The holidays are FINALLY over and the last of the Christmas bakes are disappearing from my apartment. You can tell by my significantly rounder belly HAHAHA
One of my favorite treats to make during the holidays is Saltine Cracker Toffee (aka Christmas Crack). It is one of the easiest and quickest sweets to make and everyone goes bonkers for it. I also love that it is versatile with the kind of chocolate and toppings you can choose. I love using dark chocolate because it helps prevent it from being sickeningly sweet like milk chocolate (no shade against milk chocolate lovers). I also prefer using a more savory and/or earthy topping like toasted nuts to compliment the rich sweetness of the toffee layer. However, feel free to be as creative as you like with the topping layer.
INGREDIENTS
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
10 oz 60% cacao dark chocolate morsels
½ cup unsalted pistachios, shelled & toasted
1 tbsp sea salt
40 saltine crackers (~1 ¼ sleeves)
Cooking spray
Aluminum foil
METHOD
Heat a medium nonstick frying pan over medium heat and add the pistachios. Spread them evenly in the pan and allow them to sit for 10 to 15 seconds, then stir again. Keep stirring every 10 to 15 seconds for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the nuts become fragrant. Be careful not to let them burn on any hotspots! Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl of a food processor. Allow to cool completely. NOTE: If you are using candy as your topping, skip to step 2.
Once the pistachios are completely cool, manually pulse them in the food processor until roughly chopped. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a large rimmed baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Spread the crackers on the foil in a single layer. Cut some of the crackers in half to get as close to the edge of the baking pan as possible. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract on medium-high heat. Bring to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Carefully pour over the bed of crackers and spread with a small spatula to cover the crackers completely and evenly.
Bake for 5 minutes in the oven. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle the chocolate morsels on top.
Let stand for 2 minutes, until the chocolate starts to look shiny and soft. Place back in the oven for 1 minute to help melt the chocolate. Remove from the oven and evenly spread the chocolate over the toffee in an even layer.
Evenly sprinkle the sea salt over the top of the chocolate layer, followed by the toasted pistachios (or candy pieces).
Allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 to 3 hours to harden. Peel away the foil and cut into pieces (PS - reserve the crumbles to sprinkle on another batch of saltine toffee or on ice cream!).
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