Aunt Bee’s sweet, salty, and crunchy 4-ingredient graham cracker toffee is an easy dessert to share with friends and family throughout the holiday season — and it only requires 10 minutes of prep!
Table of Contents
- Why You’ll Love This Graham Cracker Toffee
- Ingredients for Toffee Graham Crackers
- The Kitchen Supplies that You’ll Need for this Easy Graham Cracker Toffee
- How to Make Graham Cracker Toffee Bars
- How to Avoid Grainy Toffee
- Preparation and Storage Tips
- Recipe Variations
- Tips for the Best Graham Cracker Toffee Recipe
- 4-Ingredient Graham Cracker Toffee Bars Recipe
If you love easy holiday treats, be sure to try our saltine cracker toffee, magic cookie bars, salted dark chocolate peanut butter balls, cinnamon pecan cookie bars, pecan pie bars, peanut butter pie, and 3-ingredient Scottish shortbread, too!
Graham cracker toffee, also called Christmas crack, graham cracker toffee crack, graham cracker crack, graham cracker toffee bark, graham cracker brittle, and graham cracker toffee bars, is a classic homemade holiday candy that’s so easy, anyone can make it! If you shy away from baking cookies or cakes from scratch, this quick treat is the perfect solution.
Why You’ll Love This Graham Cracker Toffee
- It’s easy, and only requires about 10 minutes of hands-on prep. Bake the bars in the oven for about 5 minutes, and your job is done!
- The bars are affordable, since they only require 4 simple, easy-to-find ingredients.
- It can be made in advance, packaged, and shared with friends and family throughout the holiday season. The graham cracker toffee doesn’t get stale or soggy quickly, so it will keep well in the fridge for an extended period.
Ingredients for Toffee Graham Crackers
This is just a quick overview of the basic ingredients that you’ll need for a batch of graham cracker toffee bars. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Graham crackers: a crunchy, sweet base for the toffee.
- Salted butter: use salted butter for the best-tasting toffee, since the salt balances the sweetness and enhances the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Light brown sugar: combines with the butter to make the toffee.
- Pecans: finely chopped nuts add the perfect finishing touch to this sweet treat.
The Kitchen Supplies that You’ll Need for this Easy Graham Cracker Toffee
Making homemade toffee might sound intimidating, but it’s actually very easy and you don’t need any specialty equipment to make the delicious toffee mixture. Here’s what you should have on hand:
- Baking sheet pan with edges: the edges are particularly important to keep the crackers organized and prevent the toffee from flowing over the edges.
- Offset spatula or rubber spatula: to easily spread the toffee candy over the graham crackers.
- Medium saucepan: for making the toffee mixture. An appropriately sized pan is important for safety when making the toffee. A small saucepan will work if that’s all you have but be extra careful when stirring the hot toffee mixture.
- Candy thermometer (optional): you don’t need a candy thermometer for this graham cracker crack recipe, but it will help make the perfect toffee layer. These specialty thermometers have key temperature indicators for candy making.
How to Make Graham Cracker Toffee Bars
This sweet, salty, and crunchy dessert is one of the easiest Christmas treats that you can prepare, and it makes a great gift for friends or family during the holiday season. I’ve included detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the quick overview:
- Arrange the graham crackers on a baking sheet.
- Boil the butter and brown sugar.
- Spread the brown sugar mixture over the graham crackers.
- Sprinkle with pecans.
- Bake for about 5 minutes.
- Cool, break into pieces, and serve! The graham cracker toffee bars are delicious alongside a mug of homemade hot chocolate!
How to Avoid Grainy Toffee
If you find that your caramel separates or becomes grainy when heating it on the stovetop, this is likely due to crystallization or because the temperature gets too hot. Toffee becomes grainy when the sugars crystallize, a process that happens when the melted sugar splashes up onto the cold sides of the pan. It loses its moisture and turns back into a sugar crystal. If this crystal touches the melted mass, it causes the caramel to seize up and become grainy.
To avoid grainy toffee, stir very gently so that the ingredients aren’t splashing up against the sides of the saucepan. If some sugar does get on the sides of the pan, just take a pastry brush and dip it in hot water, washing the sugar back down into the rest of the mixture. Also, make sure that the sugar melts into the butter before the mixture boils.
Can you fix grainy toffee?
If you find that the caramel gets gritty or grainy, remove it from the heat. Gradually reheat the mixture over low heat or medium heat, carefully adding 1 tablespoon of water at a time as you slowly stir. Once the water has evaporated and the mixture is warm again, you can increase the heat and bring it to a boil to finish the process.
Why is my graham cracker toffee crack chewy?
Graham cracker toffee bars should be very crunchy when they cool. If your toffee is chewy, you may have used something other than butter (such as margarine or coconut oil). Other fats will not work for this recipe — you need the real deal butter!
Another possibility is that you didn’t boil the caramel for long enough. Once the mixture starts bubbling and boiling, keep it at a boil for at least 4 minutes. If it doesn’t reach a certain temperature, the toffee will not harden when cooled, and instead you’ll end up with a soft, chewy, sticky mess.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Allow the graham cracker toffee bars to cool completely before breaking into pieces and storing.
- Store the toffee bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. While it doesn’t need to be refrigerated, I like to keep it really firm in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.
- You can freeze graham cracker toffee in an airtight container for up to 3 months; however, I find that the crackers get a bit soggy and just aren’t quite as crunchy when thawed from the freezer. This is not my preference — it’s best when enjoyed fresh!
Recipe Variations
- Instead of chopped pecans, substitute with chopped walnuts, almonds, peanuts, cashews, or hazelnuts.
- For a nut-free version, add holiday sprinkles or flaky sea salt to the top of the bars after they come out of the oven (while still warm).
- Use other crackers. For instance, instead of the graham crackers, try saltine crackers or Ritz crackers.
- Add a layer of chocolate. To do so, leave the pecans off of the bars before baking. As soon as you pull the toffee out of the oven, sprinkle a 12-ounce bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips over top. Let the chocolate rest and melt for a few minutes on top of the hot crackers. Spread the melted chocolate in an even layer over the top. Sprinkle with chopped pecans, if desired.
Tips for the Best Graham Cracker Toffee Recipe
- Line the baking sheet with foil or parchment paper so that the hardened toffee doesn’t stick to the pan.
- Stir carefully as the caramel gradually heats to avoid splashing the mixture up the sides of the cold pan (which can cause crystallization and a grainy texture).
- Use salted butter (not unsalted butter), since the salt balances the sweetness of the caramel and enhances the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Once the graham cracker toffee bars cool enough so that you can handle the pan, transfer the tray to the refrigerator to cool completely. This will help it really firm up.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the graham cracker toffee into squares along the cracker perforations, or just use your hands to break the toffee into smaller pieces. It’s not supposed to look perfect, so don’t stress!
More Easy Dessert Recipes with Pecans
Salted Butterscotch Cookies with Pecans
30 minutes mins
Kentucky Bourbon Chocolate Pecan Pie
5 hours hrs 5 minutes mins
Oatmeal Cake with Coconut Pecan Frosting
45 minutes mins
Did you make this recipe?
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4-Ingredient Graham Cracker Toffee Bars
Ingredients
- 14 whole graham cracker sheets
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup finely chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange the graham crackers touching each other in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet; set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine butter and brown sugar over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, for 4-5 minutes. Pour the butter mixture over the graham crackers, using a rubber spatula to spread in an even layer. Sprinkle the pecans on top.
- Bake for 4-5 minutes, until the nuts are lightly toasted and the toffee is hot and soft. Remove the tray from the oven. Let the tray sit on a wire rack until it's cool enough to touch, then transfer to the refrigerator to cool and harden completely. Break into pieces and serve!
Notes
- Line the baking sheet with foil or parchment paper so that the hardened toffee doesn’t stick to the pan.
- Stir carefully as the caramel gradually heats to avoid splashing the mixture up the sides of the cold pan (which can cause crystallization and a grainy texture).
- Use salted butter (not unsalted butter), since the salt balances the sweetness of the caramel and enhances the flavors of the other ingredients.
- Once the graham cracker toffee bars cool enough so that you can handle the pan, transfer the tray to the refrigerator to cool completely. This will help it really firm up.
- Use a sharp knife to cut the graham cracker toffee into squares along the cracker perforations, or just use your hands to break the toffee into smaller pieces. It’s not supposed to look perfect, so don’t stress!
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in September, 2013. It was updated in November, 2023.
ngwbny
I made this a few days ago ago for the first time and it turned out great, with no problems at all! I was so addicted that I had to make more. I followed all the directions, but it didn’t turn out like the first batch did. They were all gooey and sticky on the bottom. I have no idea what I did wrong. I followed all the instructions. Is there any way you could help me? Thank you.
We’re sorry to hear this, Jennifer! If the bars didn’t separate or curdle but were just mushy, the most likely reason is that the caramel didn’t boil long enough. We recommend setting a timer for 4 minutes just to be sure. Hope this helps!
I made them but when they were done baking I sprinkled chocolate morsels on them. Everyone loves them. I also make some without pecans and just put morsels on them. They were also really good. Thank you.
Sounds delicious, Cindy! We’re so glad you enjoyed them.
Yes I made these and they were Delicious!
Thank you, Michele! We’re so glad you enjoyed them.