The Gift of Candy Crack
Gift-making season is the absolute best… Who’s with me? This Chocolate Toffee Christmas Crack Recipe makes the best sweet addicting present. The holidays give us an excuse to spoil our friends, stir up our creative mojo, and get in some much needed therapy cooking/baking all at the same time. Therapy Baking: The slow relaxed process of baking (or cooking) because you want to; not because you have to. It’s chill, anxiety-free, and makes you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. But I digress, edible gifts are my favorite kind of homemade gift because they can be enjoyed by the entire family. When you give someone a box of homemade peppermint fudge or soft bourbon caramels, you know that they are going to share the wealth with those they love. So when I give gifts I know are going to be shared, I secretly feel like a kindly puppet master, perpetuating good will and generosity to all. I’m pulling the strings, but in a spirit of love. wink
“Christmas Crack”
Today’s Chocolate Toffee Christmas Crack Candy is the ultimate edible gift. It’s rich, salty-sweet, crunchy, chocolatey, nutty, and totally irresistible. In fact, it’s as addictive as crack, some might say. I realize drugs of any kind are not a joking matter, but “Christmas Crack” does seem to be the dedicated name to this particular type of treat. So please forgive that fact that I’m going along with the trend.
What is Christmas Crack?
Traditional Christmas Crack (or Saltine Cracker Toffee) consists of toffee poured over saltine crackers, then baked. The result is a devilishly addictive treat, both salty and sweet! We decided to revamp the traditional method, making it a finger-popping snack that you can munch in small pieces. Therefore, we made our Chocolate Toffee Christmas Crack Recipe with small oyster crackers, instead of saltines. And we made it entirely on the stovetop for quality control of the candy coating.
Cracker Toffee Coating
You see, when you try to create a candy coating by baking you can either
A) Set the temperature of the oven on the exact temperature in which you want your sugar coating to boil, or you can… B) Crank the heat up and wing it.
The problem with a lower “boiling-point” oven temperature is that sometimes it takes so long for the candy coating to get where it needs to be, that you over-bake the crackers, nuts, or anything else you are candying in the process. Whereas, when you turn the heat up high, trying to “candy” faster and not over bake, you risk missing the mark entirely. Therefore candy coatings are best made on the stovetop with a candy thermometer.
Toffee Temperature Control
That way, you can create the exact sheen and texture you desire. If you like hard shiny toffee coatings, make sure your toffee reaches between 300 – 305 degrees F. If you like a less-glossy crumbly toffee texture shoot for 290 – 295 degrees F. Toffee boiled to 290 degrees F. Toffee boiled to 300 degrees F.
Oyster Crackers, Chocolate, and Nuts
Once the toffee coating reaches the proper boiling temperature, stir in the oyster crackers, and dump them out on parchment paper to dry. Then drizzle melted chocolate over the top and sprinkle the munch with your favorite nuts. After the chocolate dries, break the Christmas Crack Candy into pieces and package it up for friends and family! I’d bet money they’ll come around asking for more!
How Quickly Can I Make Christmas Crack?
Pretty fast! About 25-30 minutes, plus dry time. If you need the chocolate to dry faster, you can place the munch on baking sheets before drizzling it with chocolate, then place the baking sheets in the refrigerator.
Can I Stir The Nuts Into The Candy Mixture With The Crackers?
Absolutely! I’ve actually done that before. I just like the way the Munch looks when you can see the nuts on top.
Other Holiday Recipes You Might Enjoy:
Baked Cranberry Brie Bites The Best Pumpkin Pie Recipe Holiday Wine Punch Cocktails Oven Roasted Vegetables with Maple Glaze Eggnog Pancakes – Cooking Classy Bacon Pecan Brittle Peanut Butter Potato Candy Fluffy Divinity Candy Recipe Ginger Candy Chocolate and Peanut Butter Candy Bourbon Vanilla Extract
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