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Christmas crack with peanut butter is sure to make all your family and friends go nuts! Although, this toffee bark doesn’t include any nuts; if you gift this bark out for Christmas expect people to be wanting more the next year. It’s seriously delicious and very addictive!
Best Christmas Crack with Peanut Butter
Perfect for gifting in the holiday season, no one can resist a smile when they receive a box of Christmas crack! It’s a universal gift that everyone is sure to love.
You can get creative! Think about your palate and what ingredients you like together, feel free to add or swap out different ingredients to make the bark to your liking.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Use any kind of graham crackers! I love the chocolate ones but regular would be great (an upgrade to graham cracker toffee) or even use cinnamon grahams.
Ingredients Needed
- Chocolate graham crackers- Normally toffee bark like this is made with Matzo or saltine crackers, but just trust me on this, try the chocolate graham crackers. They are delicious.
- Butter – I call for unsalted butter but you can swap salted, just omit the added salt.
- Brown sugar – Be sure to pack it.
- Water – helps make the toffee
- Vanilla extract – Use natural for the best flavor.
- Salt – If using unsalted butter
- Chocolate chips – milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate.
- Peanut butter – This recipe has been tested with regular no-stir peanut butter. Creamy or crunchy will work.
How to Make Christmas Crack
- Prepare: Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 10×15-inch jelly roll pan with foil and spray with non-stick baking spray. You can also use a cookie sheet with 1” sides. Then, place graham crackers in an even layer on the prepared pan, you can break some up to ensure they all fit. Set the pan aside.
- Make the base: Place the butter in a medium saucepan and melt over low heat. Add brown sugar and water then stir them together to combine. Place a candy thermometer in the pan and then cook over medium-low heat until the mixture reaches 255°F (don’t stir). If you don’t have a candy thermometer you can also check with an instant-read thermometer.
- Bake: Once the mixture reaches 255°F, immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract and salt. Pour and spread evenly over the graham crackers and bake for 5 minutes.
- Add chocolate chips: Remove the toffee from the oven and sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips, bake for an additional 2 minutes.
- Heat peanut butter: Place peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat for 15-20 minutes or until it’s soft and pourable.
- Add chocolate and peanut butter: Once the toffee comes out of the oven, the chocolate chips will be melted and spreadable. Spread the chocolate evenly with a knife and then drizzle the peanut butter over the top. Swirl with a utensil such as a knife or the handle of a wooden spoon. Chil in until it’s hard, then break it into pieces.
- Storing: Store in an airtight container for up to one week.
Expert tip
Back sure the Christmas crack is baking for long enough, use your thermometer to get an exact read. If the toffee bark isn’t cooked for long enough it can come out chewy, and as well and will stick in your teeth.
FAQs
It’s called Christmas crack because when you bend the toffee bark, it cracks! Another possible reason is that it’s so good that it’s addicting! Kind of like…. you get it.
Your Christmas crack is chewy because most likely, it was undercooked. Toffee bark gets chewy when there is too much moisture in it, when baked appropriately the moisture should cook out so that it CRACKS when you bend it.
You can store your Christmas crack with peanut butter right on the counter in an air-tight container.
Yes, you can freeze toffee bark for up to three months! Be sure to keep it in an air-tight container.
Have You Made This Recipe?
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Peanut Butter Chocolate Christmas Crack Recipe
Ingredients
- 8-10 Chocolate Graham Crackers (see note)
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (200g) packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt (omit if using salted butter)
- 2 cups (340g) chocolate chips (see note)
- ⅓ cup (89g) peanut butter (use regular no-stir, not natural)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 10×15-inch jelly roll pan (or a cookie sheet with 1” sides) with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place graham crackers in an even layer on the prepared pan, breaking some to make them all fit. Set aside.
- Place butter in a medium saucepan and melt over low heat. Add brown sugar and water and stir to combine. Place a candy thermometer in the pan and then cook over medium-low heat, not stirring, until the mixture reaches 255°F. If you don’t have a candy thermometer you can also check it often with an instant read thermometer.
- Once it reaches 255°F, immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir in vanilla and salt. Pour and spread evenly over the graham crackers. Bake for 5 minutes.
- Remove the toffee from the oven and sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips. Bake an additional 2 minutes.
- Place peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 15-20 seconds, or until it’s pourable. When the toffee comes out of the oven, the chocolate chips will be melted and spreadable. Spread the chocolate even with a knife and then drizzle the peanut butter over the top and swirl with the knife or the back of a wooden spoon. Chill to harden, then break into pieces.
- Store in an airtight container for up to one week.
Recipe Notes
- Use any kind of graham cracker you like
- Use only no-stir peanut butter (not natural). Creamy or crunchy works.
- Milk, semi-sweet, or dark chocolate chips only. If you want to use white chocolate you must melt them in a bowl and spread it on (they won’t melt properly during the 2 minutes in the oven).
Recipe Nutrition
Other Candy Bark Recipes:
- Sugar cookie bark
- Magic bar bark
- Oreo peppermint bark (another great one for the holidays!)
- Peppermint Bark Copyat
Make Christmas Crack with peanut butter – this easy toffee bark with graham crackers and peanut butter is our favorite holiday candy recipe!
It smells amazing. And it was very easy to put together. My only suggestion is it could use more peanut butter. I used a little more than half of a cup versus the 1/3 but it could have used a little bit more because it was hard to spread it on the entire pan. I would make it again!!!
I saw this receipe before the holiday and have made it several times since. It has been a huge hit wash time. I just made a batch for a “care package”. Easy to make as well
So glad you enjoyed it!
WHY did it never occur to me to use choc graham crackers for fraham cracker toffee???? and then to put choc AND ob on top???! This is why you’re the master. I bow down.
They look super good! This would make a fun weekend project with my Mum! ๐
– Charmaine
http://charmainenyw.com
I wish I had some right now. It looks soooooo gooooood!!!
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