Recipes for this treat – which has various names, including “Christmas Crack” – are everywhere. My Aunt Liz makes a version that she calls pecan pralines, involving graham crackers, toffee, and pecans. I didn’t have enough graham crackers to make that version, so I’ve used the standard saltine instead.
The great thing about this treat is that it can be customized however you like. I’ve created both a plain, toffee and pecan-only version and a chocolate version, the photo of which appears below. You could add toffee bits, butterscotch chips, various nuts, or other candies if you’d like.
The non-chocolate version is for my mom, who will be coming to Christmas dinner later today. She’s been known to arrive at my house after running various errands in need of a snack, and her go-to question is always “got any crackers?” Merry Christmas, Mum.
Note: the following recipe creates a “half and half” pan of toffee saltines – half with chocolate, and half without.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sleeves saltine crackers
- 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cups butter
- About 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- About 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray very lightly with cooking or baking spray.
Place crackers on the baking sheet in a single layer.
In a medium saucepan, melt brown sugar and butter, stirring frequently. Bring to a full, rolling boil; once mixture reaches a full, rolling boil, allow it to boil for three minutes without stirring.
Remove from heat and pour over crackers, spreading carefully with a spatula to fully cover.
Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle half of the crackers with pecans. Sprinkle remaining half with chocolate chips and let stand for a minute or two so the chips begin to melt. Spread the chocolate on the remaining half of the crackers, then sprinkle with pecans.
Allow to cool completely before breaking into pieces.
amy bakes in the 'burgh 
My friend, Jeff, from Pittsburgh also made these. Or his mom did. I remember eating them at his apt. I think it’s a Pittsburgh thing? I have never had them before or since. They were yummy. Crack indeed!
I actually saw this for the first time on “Trisha’s Southern Kitchen” on Food Network – I’d never come across anything like this in childhood (unfortunately). I would have scarfed it up!