Easy Toffee Candy is impossible to resist and is guaranteed to be one of your most requested holiday treats. Just six ingredients and no candy thermometer required!
Easy Toffee Candy is an oldie but goodie that has been on countless holiday cookie trays throughout my life for as long as I can remember. It seemed whenever anyone would gift us holiday treats, some version of this completely addictive goodie was included.
I started making this saltine toffee myself decades ago and still whip up a batch every holiday season.
You’ll get that same scrumptious, “can I have 10 of these please” taste that you get from traditional toffee with half the work.
There is a reason why you may have heard this stuff referred to as “Christmas Crack”. I’ve never come across anyone who doesn’t adore this sweet and salty Easy Toffee Candy. Trust me when I say that it is an excellent choice for gift giving.
Ingredients
How to Make Easy Toffee Candy
- Line a 15- x 10-inch jelly roll pan with heavy duty foil. Regular foil will be extremely hard to remove from the candy so I highly recommend heavy duty foil for this recipe. Melt the butter and pour it out over the foil.
- Tilt the pan to spread the melted butter out evenly over the foil.
- Place the saltine crackers over the melted butter
- A jelly roll pan is the perfect size to fit 30 saltine crackers. If you are using a slightly different size pan, you can trim the crackers as needed to fit.
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan and add the brown sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce the heat and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Stir in the sweetened condensed milk until well combined.
- Pour the toffee mixture over the saltines in the jelly roll pan.
- Bake for about 10 minutes in a 425 degree F oven, or until bubbly and golden brown.
- Immediately sprinkle the chocolate morsels over the top of the hot toffee layer. Let it stand for 4 or 5 minutes to allow the heat from the toffee layer to melt the chocolate.
- Use an offset spatula or butter knife to spread the chocolate out in an even layer.
- Sprinkle the finely chopped walnuts over the top and lightly press them into the melted chocolate. Allow to cool on your kitchen counter in the pan for 30 minutes and then refrigerate until the chocolate is set, an additional 30 to 60 minutes.
- Lift the foil to remove the entire sheet of toffee candy from the jelly roll pan and transfer it to a cutting board. Carefully peel off and discard the foil. Use a sharp knife to cut the candy into squares.
How to Store Saltine Toffee
To keep the Easy Toffee Candy as fresh as possible, I recommend storing it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep nicely for up to two weeks and it’s delicious served chilled or at room temperature.
Variations
- You can make this candy all year round by using a variety of festive holiday sprinkles. Change up the colors to work for each holiday – red and green for Christmas, fall-inspired colors for Thanksgiving, or pastels for Easter.
- Not a fan of walnuts? Try finely chopped pecans, almonds, peanuts, or cashews.
- Dark chocolate fans can substitute all or part of the semi-sweet chocolate morsels for bittersweet chocolate morsels.
For more Christmas baking and gifting inspiration be sure to check some of my old favorites:
- Eggnog Thumbprints
- Chocolate Peppermint Crinkles
- Chewy Iced Molasses Cookies
- Holiday Oreo Cookie Balls
- Mom’s Pecan Sandies
This post was originally published on December 15, 2011. It has been updated with new text and images.
Easy Toffee Candy
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup butter
- 30 saltine crackers, , plus a few more in case they break
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate morsels
- ¾ cup finely chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Line a 15- x 10-inch jelly roll pan with heavy duty foil. In a medium saucepan melt ¼ cup butter and pour into the prepared pan. Tilt the pan as needed to spread the melted butter out in an even layer to coat all of the foil. Arrange the crackers over the butter.
- Melt remaining butter in the same saucepan and stir in the brown sugar. Bring to a boil over MEDIUM heat. Reduce heat and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the sweetened condensed milk. Mix well. Spread the toffee mixture evenly over the crackers.
- Bake for 9 to 10 minutes until mixture is bubbly and golden brown. Carefully remove the pan from the oven.
- Immediately sprinkle with the chocolate morsels and let stand 5 minutes until the chocolate has melted. Spread the chocolate with an offset spatula or butter knife into an even layer. Sprinkle with the nuts and lightly press them into the melted chocolate. Allow to cool on your kitchen counter in the pan for 30 minutes and then refrigerate until the chocolate is set, an additional 30 to 60 minutes.
- Lift the foil to remove the entire sheet of candy from the pan. Carefully peel off and remove the foil. Use a sharp knife to cut the candy into squares.
- Store the toffee candy in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. It's delicious served chilled but can also be served at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
Adapted from VeryBestBaking.com
My mom makes this ALL the time when I was growing up. I changed it up a little bit & way better than nuts.. I use dark chocolate chips & sea salt rocks, it was off the hook.
Sounds great, Darla!
Found this page a few days ago and made it this weekend. They are amazing!! The family’s gonna love it on Christmas!
I love this stuff! I ALWAYS munch on this at holiday parties, but I’ve never made it myself. Maybe I’ll give it a go! Looks easy enough. Thanks for sharing.
I love toffee so much! This is such a great idea… I’ll have to try it out as part of our desserts on Christmas!
Oh my goodness I need some of this now. Looks fabulous. I made something similar at a Bakery I used to work at with Matza. This looks way better. Yum!
Oh wow do these look good!
I love your blogs Valerie. The food always looks so yummy and the tutorial photos are so helpful 🙂 Merry Christmas Valerie!
Thanks and Merry Christmas Julie!
I actually just finished making a batch of toffee like 10 minutes ago! My grandmother always made it, and now it’s my job. It just wouldn’t be Christmas in our house without it!
That looks a little too easy and dangerous to have on hand!
Dangerous is definitely the correct word Lauren!
I tihnk I’m getting a sugar rush just looking at the photos! This looks absolutely scrumptious!
Oh my, this is both gorgeous and making me crave toffee like nothing else! I live that the recipe isn’t too difficult, I’m not a candy maker 🙂
YUUUUUUUUUUUUUMMY!! I love this stuff but haven’t made it before and would love to give it a go. Beautiful photos and great tutorial!