Ah, the well-known Christmas Cracker Candy, often known as Christmas Crack. While the name of this delight may be debatable, we can all agree on one thing: it is DELICIOUS. Some crunchy, salty layer topped with caramelized toffee and chocolate. What’s not to like?

Ah, the well-known Christmas Cracker Candy, often known as Christmas Crack. While the name of this delight may be debatable, we can all agree on one thing: it is DELICIOUS. Some crunchy, salty layer topped with caramelized toffee and chocolate. What’s not to love about this? This has been a Christmas baking classic for a long time, and this year I wanted to put a small twist on the original: pretzels!

Over the years, we’ve seen numerous varieties of this cracker sweet. Saltines, Ritz crackers, and Graham crackers are commonly used. It’s difficult to go wrong here. But there was one base layer we hadn’t tested yet: pretzels! And boy, have we been deprived.

Begin by arranging the pretzel sticks on a baking sheet coated with parchment paper (you could alternatively use foil here). The brown sugar, butter, and salt will then be boiled. Because you’re not producing genuine caramel here, the temperature isn’t critical. Simply boil it until it thickens and the color begins to darken.

INGREDIENTS
Pretzel sticks, 15 oz.
1 pound brown sugar
1 pound butter
14 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
20 oz. chopped high-quality chocolate
Optional: Christmas streusel
PREPARATION
Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Set aside an even layer of pretzel sticks across the entire sheet.
Bring butter, brown sugar, and salt to a boil in a small saucepan. Continue to boil the mixture for another 4-5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat when the liquid thickens and darkens and stir in the vanilla.
Pour the mixture evenly over the pretzels and bake for 5 minutes on a baking sheet.
While the first layer is baking, melt the chocolate in 30 second increments in the microwave, stirring each time until smooth.
Remove baking sheet from oven and set aside for 1 minute before spreading melted chocolate evenly across the surface. If desired, garnish with festive sprinkles.
Place in the refrigerator (not the freezer!) for 3-4 hours or overnight. When completely cold, cut into squares and serve.
Keep it in an airtight container.