This irresistible Peppermint Bark Cracker Toffee is a mash-up of two of my favorite Christmas treats: Peppermint Bark and Cracker Toffee. It’s an easy Christmas candy recipe perfect for any peppermint lover.
Peppermint Bark Toffee with Graham Crackers
Christmas is nearly here, and if any of you are anything like me, you know these next two days will be spent in a bit of baking frenzy in prep for the big day.
Our family Christmas is quite the dessert affair, mainly because I have problems and can’t hold myself back when it comes to what we need to have as options.
It’s a whole thing.
We have to have the traditional Christmas staples: homemade caramels, fudge, snickerdoodle cookies, and molasses cookies. But we also need to have these strawberry jam shortbread bars, because I’m half in love with them. And my niece specifically requested M&M cookie bars with chocolate chips and rice krispie treats, and saying no to her cute face is not even a little bit of an option.
We’re also big on double chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies with Reeses stuffed inside, and coconut macaroons.
And now? Well, after trying this buttery and sweet chocolate peppermint cracker toffee, I have no choice but to add it to our list.
Safe to say, we have dessert and cookies for days and it’s really my fault, but I’m not even a tiny bit sorry.
Reasons You Need This Peppermint Bark Toffee In Your Life:
- Cracker Toffee: If you’ve never had cracker toffee before, allow me to introduce you to your new favorite Christmas candy. It’s buttery and sweet, and it is such an easy recipe.
- Peppermint Bark: Another Christmas candy staple: the peppermint bark. Layers of chocolate, white chocolate, and crushed peppermints.
- Easy: As much as I love a traditional English toffee recipe, cracker toffee is just so easy to make and nearly impossible to mess up. And this candy cane toffee version is so simple and yet so quintessentially Christmas.
- Versatile: You can use butter crackers, saltines, graham crackers, pretzels, and even Oreos (if you have a major sweet tooth) as the base. You can use any kind of chocolate you want as well.
If you still need a little more Christmas inspiration, try this Oreo Peppermint Bark, this Oreo Toffee, and this Pumpkin Spice Toffee next!
Ingredients:
You only need a handful of ingredients for peppermint bark toffee, most of which you probably have in your pantry already.
- Graham Crackers: I like to use the classic honey graham cracker version, but you could use the cinnamon version or the chocolate version.
- Unsalted Butter
- Brown Sugar: Brown sugar is a key ingredient because it doesn’t get grainy in the butter like granulated sugar sometimes does if it’s not properly boiled.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate: You can use chocolate chips or a baking bar.
- White Chocolate: I highly suggest using a high quality white chocolate bar, as white chocolate chips have a lot of additives that cause the chips not to melt as easily.
- Crushed Candy Canes: You can use peppermint candies or candy canes—whatever you have on hand (or can find at the stores if you’re feeling brave about facing the Christmas crowds).
How To Make This Peppermint Bark Graham Cracker Toffee
This is a brief overview of how to make this chocolate candy cane cracker toffee. There is a printable recipe card below with proper measurements and all of the details.
- Graham Crackers: Place the graham crackers in an even layer on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Toffee: In a small saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar together. Bring the mixture to a boil on medium heat. Let it boil about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Bake: Carefully pour the toffee mixture over the graham crackers. Use a rubber spatula or knife to spread the toffee evenly on top of the graham crackers. Then bake in the oven for about 5 minutes.
- Chocolate: Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of the toffee and put back in the oven for 1-2 minutes, just until the chips begin to melt. Use a knife or an icing spatula to spread the chocolate in an even layer.
- White Chocolate: Melt the white chocolate (I like to do this while the toffee is baking in the oven so it’s ready when I need it). Dollop the white chocolate on top of the toffee bark and use a toothpick or knife to swirl it into the chocolate.
- Peppermints: Sprinkle the top with crushed peppermints or candy canes.
- Set: Allow the bark to set before breaking it into smaller pieces. It can take a couple of hours to set up at room temperature, otherwise you can speed up the process in the fridge.
Storage Tips:
Once the bark is set, it can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for a couple of days. Or, it can be stored in the fridge.
Peppermint Toffee Bark Substitutions:
Graham Crackers: You can use butter crackers, saltine crackers, pretzels, or any other cracker you like. You can even use cookies, like Oreos or crunchy chocolate chip cookies.
Chocolate: You can use any kind of chocolate you like! Plus, if you don’t like white chocolate, you can omit it altogether.
Candy Canes: I like the crunchy texture of candy canes or peppermint candies, but you could use a peppermint chocolate candy (like Andes mints peppermint bits) or peppermint flavored sprinkles.
Final Quick and Easy Baking Tips for Toffee Bark:
- Prep: This is an easy recipe, but it does help to have everything prepped and ready to go, because once the toffee is in the oven, you do have to work quickly with adding the chocolate on top of the toffee.
- Chocolate: The recipe states to sprinkle the chocolate chips on top and let them melt in the oven before spreading in an even layer. Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate on your own (like you do the white chocolate) and spread it on top of the toffee.
- White Chocolate: Why do we melt the white chocolate separately anyway? Well, white chocolate is temperamental and can seize if the temperature is wrong. While you could add the white chocolate chunks on top of the chocolate chips, in my recipe testing, I found it much easier to melt the white chocolate on its own and adding it on top of the toffee.
- 15-18 graham crackers
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (light or dark is fine)
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup white chocolate bars, broken into smaller pieces
- 1/2 cup candy canes, crushed
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper (I use a 1/2 sheet pan size, which is about 13x18).
- Place the graham crackers in an even layer, filling the baking sheet as best as possible. Set aside.
In a medium sized saucepan on medium heat, melt butter and brown sugar together, and then bring to a boil on medium heat. Allow the mixture to boil about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Carefully pour the butter and brown sugar toffee mixture on top of the graham crackers. Use a knife or rubber spatula to spread the toffee evenly on top of the graham crackers. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, or until the toffee is bubbling.
- Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the toffee, then place in the oven for 1-2 minutes. Once the chips begin to melt, pull the toffee out of the oven. Using a knife or icing spatula, spread the chocolate into an even layer on top of the toffee.
- Next, melt the white chocolate chunks in the microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each hit in the microwave.* Once melted, dollop the white chocolate on top of the melted chocolate. Using a toothpick or knife, swirl the white chocolate into the chocolate.
Lastly, sprinkle with crushed candy canes.
Allow the peppermint bark toffee to set before breaking into smaller pieces. It can take a few hours to set at room temperature, or you can let it set in the fridge.
*I like to melt the white chocolate while the toffee is in the oven so that it’s already melted and ready to go when I need it.
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