SALTINE CRACKER CANDY
- 1 sleeve of saltine crackers (about 40)
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups chocolate chips—dark, semi-sweet, or milk chocolate as you prefer
- ¾ cup chopped pecans
This recipe is really sticky so make sure to line your cooked sheet with foil or parchment paper before placing the saltine crackers in a single layer atop it. It is also important to use a cookie sheet with at least ½ an inch of lip on it to keep the brown sugar and butter from running off the edges. Combine brown sugar and butter in a pot. Bring mixture to a boil and continue for 3 minutes. Quickly pour the brown sugar mixture over the crackers and spread evenly. Bake for 5 minutes in a 400 degree oven. This mixture will be quite bubbly at the end of 5 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate chips over crackers and let sit for a few minutes until the chips begin to melt. Spread melted chocolate chips over crackers and sprinkle on chopped pecans. Allow to cool completely. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container.
TP
—Celebrating Southern Appalachian Food written by Jim Casada and Tipper Pressley
Another common name for this candy is Christmas Crack. Folks in my area often make it during Christmas and once you have a taste it’s hard to stop eating it.
I like the recipe because I typically have the ingredients on hand and its fairly quick to make.
You can leave the nuts off or use other toppings like m&ms, pretzels, or crushed up candy canes.
Last night’s video: A Monkey, Eggnog, & Decorating the Tree = Lots of Fun in Appalachia!
Tipper
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Tipper, thank you so much for always sharing such wonderful recipes on this page and your YouTube channel. As someone who loves toffee, I knew that this recipe was for me. I made it the other day as instructed and it tasted phenomenal. The flavor reminds me of a Heath Bar (my favorite candy bar growing up). Does your chocolate usually separate from the saltines? I found that mine kept falling apart. I just pick up the toffee crackers and hardened chocolate and pop them in my mouth at once, but I was wondering if I somehow did something wrong. I will definitely be trying this again around the holidays.
Isabel-so glad you liked them! I’ve not had that happen so I’m not sure what could have caused it. Hopefully someone who does will chime in 🙂
I have been watching Celebrating Appalachia for about two years now. I love the calmness it brings to me and I know I’m watching good, “salt of the earth” people live their lives.
My husband, children and I lived in Huntsville, Alabama from 1985-92, at the foot of a mountain in Jones Valley. Where we lived was the beginning of the Appalachian chain of mountains. The 4 seasons were beautiful.
We’ve since moved a couple of times due to his job with Chevron, now live in The Woodlands, TX and have been here for 20 years.
At heart, I’m a south Louisiana girl ( born and raised there) where people live very close to the land with a strong belief in Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, farming, hunting, and geographical and spiritual closeness to family and lifelong friendships. Celebrating Appalachia brings me back home to those wonderful memories of growing up, college, marrying, starting a family and being with family.
Oftentimes I dream of going back “home”, but my four adult children and 7 grandchildren live here in Texas near me. So, I’m doing my best to create and instill knowledge of gardening, raising animals, farming, living close to the land and Jesus in my children and grandchildren.
Thank you so very much Tipper, for bringing me back home to New Roads, Louisiana, with Celebrating Appalachia.
I made this recipe today for our family Christmas party tomorrow. I made half with white chocolate chips and the other half with dark chocolate chips, and it’s wonderful!!!!
Denise-so glad you liked it!!
We made something like this the other year and my mom loved it. We thought the name was very fitting! I like your suggestion of topping it with nuts, candy, or pretzels.
I am a big fan of Almond Roca and this gives me that vibe. I forget about it and many years don’t make it because of my faulty memory. Thanks, Tipper, for this little nudge that will put on the “make list” this year.
Such a treat.
I have made this using pistachios and dried cranberries.
I Will give the pecans a whirl next time. Yum
I want to make this candy for the children at church. They are so sweet to me. They meet me out on the church porch on Sunday mornings and help me up the steps and give me a church bulletin and a hug. Now that lifts me up and gives me a smile that lasts a long time. It really is amazing to have young people that show so much love and respect for the elderly. May God bless them all and may God continue to bless you and your family too. There’s still a whole lot of love and good will in this ole world. God knows all about it.
We make this but use Graham crackers for the base.
Yvonne made every kind of candy imaginable. I didn’t participate in its making except stirring, helping pour and fetching ingredients from the store. I know she did something evolving saltines but I’m not sure if it was this candy.
She had a little candy shop for a while called “Nanny’s Sugar Heaven”. She made a little money off it but only because I was buying most of the supplies. She never thought of reinvesting her profit back into the business. She ended up giving out more samples than she sold product. Everybody loved her candies and other sweet treats but not many wanted to buy any.
Her business went broke and almost broke us. I managed to save enough for her to live comfortably off of when I died, but I didn’t and she did. Now, six years later, I still have no plan for the future.
That sounds like a winner also.
This is one of the easiest and best recipes you can make and its budget friendly too. It’s a great gift to give someone this time of the year. My problem is, I can’t stay out of it so be prepared to make more than one batch 🙂
Norman, I will be sending prayers up for the healing and recovery of Mr. Fortune. Prayers also for his wife.
This looks delicious, we will have to make this year. My 3 little ones have had a bad cold with fevers for a week now they really loved watching the monkey surprise while they lay on the couches this morning.
L-I hope the little ones are soon better! So glad they enjoyed the monkey joke 🙂
Good morning everyone!!
Dear Norman, I will put LR and Mrs. Fortune in my prayers!! To hear that they will celebrate 70 years together is astonishing. Wow!! There is peace in their valley and Jesus is by their side holding everyone. May grace and peace be with them AND your family.
Love to all.
Mr. Norman, I am praying for Mr. Fortune and his wife. It’s always sad when someone is not doing well around a holiday. For me anytime of the year is a bad time. Miss Tipper, can hardly wait to make these delicious treats. Makes my mouth water up and want it now not later. LOL. I got my beautiful book, “Dorie Woman of the Mountains.” Going to start it this week. If I start a book I find it hard to put it down, barely get anything else done till I finish the whole thing. Been that way since I learned to read I guess. . Loved the tree trimming party and loved all the laughter and the babies in the background. Y’all made me feel as if I was there. Thank you for having us included. Have a blessed week everyone and may God be with y’all.
Thanks for the recipe. May make this later on.I have tried it before and it is good. Prayers for LR.
I’ve have this before and at first I thought I’m not gonna like this. I tried it and loved it. Thanks for the recipe. Prayers for LR. in his sickness.
Looks good! However, I too would probably eat the whole pan…..
What a great recipe! I’ve had some with peppermint, but not chocolate. Thank you!
I’ve made this for years but we don’t associate it with Christmas at all, I make it year round when a sweet tooth crops up which is a lot in our house. We call it cracker candy. I omit the nuts due to an allergy. I was given the recipe from a co-worker years ago that her father was a missionary. Blessings from Ohio!!
The cracker candy sounds so good and easy to make. You know I’m going to try it. My aunt used to make divinity and gingerbread every Christmas. I tried every recipe under the sun for the gingerbread Dad loved so much. I never got it right until my aunt’s daughter found the original recipe and shared it with me. Unfortunately, Dad was no longer here to enjoy the food he associated with Christmas.
Whoever came up with this originally was ahead of their time. Seems to me the whole set of combinations like sweet-salty, sweet-hot, etc have come to be in the last 20 years or so. Recall also that back in the day saltines were more salty than they are now and less crumbly. Time spent together in the making and the eating are bonuses.
I make my Crack Candy with graham crackers sometimes, just for something different to try. You certainly can’t eat just one piece though.
I enjoyed watching your family decorate your Christmas tree. It was especially nice of you to show various ornaments & explain how you got them, who made them, etc. That’s one of the things I love about decorations saved from year to year…the memories they conjure up.
It’s amazing that we can make the humble saltine cracker so delicious!!
Tipper, I’ve made your recipe since the first time I saw you make it on one of your YouTube videos. I needed a dessert to take to a gathering and knew I hard the ingredients to make it so I did. It was easy to make and it was a big hit with everybody who ate it, excluding me. I made it again for my family and they all really liked it. It really is an addictive treat to eat. I’ve made it for many occasions, gifted it to friends and family instead of cookies for Christmas. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us.
I’ve seen this candy before but have never made it. It looks delicious. I will have to make it, I like crunchy candies.
I tried this Christmas cracker candy last year. My hubby loved it! I had not heard of it before learning about it from you, Tipper. My mama always made several candies for Christmas. She would start buying ingredients way ahead so she could afford it a little at a time. She would make some of it and freeze it till Christmas. She made resse balls, chocolate and peanut butter fudge, chocolate covered cherries, and divinity. She would also make Christmas sugar cookies. We were so lucky to have such a caring and sweet mama. She also makes the most delicious homemade yeast cinnamon rolls with peanut butter icing and nuts on top. I just had one last week. Yummy!!
This does sound simply delicious!
I just took my recipe card out this weekend to make this. My girls love it, so I need to have some when they get home soon.
Awesome recipe! Thank you for sharing.
I am southern to the bone, is “sody” crackers the same as saltine crackers? My favorite homemade candy was peanut brittle. My mother made it from a recipe my best friend’s mother gave her. It was good but didn’t taste quiet as good as hers. This lady (now dead) and now her daughter make it and give it to friends at Christmas. Thank goodness her daughter has given some to me. I butter her up and call her my adopted older sister.
I went to a candlelight service last night at the cemetery (Greenville Memorial Gardens) where my wife, daughter, and other family members are buried. They had a moment of silence and a special prayer for the ones in NC and the other areas that have been affected by Helene and asked everyone to keep praying, donating, and doing whatever they could to help these people.
I enjoyed watching ya’ll trim your tree! It looked amazing!
I make Christmas Crack a couple of times a year. It’s hard to stop eating it!
Sending healing thoughts to Mr LR.
I never heard of “crack” candy until about 20 years ago, from virtual -friends in the northeast on a message board. I made it once– very good!!
My grandma wasn’t the world’s best cook, but she made really good peanut butter fudge (no chocolate in it). it was hard as a rock but once you chiseled off a piece, it would melt in your mouth. I’ve never found a PB fudge recipe I really love. My daddy made the chocolate fudge in our family, using the recipe on the marshmallow cream jar. Of course it HAD to have some of his Texas family’s pecans in it. It was such a treat to get to scrap the cooking pot with a big spoon for tastes when it was still warm. He used to set it outside to cool off. Fortunately the possums and raccoons stayed away.
This stuff is addicting! I made it for the first time last year and plan on making it again for our family get together this coming weekend. I love making homemade candies, cookies, pies and cakes, homemade is always best whenever possible.
Yummy! I have had this before & it’s hard to just eat a little. Thank you Tipper.
Tipper, that Candy looks sticky and delicious!!! As with most wonderful foods, it may be messy, but worth it! I’d say children and teenagers or a sweet tooth would love it! Could a person be blamed after getting a taste of that Christmas crack candy if they kept coming back for more? Lol I figured at first glance you were talking about homemade hard candy which is good and messy too! Have a great day and here’s prayers for everybody cause who doesn’t need prayer? Today work is supposed to start on my Storm Helene damaged bedroom and I’m excited. I’ve been in dysfunction since Sept. 27 and have come to just live with it…. Smh
Mmmm that sounds good. I’m gonna save this recipe to use. Thank you
I have a friend over Raleigh North Carolina, her father is 88 years old, he is in the hospital with pneumonia, at this age, sickness is hard to embrace, his name is LR Fortune, would somebody pray for Mr Fortune, he is a Christian man, he has been all his life, his wife is 86 years old, at the end of December, they will be celebrating 70 years together, thank you and God bless you friends I love you
Norman-I’m sorry I will pray for LR.
Heavenly Father, we lift up LR Fortune and his wife up to You and ask for Your perfect will. Please allow his immune system to be strong enough to fight the pneumonia in his body and get well enough to allow him and his wife to enjoy their 70th anniversary of marriage with each other. Bless them, Lord, with a strong faith in You. Amen.
Yes Norman I will pray for your friend.
Sending prayers for healing and comfort.
We stop to pray for this man. When you are in your 70’s you will quickly realize that you never really see OLD as a number. One of God’s greatest gifts is prayer. If you are a follower of Jesus you can pray anytime and he will hear your pray. We pray for this man and his family for God’s perfect will. Be blessed.
Norman, I will also pray for your friend’s father. I would also like to ask everybody to pray for a family friend of mine and my deceased wife. We have known them since we both were young children. He is around 90 years old. He has been put in hospice and only expected to live for a few days. His name is Andy and his wife’s name is Mary. They are both fine Christian people.
I have only had that one time, it was fabulous. I won’t dare make it, because I would eat it all!
I’m going to have to try this one. Sounds so good and easy to make. Thanks for sharing
I have only in the past year or two heard of this ‘candy’…I have to say it is good, but I am hard pressed to really think of any candy as Christmas candy except for divinity, fudge, and peanut or pecan brittle. There are a few other sweet treats mama and grandma made that are not in the candy category–a date nut log (made with chopped dates, pecans, marshmallow creme, and graham cracker crumbs) a rice krispy ball (it is rice krispies and dates in a chewy almost caramel sauce rolled in coconut) and a candy somewhat like Martha Washington candy although I have not made that one in many many years)….as of last year I added caramel puff corn to my Christmas treat list and it has already been requested for this year by a niece–and my chex mix is the original recipe with the addition of curry powder, tabasco sauce, and cayenne pepper (small amounts of the hot flavors, so it just adds a little kick that makes you unable to stop eating it –it does tend to cause the need for quenching your thirst more not because of it being salty but from the light heat that lingers on your tongue–it is by no means so hot anyone not likeing hot stuff would avoid it, as I said it is just very subtle evidenced mainly by the need for more ice water or tea or whatever cold beverage of choice is–it is addicting)…I am just old fashioned and prefer the old time traditional Christmas candy, cakes, and pies…the new things everyone makes these days is good such as the sopapilla cheese cake bars but I refuse to think of them Christmas lol