Christmas Crack with Pretzels is an addictive holiday treat featuring a layer of salty pretzels, buttery toffee, and dark chocolate. The result is a sweet-and-salty, crunchy snack that’s oh so delicious and perfect for sharing!
Fair warning...you won't be able to stop snacking on this Christmas Bark!
I'm all about making all the treats for the holidays! It's not just about cookies here in my house.
Did you know some people truly aren't chocolate fans? I know, I don't get it either. This treat combines chocolate with salty pretzels and amazing crunchy toffee.
Not quite ready to make actual candy with a thermometer? Some great options are Cookie Dough Bites - no bake, edible cookie dough coated in chocolate! Chocolate Coconut Balls are super easy to make as well.
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What Is Christmas Crack?
Christmas Crack is an addictive sweet and salty toffee bark that is served during the Christmas and holiday season. This particular version has pretzels in place of the traditional crackers.
In short, this is a pretzel toffee bark that can be topped with flaky sea salt, crushed candy cane or red & green sprinkles! Next to Hot Chocolate Cookies, this toffee recipe is my favorite!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Comes together quickly. You just need to stir up the toffee on the stove and then spread everything out. Then it rests while you move on to the next treat!
- Easy to customize. I love the combo of salty pretzels here but you can absolutely use this technique to mix in anything you like.
- Learn a new technique. There's a lot that can go into candy making, if you choose to look into it. But this is a simple introduction to using a thermometer.
Recipe Ingredients
- Butter: I much prefer unsalted butter, since we are then adding pretzels and flaky salt.
- Brown Sugar: This is seriously the easiest way to make toffee! It adds a bit of molasses flavor.
- Chocolate Chips: Dark chocolate really adds a depth of flavor here, and is perfect for coating the toffee candy. Use a good quality chocolate, I like Callebaut, Valrhona or Ghirardelli. The same type of chocolate I would use for this Chocolate Tart.
- Pretzels: We are crushing these up some, so any shape of "small" pretzel is fine.
- Salt: Select a nice flakey salt that is meant for sprinkling. My favorite is Maldon.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- New toppings: Not a fan of pretzels? Try using Ritz Crackers, Saltine crackers, pretzel crisps, potato chips or nuts!
- Change in chocolate: Try out new pairings like milk or white chocolate in place of the bittersweet. I keep white chocolate on hand this time of year to dip Chewy Molasses Cookies in.
- Sugar options: Light brown sugar or dark brown sugar will work just fine for pretzel toffee.
- Melt chocolate in a double boiler then stir in ½ teaspoon peppermint extract for a white chocolate peppermint or dark chocolate peppermint flavor. Alternatively, you can sprinkle crushed candy cane over the top of the chocolate while it's still warm.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
How To Make Toffee Christmas Crack
Step 1: Add butter, brown sugar, vanilla, salt, and water to a large saucepan.
Step 2: Allow to bubble and cook until it reaches hard crack stage.
Step 3: Pour toffee and pretzels onto prepared parchment paper.
Step 4: Place chocolate chips on toffee and allow to melt.
Step 5: Spread chocolate evenly to melt. Top with flaky sea salt after cooling for a couple minutes.
Step 6: Once set, break pretzel bark into bite-sized pieces.
Expert Baking Tips
- Use a large enough skillet or pan - the butter and sugar will foam and bubble to expand quite a bit in volume as you cook. You definitely don't want this mess on your stovetop!
- A thermometer is essential when making this chocolate toffee. Just like it's essential when making a reverse sear beef tenderloin!
- Don't walk away - the step of making toffee goes quickly and it is imperative you stay on top of it.
Recipe FAQs
Once completely cooled, you can store Christmas Crack with Pretzels in an airtight container for up to two weeks, if it lasts that long! As long as your house isn't too warm, it will be just fine on the counter. This makes it perfect for making ahead. I like to keep it in a good container and then moving it to baggies for gifting right before the event, just to keep things fresh.
This is a candy-making term that will give you candy like toffee, where it is crisp and crunchy and you can "snap" it. This is past softer types of candy. You absolutely need a candy thermometer here to ensure you pull the candy from the heat in the 295-309°F range so that you have the desired result.
This is a really affordable piece of kitchen equipment I recommend you purchase. It is often interchangeable with a deep fry thermometer. This will have a clip to hook it on the edge of your pot or pan, so you can adjust the length. Ensure the tip of thermometer is in your liquid and NOT touching the bottom of the pan. Often it will also list the various candy stages on the thermometer or case.
There are a variety of different thoughts on how this name came about. The fact that the toffee 'cracks' when broken into pieces is one. Another is that the traditional version of Christmas Crack uses 'crackers', not pretzels. And finally, the reference that it is as addicting as 'crack'. You can decide for yourself which to believe!
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📖Recipe
Christmas Crack with Pretzels
Equipment
- 1 sheet tray ½ sheet tray
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt Diamond Crystal brand
- 2½ cups pretzel twists partially crushed
- 16 oz dark chocolate I use Ghirardelli 60% cacao
- 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt optional, Maldon's is my favorite
Instructions
- Line a ½ sheet pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray
- Cook butter, brown sugar, water, vanilla, and salt in a large skillet over medium heat whisking frequently. Butter will melt and mixture will begin to bubble
- Continue stirring frequently. Add a candy thermometer to the pan and allow it to come to 290°F. Do not let thermometer touch the bottom of the pan as you will get an inaccurate reading
- As soon as toffee reaches between 290°F-300°F, remove the pan immediately, stir in pretzels then pour onto prepared sheet. Spread toffee into an even layer
- Add dark chocolate chips to the top. Allow to melt for 5 minutes then spread into an even layer over the toffee using an offset spatula
- Allow to rest for 10 minutes, sprinkle with flaky sea salt if desired then chill for at least 2 hours. Break toffee apart and serve
Peter
Love the salt and sweet combo here! Great for Christmas and nice that GF pretzels can be swapped for regular too.