Saltine Cracker Candy for Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day Crack Candy is a sweet dessert that features layers of salty crackers, buttery toffee, and rich chocolate, decorated with Valentine’s Day sprinkles and M&Ms.
Chances are you’ve enjoyed this popular saltine cracker candy during the holidays.
The only difference between Christmas Crack, as it’s called, and Valentine Crack, is the color of the candy toppings. (I also think we should name this recipe Cupid’s Crack. What do you think?)
No matter what you call this amazing chocolate-covered toffee treat, the recipe falls in the “quick and easy” category and comes out amazing.
You might even fall in love with it!
What is Crack Candy?
Crack Candy, also called cracker candy, is a toffee brittle dessert that’s made with a base of saltine crackers.
The recipe is mostly made with pantry staples, but the result is nothing short of addictive.
This treat is like the perfect storm of sweet and salty, buttery and chocolatey, and is hard to stop eating.
So is crack short for crackers or because it’s so addictive? The guess is yours.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
Easy sweet treat for a Valentine’s Day party. If you need a Valentine’s Day dessert for a large group this toffee cracker candy is a great option. A tray serves about a dozen people and if you’ve got a really large group, it’s just as easy to make a double batch.
Simple to make. This recipe is pretty much just layering the ingredients on a tray. The only tricky part is making the toffee on the stove, but if you can stir butter and sugar on the stove without walking away for 3 minutes, you’re golden.
Ingredients Needed
- Saltine Crackers
- Brown Sugar
- Butter
- Chocolate Chips
- Valentine’s Day Sprinkles & Candies
Saltine Crackers – You’ll need about a sleeve of crackers, but the exact amount depends on the size of your tray.
My 10×14 tray fit 35 crackers (5 across, 7 down).
Light Brown Sugar – This is used to make the toffee layer.
Salted Butter – Use salted butter for this recipe. If you don’t have any, use unsalted butter plus 1/4 teaspoon table salt.
Even though the crackers are salty, the candy recipe has a whole lot of sweet going on and that extra touch of salt in the butter balances it out.
Chocolate Chips – Use Nestle Toll House semi-sweet chocolate morsels or your favorite brand. Make note, chocolate chips do contain stabilizers to help them retain their chip shape, but if you get your toffee hot enough, they melt perfectly into a spreadable chocolate.
Valentine’s Day Sprinkles & Candies – To keep the cost in check, get a single bottle of Valentine’s sprinkles that contains a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. I love the one I got from Target that has little hearts and pearls. For a little more texture and chocolate, I added a handful of Valentine’s Day M&Ms, as well.
Tools Needed
Rimmed Baking Tray – Make sure your tray has a rim to hold in the liquid toffee.
For reference, my tray in the pictures is 10×14 inches (an oddball size) and holds 35 saltines.
Use as many crackers as your tray holds. For every four additional crackers (beyond 40), use 1 additional tablespoon of both butter and brown sugar, and 2 additional tablespoons of chocolate chips.
Foil – Line the tray with foil, not parchment paper. Make sure to go up the sides of the pan with foil so the hot toffee doesn’t seep under the foil. It also makes it easy to lift the entire sheet of crack candy out of the tray.
Spray the foil with a light coat of cooking spray, or do what I do–take the stick of butter that you’re going to use to make the toffee, and rub it over the foil.
Heavy-Bottom Saucepan – Let’s file this section under, “learn from my mistakes!” I burned my toffee twice in a thin-bottom stainless steel saucepan before I realized the pan was the culprit.
For toffee, it’s a must to use a heavy-bottom pan for even heat distribution. This minimizes the risk of burning the sugar while it’s melting.
Rubber Spatula – I use a small rubber spatula to stir the toffee while it’s cooking on the stove, to spread the toffee over the crackers and to spread the melted chocolate over the toffee layer.
You can use an offset spatula (if you have one) for spreading the toffee and chocolate, as well.
Candy Thermometer – A thermometer is useful to know for certain that the toffee has reached the soft-crack stage (270°F) and is ready to pour. If you don’t have one (I don’t) just boil and stir for 3 minutes.
Steps to Make Valentine’s Day Crack Candy
Before you begin making the toffee portion of the Valentine’s Day Crack Candy, it’s important to line your tray with foil and crackers.
Detailed recipe and instructions are in recipe card at bottom of post.
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and lightly grease it with butter or cooking spray. Fill the tray with saltine crackers and set aside. If your tray has slightly rounded corners just break off a bit of the corner on four crackers so they fit. Set aside.
- Use a heavy-bottom saucepan to make the toffee. First, melt butter over low heat. When the butter is mostly melted, stir in the brown sugar and increase the heat to medium. Stir continuously so the sugar does not burn. Once the mixture begins to boil, set a timer for 2-3 minutes and continue stirring without stopping. The toffee mixture thickens as it cooks and becomes lighter in color. It’s ready to pour when it reaches 270°F on a candy thermometer, or at about the 3 minute mark.
- Immediately pour the liquid toffee over the crackers, and spread it evenly using a spatula. Place the tray in the oven for 5 minutes. The toffee will be bubbling.
- As soon as you remove the tray from the oven, sprinkle the un-melted chocolate chips over the toffee in a single layer, then cover the tray tightly with another sheet of foil. Do NOT return to oven. Leave the foil on for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, get your Valentine’s sprinkles and M&Ms ready.
- After 5 minutes, remove the foil cover. Using a rubber spatula or offset spatula, spread the melted chocolate chips evenly over the toffee, working it into the edges and corners. While the chocolate is still soft, decorate the candy with Valentine’s sprinkles and M&Ms.
- Let the cracker candy cool, then place in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours before cutting. You can slice the crack candy with a sharp knife or just break it into random pieces using your hands.
Recipe Notes
- Completely fill the tray with crackers even if you have to break some in half. This way the crackers can’t wiggle around when you spread the toffee and melted chocolate layers.
- Line the tray with foil and crackers before you start the toffee. The toffee needs to be stirred continuously while you’re making it AND poured over the crackers as soon as it’s ready.
- Make the toffee in a saucepan with a heavy bottom. The heat distributes more evenly than a thinner pan and the toffee is less likely to burn.
- You don’t need to return the tray to the oven after adding the chocolate chips. Just sprinkle the chocolate chips over the bubbling hot toffee as soon as it comes out of the oven and tightly cover the tray with a sheet a foil. After 5 minutes, the chocolate is melted and spreads easily.
- Let the candy cool and harden before slicing or cracking. After 1-2 hours in the refrigerator it will be ready. You can also place it in the freezer to speed up the process.
More Valentine’s Day Recipes
Valentine's Day Crack (Saltine Cracker Toffee Candy)
Valentine's Day saltine cracker toffee is sweet and salty, chocolatey and crunchy, and tastes amazing. The recipe has just 5 ingredients and takes under 30 minutes to make. A sheet tray of Valentine Crack candy, broken into pieces, is perfect for parties, or an extra special treat for your family on this day of love.
Ingredients
- 35-40 saltine crackers
- 3/4 cup salted butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
- Valentine's sprinkles and M&M candies, for decorating
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and lightly grease it with butter or cooking spray. Fill the tray with saltine crackers and set aside. If your tray has slightly rounded corners just break off a bit of the corner on four crackers so they fit. Set aside.
- Use a heavy-bottom saucepan to make the toffee. First, melt butter over low heat. When the butter is mostly melted, stir in the brown sugar and increase the heat to medium. Stir continuously so the sugar does not burn. Once the mixture begins to boil, set a timer for 2-3 minutes and continue stirring without stopping. The toffee mixture thickens as it cooks and becomes lighter in color. It's ready to pour when it reaches 270°F on a candy thermometer, or at about the 3 minute mark.
- Immediately pour the liquid toffee over the crackers, and spread it evenly using a spatula. Place the tray in the oven for 5 minutes. The toffee will be bubbling.
- As soon as you remove the tray from the oven, sprinkle the un-melted chocolate chips over the toffee in a single layer, then cover the tray tightly with another sheet of foil. Do NOT return to oven. Leave the foil on for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, get your Valentine's sprinkles and M&Ms ready.
- After 5 minutes, remove the foil cover. Using a rubber spatula or offset spatula, spread the melted chocolate chips evenly over the toffee, working it into the edges and corners. While the chocolate is still soft, decorate the candy with Valentine's sprinkles and M&Ms.
- Let the cracker candy cool, then place in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours before cutting. You can slice the crack candy with a sharp knife or just break it into random pieces using your hands.
- Store in an airtight container.
Notes
- Completely fill the tray with crackers even if you have to break some in half. This way the crackers can't wiggle around when you spread the toffee and melted chocolate layers.
- Line the tray with foil and crackers before you start the toffee. The toffee needs to be stirred continuously while you're making it AND poured over the crackers as soon as it's ready.
- Make the toffee in a saucepan with a heavy bottom. The heat distributes more evenly than a thinner pan and the toffee is less likely to burn.
- You don't need to return the tray to the oven after adding the chocolate chips. Just sprinkle the chocolate chips over the bubbling hot toffee as soon as it comes out of the oven and tightly cover the tray with a sheet a foil. After 5 minutes, the chocolate is melted and spreads easily.
- Let the candy cool and harden before slicing or cracking. After 1-2 hours in the refrigerator it will be ready. You can also place it in the freezer to speed up the process.