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A super quick and easy holiday treat, this saltine toffee is a simple delight. It’s an ideal creation for candy-making novices, offering a wonderful balance of sweet and salty flavors. Using just six ingredients, this toffee comes together in no time, which means it’s perfect for any event or holiday celebration!

Why I love this recipe.

Candy making is not talked about with as much gusto as cookie baking during the holidays. One fair reason could be that candy can sound like trouble. Usually you. need thermometers, the sugar could break with the butter and be ruined, and the chocolate may turn white. This is where my saltine toffee becomes the winner. This recipe is designed to be stress and worry-free. No thermometer is needed. The brown sugar and butter toffee is poured over saltine crackers for a perfect combination of sweet and salt. Once the chocolate is spread over the top, a holiday candy that is near fail-proof becomes a new favorite treat.

Gold baking pan filled with pieces of broken saltine toffee with pecans sprinkled on top.
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Everything you’ll need to make this recipe.

  • Saltines
  • Chocolate chips
  • Pecans
  • Butter
White marble surface filled with everything needed to make saltine toffee including saltines, pecans, brown sugar, butter, and more.

Here’s how to make this recipe.

  1. Prepare the saltines. Butter a 10×14 pan. Lay the saltines over the butter on a single, even grid. Break saltines to cover any gaps along the edge of the pan.
  1. Create the caramel. In a large saucepan, add butter and brown sugar. Place on medium heat and let melt. Once the butter has begun to simmer, stir the sugar to ensure it dissolves into the butter. Let cook for 5 minutes, then take off the heat. Slowly drench the saltines with the caramel. Fully coat the crackers in an even layer. Place into the preheated 375°F oven for 6 to 8 minutes or until the caramel is bubbling throughout. Once baked, realign the crackers into a grid using a knife or fork, if necessary.
  1. Finish the toffee. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the warm caramel. Let sit for 1-3 minutes or until the chocolate chips begin to melt. Spread them into an even layer using an offset spatula. Finely chop the pecans and sprinkle on top of the chocolate. Garnish with kosher or flaky sea salt, if desired. Chill to set the toffee for 1 to 2 hours. Once it has hardened fully, break it apart before serving.

These pro tips will make this recipe a success.

  • Create an even layer of crackers on the bottom of the pan, fully covering the entire surface. This toffee is thin, so you want each layer to be even and precise for uniformity. Getting crackers everywhere also allows for the salty crispness to be included in every bite.
  • To ensure the butter and sugar are cooking fully, stir the mixture. The butter should continue to simmer throughout.
  • Add the chocolate chips soon after the pan has been removed from the oven. The heat allows them to melt and become spreadable. Add the chopped pecans soon after so they can set in the chocolate as it cools.
Pieces of saltine toffee with chocolate layer and chopped pecans on top with saltine texture underneath stacked in piles.

Frequently asked questions about this recipe.

Is a thermometer needed for this recipe?

No, this recipe is designed to be made without the need for a thermometer from the cooking time on the stovetop to finishing in the oven.

How should this be stored?

This should be stored in an airtight container. If living in a humid climate, the airtight container should go into the refrigerator.

How long will this recipe last?

In a cool environment, the toffee will last 1-2 months.

If sprinkling on top, what type of salt works best?

A nice flaky salt like Maldon works well, kosher salt can also be used.

Watch how to make this recipe.

Have I Convinced You to Make This Recipe?

I hope you make this recipe and put some food on your table. Leave a comment and share a star rating so you can let others know how much you love this recipe. This helps show others that this is a recipe they, too, can make, enjoy, and love!

Saltine Toffee

5 from 5 votes
A super quick and easy holiday treat, this saltine toffee is a simple delight. It's an ideal creation for candy-making novices, offering a wonderful balance of sweet and salty flavors. Using just six ingredients, this toffee comes together in no time, which means it's perfect for any event or holiday celebration!
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 13 minutes
Total: 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 18 pieces
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Ingredients

  • saltine crackers to cover pan
  • 16 tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 ½ cups chopped toasted pecans (optional)
  • kosher salt to taste

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter a 10×14 jelly roll pan and place the crackers in the bottom on a single layer. Set the pan aside.
    saltine crackers to cover pan
  • In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, stir, and return the saucepan to medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 5 minutes to dissolve the sugar.
    16 tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, 1 cup light brown sugar
  • Once cooked, remove the caramel from the heat and pour over the prepared crackers evenly. Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake until the toffee is bubbling all over, 6-8 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. The crackers could be floating. Use a knife to place them correctly. Allow the toffee to cool for 1 minute. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly on top. Allow the chocolate to melt for 1-2 minutes and spread it to cover the caramel layer evenly. Sprinkle with chopped pecans and kosher salt if using.
    2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 ½ cups chopped toasted pecans (optional), kosher salt to taste
  • Cool the toffee to room temperature, 1-2 hours. Once cooled, break into pieces and serve or store in an airtight container.

Video

YouTube video

Notes

Create an even layer of crackers on the bottom of the pan, fully covering the entire surface. This toffee is thin, so you want each layer to be even and precise for uniformity. Getting crackers everywhere also allows for the salty crispness to be included in every bite.
To ensure the butter and sugar are cooking fully, stir the mixture. The butter should continue to simmer throughout.
Add the chocolate chips soon after the pan has been removed from the oven. The heat allows them to melt and become spreadable. Add the chopped pecans soon after so they can set in the chocolate as it cools.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 pieceCalories: 334 kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you make this? Leave a comment below!

Kaleb Wyse is a New York Times bestselling author behind the popular Wyse Guide website. Living on his fourth-generation Iowa farm, he loves sharing recipes and gardening tips that come from traditions that feel comfortably familiar. His down-to-earth style makes sustainable living and farm life feel like home!

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5 from 5 votes

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5 Comments

  1. Joan says:

    5 stars
    Hi Kaleb, I was thrilled to find a toffee recipe using corn syrup. I lost my recipes in a condo fire last November and I couldn’t remember my toffee recipe, but I did remember that I used corn syrup to stabilize it. Few recipes include it but yours did. Thank you for your wonderfully clear instructions. I am 86 and I couldn’t really remember everything about the recipe, but you included it here. Thank you so much.

  2. Kacee says:

    5 stars
    Simple and easy, delicious!

  3. Debbi says:

    5 stars
    I’ve made this so many times. When I went to New Zealand the last time I made it for people over there. They LOVED it. Very very good recipe. Very easy

  4. Elizabeth says:

    5 stars
    I made this today! I didn’t have a jelly roll pan so wound up using a half sheet pan. I was worried since I also changed the toffee portions to have more to cover the larger cracker surface that it wouldn’t set up but it was amazingly perfect! Going into my yearly candy rotation! Thanks so much !

  5. Justine_Sane says:

    5 stars
    16 TBS =a Cup did you think that would scare people off? LoL 😅