Christmas Crack Cookies
Christmas Crack Cookies are a tasty twist on the holiday favorite that's made with cookies loaded with toffee bits and saltine crackers mixed into them! Topped with melted chocolate, toasted pecans, and sprinkles!
Christmas Crack Cookies are a tasty twist on the holiday favorite that’s made with cookies loaded with toffee bits and saltine crackers mixed into them! Topped with melted chocolate, toasted pecans, and sprinkles!
My Shortbread Christmas Crack is another delicious twist on the classic Christmas treat that everyone looks forward to! Made with Lorna Doone Shortbread Cookies after just 10 minutes of hands-on prep!
Taking A Bite Into A Christmas Crack Cookie!
These Christmas Crack Cookies will certainly spread the holiday cheer this season! You’ll find all the same flavors of the traditional treat just with the addition of a brown butter chocolate chip cookie!
Making the foundation of this treat a cookie instead of a cracker makes it the best Christmas crack recipe ever! Mostly because cookies make everything better!
What Is Christmas Crack?
Christmas Crack is known for being incredibly irresistible for its salty-sweet, crunchiness! The classic version is made with saltine or Ritz crackers and sometimes even graham crackers.
The crackers are the base of the treat with a topping made of melted toffee bits and chocolate! From there, everyone seems to finish theirs off differently with toppings ranging from sprinkles to chopped nuts, crushed peppermint, or even a drizzle of white chocolate.
In this variation, I traded the cracker base in for a cookie! And it makes this classic Christmas treat even harder to resist!
Ingredients For Christmas Crack Cookies
- All-Purpose Flour
- Powdered Milk
- Salt
- Baking Soda
- Unsalted Butter
- Granulated Sugar
- Light Brown Sugar
- Light Corn Syrup
- Vanilla Extract
- Large Egg
- Large Egg Yolk
- Saltine Crackers
- Bits O Brickle Toffee Bits
- Pecan Pieces
- Chocolate Chips
- Holiday Sprinkles
How To Make Christmas Crack Cookies
- Preheat the oven and line baking sheets with parchment paper. Then pull the butter out of the fridge to allow it to sit at room temperature before beginning the recipe.
- Whisk the flour, salt, and baking soda together in a medium bowl. Then set it aside.
- Brown the butter by adding the unsalted butter to a skillet and cooking it over medium heat until melted and brown bits begin to form. Then remove the butter from the heat and stir in the remaining unsalted butter until melted. Next, transfer the melted butter to a large heat-safe bowl or stand mixer.
- Add the granulated sugar, light brown sugar, vanilla extract, and light corn syrup to the bowl and mix to combine.
- Mix in the egg and large egg yolk then allow the mixture to rest. Whisk again and then allow it to rest, repeat this for another round.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
- Fold the toffee bits and crushed saltine crackers into the cookie dough.
- Portion the dough out and transfer it onto the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake the Christmas cookies until they appear slightly cracked and only a little brown around the edges, rotating the baking sheet halfway through.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Toast the pecans in the microwave at intervals.
- Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave until smooth. Then spoon the melted chocolate onto the tops of the completely cooled cookies, spreading it out over the tops.
- Sprinkle the finely chopped pecan pieces, toffee bits, and holiday sprinkles on top of the melted chocolate. Allow the cookies to set up and then enjoy!
How To Store Christmas Crack Cookies
These cookies are good to eat for 3 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Freeze and Bake Later!
This cookie dough can be frozen and baked off later, which is perfect during the holiday season! First portion out the dough onto a baking sheet.
Then transfer the baking sheet of cookies to the freezer to flash-freeze them for about an hour. Afterward, remove the baking sheet and place the frozen cookie dough into a Ziploc bag with the excess air squeezed out of it.
Place the bag of frozen cookie dough in the freezer and use it within 3 months. The cookies can be baked from frozen, but you will need to add a minute or two to the baking time.
More Christmas Cookie Recipes:
- White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies – Studded with white chocolate and dried cranberries!
- Chocolate Cherry Cordial Cookies – Made with a Cherry Cordial center!
- Peanut Butter Christmas Cookies – Dessert’s favorite combination: peanut butter AND chocolate!
- Sugar Cookie Recipe Christmas Edition! – Everyone’s favorite holiday tradition!
- Heart-Shaped Grinch Cookies Recipe – Enjoy with your favorite version of The Grinch!
Steps
Preheat oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. It is best if you use two baking sheets and rotate them for the batches. Dropping the second batch of dough on the hot cookie sheet will slightly change the structure of the cookie.
Pull the butter out of the refrigerator to sit at room temperature 15 minutes before using.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda, and set aside.
Add 10 tablespoons of butter to a skillet and cook over medium heat until melted. Continue cooking and stirring frequently for 2 to 3 minutes until brown bits start to form in the bottom of the pan, the top is foamy, and it has a nutty aroma. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter until melted. Transfer the butter to a large heat-safe bowl or stand mixer bowl fitted with a whisk attachment.
Add the sugars, corn syrup, and vanilla to the butter and mix to combine.
Add the egg and additional egg yolk and mix for 30 seconds. Let rest for 3 minutes, then whisk again for 30 seconds. Repeat the resting and whisking for 2 more rounds. The batter should be smooth, thick, and shiny when done - almost like caramel sauce.
Use a rubber spatula or paddle attachment to mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients for 1 minute. The dough will seem very soft, this is normal and you do not need to chill it.
Fold in most of the toffee bits and crushed saltine crackers.
Portion the dough out with a large (¼ cup sized) cookie scoop and drop the dough 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, rotating halfway through. The cookies should look slightly cracked and only slightly brown around the edge. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool for 3 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
While the cookies are cooling, add the pecans to a small bowl and microwave for 1 minute, stir, then microwave for 30 additional seconds to give the pecans a slightly toasted flavor.
Once the cookies cool. Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl at 30-second intervals, stirring between each one until fully melted.
Spoon the melted chocolate onto the tops of the cooled cookies and spread to cover most of the top.
Sprinkles the finely chopped pecan pieces on the melted chocolate along with extra toffee bits and sprinkles if desired. Let the chocolate set before enjoying.
Notes
- I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients for a successful batch of cookies!
- Do not brown all of the butter, it will alter the recipe. It's important that the 4 tablespoons are only melted and not cooked to the point of clarifying or browning.
- Slicing the butter before melting will give it a fast and more even melt.
- This recipe makes large cookies, about 4 to 5 inches. If you want to make small cookies, use a medium cookie scoop and bake for 7 to 9 minutes.
- You'll actually note that this recipe calls for chopped chocolate and not regular chocolate chips, this is because we love how the flecks of chopped chocolate work into the dough and the large chocolate chunks create pools of rich chocolate after baking. However, chocolate chips can be used also.
- Nutritional information is an estimate that does not include the chocolate melting wafers.
- Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. Enjoy them for up to 3 days!
- Can I Add Nuts To These Cookies? Absolutely! Feel free to add any chopped nut that you prefer to these Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies!
- Does This Cookie Dough Freeze Well? Yes, it does! To freeze the cookie dough, first portion out the dough onto a baking sheet. Then place the baking sheet into the freezer for an hour to flash-freeze the dough. Then, take the frozen cookie dough and place it into a Ziploc bag with the excess air squeezed out of it. Then place the bag of frozen cookie dough back into the freezer and store for up to 3 months. To bake the cookies from frozen you'll just need to add an extra minute or two to the baking time.
- Can I Use Salted Butter In This Recipe Instead Of Unsalted? Yes, that's fine. If you choose to do so just omit the additional salt this recipe calls for.
Nutrition
- Calories550
- Carbs69g
- Protein5g
- Fat29g
- Saturated fat16g
- Fiber2g
- Sugar50g
- Sodium302mg
Estimates per serving, when a serving size is listed.
