bubbly, pull the cookie sheet out of the oven and evenly spread the mini chocolate morsels, Reese's Pieces, any other candy you are using, and pecans chips. Spread them as evenly as you can with a spatula. Expert Tip: This process will entail mixing and swirling all the candies into the hot caramel. The goal here is to combine the candy flavors while they start to melt.
Place the cookie sheet back into the oven for another 5-7 minutes or until the chocolate morsels start to melt. It's important to note that the Reese's Pieces and other candy you use won't completely melt. And that's ok! Once the chocolate has started to melt, remove the cookie sheet from the oven.
Now the cracker candy needs to get cold so it can become hard. Place a potholder or kitchen towel in the refrigerator and then place the cookie sheet into the refrigerator for about 1-2 hours so these candy crackers can harden.
Once the saltine cracker candy is hard, it's ready to break! Using your hands, start pulling up the bark from the aluminum foil and break it into pieces.
Divine, right?!?
And that's it...you're ready to enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
The texture is supposed to be firm and when you bite into it, there should be a soft and sugary texture. If you didn't let the brown sugar and butter cook long enough, then it tends to be more on the chewy side. Make sure you boil the brown sugar and butter for at least 3 minutes so the moisture can boil off and set appropriately. Use butter for this recipe, not margarine.
Use a good quality brand of chocolate such as Dove, Ghirardelli, or Hershey's. Instead of using chocolate morsels, you can also use the little bars of chocolate from a Hershey's bar. Enjoy Life brand is also excellent to use if you are looking for a vegan chocolate. You can even use dark chocolate or white chocolate.
You can use Club crackers and Ritz crackers. Both taste great with this salty cracker recipe, especially because they have a buttery flavor. You can even use pretzels instead of crackers!
My preference is to store it in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator. IT can be stored at room temperature on the counter, but I prefer it cold and crunchy. You can also freeze cracker candy.
It will last for up to 2 weeks, regardless if you store it in the refrigerator or on the counter.
Expert Tips
- If you want to make a gluten free cracker candy, you can use a gluten free saltine cracker like Schar Naturally Gluten-Free Table Crackers. It's also easy to make a vegan version of this recipe is you use vegan butter and vegan chocolate.
- If you want to add a pumpkin spice flavor, use these Nestle Pumpkin Spice Toll House Morsels. And these M&M's Candy Corn White Chocolate Candies are also pretty fabulous!
- To cut some of the sweetness, try using a dark chocolate morsel like these Nestle Dark Chocolate Morsels. Adding in pretzel sticks can also help cut the sweetness, as well.
- To avoid the cracker candy from sticking to the aluminum foil, use a cooking spray or evenly spread butter onto the aluminum foil before placing the crackers. Heavy-duty foil works best because it’s easy to peel away. You can also use parchment paper and there is no greasing needed if you go this route.
- When you're breaking the bark, make sure you tear off any stubborn aluminum foil that may stick. It likes to stick to the bottom of the caramel and crackers.
Other Sweet Treats You'll Enjoy
If you're looking for some additional fall favorite sweet treats here at Recipes Worth Repeating, check out these Gluten Free Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies. They have a Reeses Pieces flavor to them.
My Apple Pumpkin Spice Cake with Butter Rum Glaze screams fall flavor with the tastes of apple and pumpkin spice. And since we're on a pumpkin spice kick, these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins are great for breakfast, a snack, or even dessert!
Follow Recipes Worth Repeating for more amazing recipes!
Halloween Cracker Candy
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter,
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 sleeves saltine crackers
- 12 ounce bag semisweet mini chocolate chip morsels
- ½ cup Reese's pieces
- ½ cup other favorite candies, chopped
- chopped pecans, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Line a 9x13 cookie sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Expert Tip: If using aluminum foil, spray with a non-stick spray. There is no need to grease the parchment paper.
- Place saltine crackers side-by-side until the cookie sheet is filled. Set aside.
- In a large saucepan, melt the butter and dark brown sugar on medium-high heat.
- Bring the mixture to a rolling boil for about 3 minutes while stirring to ensure no sticking or burning.
- After the caramel toffee has boiled for about 3 minutes, evenly pour it onto the saltine crackers. Take a spatula and spread the caramel toffee evenly onto the crackers.
- Place the cookie sheet into the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the caramel sauce starts to boil.
- Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and evenly distribute the semisweet chocolate morsels onto the boiling caramel. NOTE: The chocolate won't be completely melted at this point and that's ok.
- Add in the reese's pieces, any other candies, and pecan chips. Take a spatula and spread evenly so the candies can start to melt.
- Put the cookie sheet back into the oven and let cook, just long enough for the candies and chocolate to melt, about 5-7 minutes.
- Once the chocolate morsels have melted, remove the cookie sheet from the oven and place in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours to chill.
- Once the bark has completely cooled and is cold, remove the cookie sheet from the refrigerator and start to break the bark into bite size pieces.
- Store the candy bark in the refrigerator or in an airtight container on the counter for up to 2 weeks.
Video
Notes
- If you want to make a gluten free cracker candy, you can use a gluten free saltine cracker like Schar Naturally Gluten-Free Table Crackers. It's also easy to make a vegan version of this recipe is you use vegan butter and vegan chocolate.
- To cut some of the sweetness, try using a dark chocolate morsel like these Nestle Dark Chocolate Morsels. Adding in pretzel sticks can also help cut the sweetness, as well.
- To avoid the cracker candy from sticking to the aluminum foil, use a cooking spray or evenly spread butter onto the aluminum foil before placing the crackers. Heavy-duty foil works best because it’s easy to peel away. You can also use parchment paper and there is no greasing needed if you go this route.
- When you're breaking the bark, make sure you tear off any stubborn aluminum foil that may stick. It likes to stick to the bottom of the caramel and crackers.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published in August 2018, but was re-published with updated step-by-step instructions, pictures and tips in September 2021.
Jordan
Halloween? Already? Ok. Cue the Jason & Michael Myers movies, if I must! And this bark, too. I would devour a bowl of this!
Kitty
Halloween is my favorite holiday so nothing excites me more than seeing candy recipes fo my favorite day!!!! #doihavetogiveoutallofthecandy?
Kelsey
I still have candy left over from last years Halloween! LOL So this is a great way to use it up and we all can enjoy it!
Julie
These look like such great treats to share with friends or neighbors. But man, I am so not ready to think about Halloween yet!