Soft and chewy cookies infused with brown butter and packed with homemade saltine cracker toffee!
I’m sure most of you have heard of the infamous Christmas Crack. It’s a simple recipe made with saltine crackers that are caramelized in a bath of buttery toffee, then covered in a layer of melted chocolate. See why it’s called Christmas CRACK?
Now it might seem impossible to improve upon this addictively scrumptious holiday treat, but wait until you sink your teeth into one of THESE…
Why These Are THE BEST Cookies
Infused with Brown Butter: Nothing beats the nutty, toasted, and bold flavor of brown butter. Not only does it enhance the flavor, but it also gives these cookies nice and golden appearance. The combination of the brown butter-infused cookie dough with the hunks of saltine toffee is absolutely euphoric.
Soft, Thick, and Chewy: These cookies bake up extra soft and doughy with delicately crisp, golden edges. No crispy, crunchy cookies allowed on my watch!
Brimming with Saltine Toffee: Each cookie is absolutely packed with homemade saltine toffee. Between the crisp and buttery bits of toffee and the soft cookie dough, you have a texture lover’s paradise.
Perfect Balance of Sweet and Salty: Every single bite is perfectly balanced. The brown butter and toffee provide these cookies with a nutty, caramelized sweetness, which balances out the saltiness of the saltines.
Tips for Making Christmas Crack
Line the Pan: In order to remove the toffee from the pan or baking sheet, you MUST line it with either parchment paper or aluminum foil. Trust me, there’s nothing worse than making something only to realize that it’s stuck to the pan. It also makes cleanup TEN times easier!
Keep a Close Eye on the Toffee: While toffee is pretty forgiving, you’ll definitely want to keep an eye on it once it’s boiling. If you leave it on the heat for too long, you’ll end up with burnt and bitter toffee. Remember that once the mixture starts to boil, let it cook for 2 minutes. It should be a nice caramel brown color. You can also use a thermometer to check the temperature. It should be between 270ºF and 290ºF.
Add Chocolate Chips Immediately: Once the toffee is out of the oven, immediately sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. The heat from the toffee will soften and melt the chocolate, making it a breeze to spread. If you find that the chocolate chips still aren’t melting, simply pop the pan back into the oven for a minute or so.
Toast the Pecans: It might seem like an unnecessary step, but toasting really brings out the flavor of the pecans. Besides, all you have to do is pop them in a 350ºF oven for 8-10 minutes. You can also use walnuts, peanuts, or almonds, if you prefer.
Chop the Toffee: Instead of breaking up the toffee with you hands, use a sharp knife to chop it up on a cutting board. The heat from you hands will melt the chocolate, making it difficult to mix into the dough. Plus, using a knife allows you to cut the toffee up into smaller pieces.
Tips for Making Soft Cookies
Add Cornstarch: Adding just a tablespoon of cornstarch to these cookies results in a softer, thicker, and more desirable “bakery-style” cookie. Cornstarch reduces gluten formation from the flour, creating a more tender bite. It also acts as a thickening agent and absorbs moisture, preventing the cookies from spreading too quickly.
Chill the Dough TWICE: The dough must first be chilled for at least 2 hours after it’s made. Not only will chilling the dough prevent the cookies from spreading too quickly as they bake, but it allows the flavors of the brown butter to develop, creating a richer, more decadent cookie. The cookies also bake up more evenly with a beautiful golden brown color. The dough needs to be chilled a SECOND time after you’ve shaped them, and placed them onto the baking sheet. The dough warms up slightly as you’re shaping the cookies, so sticking them into the refrigerator for about 10 minutes just before baking will ensure a thick and chewy cookie.
Don’t Over-Bake: The magic number for my cookies was 9 minutes, but I would check the cookies after 8 minutes. They should be evenly puffed and slightly golden brown on top. Remember that cookies continue to bake from the residual heat once they’re out of the oven, so taking them out when they’re a little underdone is the key.
Flatten Cookies Slightly: Instead of shaping the dough into balls, I prefer to shape it into thick little “hockey punks”. This allows for even spreading as they bake in the oven, so you don’t have a bump in the center of the cookie or thin, crispy edges.
What can I use instead of saltine crackers?
Ritz crackers and graham crackers are both great alternatives! Keep in mind that the graham crackers will add an extra sweetness to the cookie since they don’t have the saltiness of saltines.
Can I use white chocolate instead of semi-sweet chocolate?
Absolutely! White chocolate, milk chocolate, and dark chocolate all work great in the recipe, so if you prefer one over the other, go right ahead and substitute it for the semi-sweet.
Can I make these cookies ahead of time?
Definitely! Once the dough is wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, the dough can chill in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. If you choose to freeze the dough, make sure to let the dough thaw out in the refrigerator the night before you bake it. Christmas Crack also freezes well, so if you reserved some for the tops of the cookies (after they’ve baked), you can simply seal the toffee in a freezer-safe ziplock bag, and place it in the freezer for up to a month.
Christmas Crack Cookies
Ingredients
Toffee:
- 16 saltine crackers
- 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 6 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup chopped toasted pecans
Dough:
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- 2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
Instructions
Make the Toffee:
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF, and line a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the saltines in an even layer on the baking sheet (I did 4x4), and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt the butter and brown sugar. Whisk together until the mixture comes to boil. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat to medium and continue boiling for 2 minutes.
- Immediately remove toffee from heat and pour over the saltines. Bake in the oven for 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a fork to push crackers back together if they've shifted apart while baking.
- Evenly sprinkle chocolate chips on top and allow to sit for a few minutes to melt and soften. Using an offset spatula or butterknife, spread melted chocolate evenly. Sprinkle chopped pecans on top. Transfer toffee to the freezer while you work on the dough.
Make the Dough:
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. As the butter melts, it’ll start to foam, then turn a clear golden color. Continue to stir the butter, scraping up any browned specks from the bottom of the pan as it starts to brown. It should have a nutty aroma. Once browned and nutty, remove from the heat, and immediately pour into a shallow bowl to halt cooking.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and cornstarch together in a medium bowl; set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the browned butter and both sugars together on medium speed until smooth and incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the eggs and vanilla and continue beating until combined, using a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until just incorporated.
- Take the toffee out of the freezer and chop into small pieces. Gently fold most of the toffee into the dough, reserving some for the tops of the cookies after they've baked. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least two hours, or up to three days.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the dough into balls about the size of a golf ball, then place them on the baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly to create a thick "puck".
- Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the edges are set and the centers are puffy but still look slightly underdone. Immediately after removing the cookies from the oven, press reserved toffee pieces into the tops of the cookies. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.