It’s hard to believe that Christmas is only a little over a week away. For my boys, school is out soon and I’m really focused on whipping up some sweet treats to share with teachers and neighbors. For as long as I can remember, we’ve always made Christmas Crack together but over the years, we’ve traditionally used saltine crackers. But not this year. Just as everything in 2020 is slightly different, we mixed things up this year and used graham crackers in our Graham Cracker Christmas Crack and all I have to say is game changer ya’ll! It’s so dang good and you can whip up this tasty treat that is literally everyone’s favorite with your favorite variety of chocolate to make it even more unforgettable. For all you procrastinators out there like me, read on to find out how to make Graham Cracker Christmas Crack quickly and easily for all those last minute gifts!
So, why use graham crackers instead of saltine crackers? In my option, graham cracker make everything better but in truth, this simple substitution gives this Graham Cracker Christmas Crack a deeper holiday flavor. And the best part is, it’s still just as easy to make. Here’s how to do it.
- 14 graham crackers
- 2 sticks (1 cup) of SALTED butter
- 1 cup of tightly packed light brown sugar
- 3 cups of chocolate (semi-sweet, milk, white or dark)
- 1 cup of chopped pecans
- Pink himalayan sea salt
- Cover your baking pan in aluminum foil and spray it with cooking spray.
- Lay out the graham crackers in a single layer until they cover the entire pan (break them into smaller pieces to fit if needed)
- Add the butter and brown sugar to a sauce pan and bring it to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to low (but still bubbling) and cook for five minutes, stirring regularly.
- Pour the milk and brown sugar mixture over the top of the graham crackers and spread it out evenly.
- Bake the covered graham crackers at 350 for five minutes.
- Pour the chocolate on top of the cooked graham crackers.
- Return the pan to the oven for one minute to melt the chocolate.
- Spread the chocolate evenly over the graham crackers.
- Sprinkle the chopped pecans on top and add a sprinkle of sea salt if desired.
- Chill for 2-3 hours.
- Break into pieces and store in an air-tight container.
To start this easy Graham Cracker Christmas Crack, I simply line my baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray it with cooking spray so that it will come off easily once my sweet treat is prepared. Then I lay a single layer of graham crackers out, covering as much of the pan as possible. Since graham crackers are easier than saltines to break, I have no problem breaking them into pieces to cover as much space as possible.
Once my graham crackers are arranged on my baking sheet, I add my butter and brown sugar to a sauce pan over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil. It almost looks like it thickens instead of boils. When I see this happen, I reduce the heat to low (but still bubbling) and cook the butter and brown sugar together for five minutes, stirring it regularly.
Once the butter and brown sugar mixture has turned a thick, golden brown (trust me, five minutes is all it takes) I pour it over the top of my graham crackers and spread it out evenly.
Into the oven at 350 degrees my Graham Cracker Christmas Crack goes and I cook it at this temperature for five minutes. It’s important to keep an eye on this step as the butter mixture can burn quickly. After five minutes, I remove my Christmas Crack from the oven and sprinkle my chocolate chips over the top. I do a variety of versions of this Graham Cracker Christmas Crack and use semi-sweet, milk, white or dark chocolate.
Once I’ve sprinkled on my chocolate chips, I like to return my pan to the oven for one minute because it really helps the chocolate soften and melt so that it will spread well. Then I simply use a small spatula or knife to spread the chocolate out evenly.
Before my chocolate starts to harden, I sprinkle on my pecan pieces and add a sprinkle of pink himalayan sea salt.
That’s it! All that’s left to do is chill my Graham Cracker Christmas Crack in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Once it has completely hardened, I remove it from the refrigerator, peel off the aluminum foil and break it into pieces.
I can then repeat the process with different varieties of chocolate to mix up the taste if I want to. When I made this batch, I alternated between semi-sweet chocolate and white chocolate for a contrast that’s delicious and fun!
Once I’ve made all of my Graham Cracker Christmas Crack, I divide it into smaller airtight containers for gifting and store some for my own family as well.
This is such an easy teacher and neighbor gift that everyone loves receiving and it’s perfect for having on hand in case I need a last minute, unexpected gift that I know will be appreciated. No matter whether you make it for your family, create delicious gifts for friends, teachers or even co-workers or simple have this sweet treat on hand for unexpected guests, I can guarantee that everyone will feel festive while enjoying this delicious Graham Cracker Christmas Crack!
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