Gluten Free Christmas Crack is just as addicting as it sounds! A layer of salty crackers is topped with a sweet caramel toffee and topped with a thin layer of chocolate. This Christmas candy has the perfect balance of sweet and salty in every bite!
Reasons to love Gluten Free Christmas Crack:
- Highly-addicting sweet and salty candy
- Can be made entirely gluten and dairy free (vegan too!)
- Perfect for gift giving
- No candy thermometer is needed for the caramel layer
Ingredients in this Christmas Cracker Recipe:
Gluten Free Crackers- I have used both Schär’s Entertainment Crackers and Schär’s Table Crackers in this recipe with success. The entertainment crackers are just like Ritz crackers and the Table Crackers are like saltines. You could even use gluten free graham crackers or pretzels. If you are not gluten free, you can use regular saltine crackers, Ritz cracker or graham crackers.
Butter- or you can use regular or dairy free butter. My favorite dairy free butter is Country Crock’s Plant Butter.
Brown Sugar- you can also sub in coconut sugar.
Vanilla
Chocolate Chips- use your favorite chocolate chips.
Flaky Sea Salt and/or Christmas Sprinkles- or any other topping you’d like! You can also add chopped nuts to the top.
How to make Christmas Crack:
Line the baking tray: Line the baking tray with aluminum foil or parchment paper. If using aluminum foil, make sure to spray with a non-stick spray. I like to line my baking tray with aluminum foil first and then a sheet of parchment paper for easy cleanup. Line the tray with the gluten free crackers, making a single layer (as depicted in the photos below). Set aside.
Make the caramel toffee: Melt the butter and sugar together in a sauce pan over medium heat, whisking frequently. Bring to a boil and continue to boil for 3-4 minutes, whisking rigorously. The caramel is done once golden and caramel in color (coconut sugar will be on the darker side). The caramel will also begin to pull away from the sides when it is ready.
Pour and bake: Pour the caramel over the crackers and spread into an even layer covering all of the crackers. I like to pour all over the crackers so I don’t have to spread as much since it can be tricky to spread. Once the crackers are covered in the caramel, bake for 5 minutes, or until the caramel is bubbling.
Top with chocolate: Top the crackers with the chocolate chips, spreading them over the crackers. Bake for 1 minute. Using a rubber spatula or the back of the spoon, spread the chocolate into an even layer on top of the caramel crackers. If desired, top with your favorite toppings. I used flaky sea salt and fun, Christmas sprinkles.
Chill until set: Chill in the fridge for at least one hour, or until set.
Cut, break and enjoy: Cut or break the Christmas Crack into pieces and enjoy!
Tips for the best Gluten Free Christmas Crack:
- Top with your favorite toppings! You can use flaky sea salt, Christmas sprinkles, chopped nuts, etc.
- When spreading the caramel sauce over the crackers, be careful and gentle as the crackers tend to move because of the sticky caramel. Just put them back into place- it doesn’t have to be perfect, it will still taste just as delicious!
- When putting the chocolate chips on top, disperse them as evenly as possible on top of the crackers to make spreading the chocolate easier.
How to store Vegan Christmas Crack:
Store in a container or Ziploc in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 2 months. I love storing it in the freezer and taking it out whenever I want a sweet and salty snack!
Frequently Asked Questions:
You can use gluten free Ritz crackers or gluten free graham crackers. You could also try using gluten free pretzels.
Make sure you have completely chilled the Christmas crack and have let the caramel set before serving. If it is not set all the way, the caramel toffee layer will be chewy. Also, make sure you let the caramel boil for the 3-4 minutes before pouring it on the crackers. Even if it’s starting to pull away from the sides, let the caramel boil and whisk vigorously for the full 3-4 minutes.
You sure can! You can use semi-sweet chocolate, white chocolate, milk chocolate or dark chocolate in this recipe.
No, you do not need a thermometer. This is an easy candy recipe that everyone can make! Just make sure to follow the directions and your Christmas crack will be foolproof to make.
I used a a half sheet baking tray which measures 17″x12″. You could also use an 9×13 baking tray for this. You might just need to use less crackers, but the other measurements should stay the same.
The sky’s the limit with toppings. I used flaky sea salt and festive Christmas Sprinkles. You could add chopped nuts, pretzel pieces, crushed candy bars, crushed candy canes, Reese’s Pieces, mini peanut butter cups- really anything that sounds good!
No, you can also use a knife to cut the pieces if you do not want to break them by hand.
I like to line my cookie sheet with aluminum foil and then place a sheet or parchment paper on top. If you are using just aluminum foil, make sure to spray with non-stick spray.
Craving other delicious recipes? Take a look!
- No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars
- Oreo Cheesecake Dip
- Hot Cocoa Cookies
- Strawberry Cheesecake Truffles
- Hot Cocoa Dip
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Gluten Free Christmas Crack
Gluten Free Christmas Crack is just as addicting as it sounds! A layer of salty crackers is topped with a sweet caramel toffee and topped with a thin layer of chocolate. This Christmas candy has the perfect balance of sweet and salty in every bite!
Ingredients
- 24 gluten free crackers, amount will vary based on cracker you use (I used Schär Table Crackers)
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, dairy free if needed
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- Flaky sea salt or Christmas sprinkles for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line the baking tray: Line the baking tray with aluminum foil or parchment paper. If using aluminum foil, make sure to spray with a non-stick spray. I like to line my baking tray with aluminum foil first and then a sheet of parchment paper for easy cleanup. Line the tray with the gluten free crackers, making a single layer (as depicted in the photos below). Set aside.
- Make the caramel toffee: Melt the butter and sugar together in a sauce pan over medium heat, whisking frequently. Bring to a boil and continue to boil for 3-4 minutes, whisking rigorously. The caramel is done once golden and caramel in color (coconut sugar will be on the darker side). The caramel will also begin to pull away from the sides when it is ready.
- Pour and bake: Pour the caramel over the crackers and spread into an even layer covering all of the crackers. I like to pour all over the crackers so I don't have to spread as much since it can be tricky to spread. Once the crackers are covered in the caramel, bake for 5 minutes, or until the caramel is bubbling.
- Top with chocolate: Top the crackers with the chocolate chips, spreading them over the crackers. Bake for 1 minute. Using a rubber spatula or the back of the spoon, spread the chocolate into an even layer on top of the caramel crackers. If desired, top with your favorite toppings. I used flaky sea salt and fun, Christmas sprinkles.
- Chill until set: Chill in the fridge for at least one hour, or until set.
- Cut, break and enjoy: Cut or break the Christmas Crack into pieces and enjoy!
