Food: Christmas Crack

Christmas Crack: AKA Poor Man's Toffee

One of the things that I love most about the winter holiday season is baking treats for my friends and family. Several years ago, I hosted a cookie swap party. Everyone was to bring their favorite cookie (or candy) along with enough recipe copies to share. It was so much fun! Not only did I enjoy an evening with dear friends, I also enjoyed many treats. Yum! 

One of the treats shared that night, was Christmas Crack, also known as Saltine Toffee or Poor Man's Toffee. It was delicious. Imagine my pleasant surprise after reading its recipe and discovering it was so simple to make. 

Over the years, I have made a few changes to the original recipe. So, today, I want to share my family's version of Christmas Crack:

Christmas Crack

You will need:

 * about 35 saltine crackers

 * 2 sticks of unsalted butter (1 cup)

 * 1 cup of brown sugar

 * 2 cups of milk chocolate baking morsels (you can substitute semisweet, if desired)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Line a 9 x 15 jellyroll pan with waxed paper. Arrange saltine crackers in pan. 

Heat butter and sugar in a saucepan over low-medium heat. Bring to a boil and boil for 3-5 minutes, until sauce begins to thicken and bubble. Pour evenly over saltines in prepared pan.

Bake pan in oven for 5 minutes.

After removing pan from oven, sprinkle chocolate morsels evenly over crackers. Allow to stand for about 3-4 minutes (or until chocolate is melted). Spread chocolate over crackers. 

Allow pan to cool, and then cool completely in the refrigerator for at least one hour. Once cooled, remove from pan by sliding a spatula under the waxed paper. Then, peel paper from the bottom of crackers. Break crackers into pieces before serving. Be sure to keep in an air tight container for storing.