Crunchy, sweet, salty, and easy brown sugar buttery toffee with saltine crackers!
Saltine toffee is all over the internet, but there’s only a few of us who add peanut butter to the mix. Peanut butter + chocolate + toffee. Let’s be real. This toffee is miraculous.
I made a batch of it the other week for a project and decided it was time to post a photo tutorial of the recipe on my blog. I secretly also wanted to tell you that I have a version of this saltine toffee in Sally’s Candy Addiction! There I use pretzels (and no peanut butter… oops!) in the toffee instead of crackers. Have you tried the pretzel version? Or, better yet, have you tried THIS version?
Let’s walk through it real quick.
Grab a rimmed baking sheet. Rimmed so toffee doesn’t drip over the edges. I always use my half sheet pan. Then, line the pan with a silicone baking mat or spray with nonstick spray. Parchment paper works too. Line the sheet with a sleeve of saltines. About 35-40 crackers.
So then you’ll make the shortcut toffee syrup. Which is only two ingredients: butter and brown sugar. Boil them together. The butter will take on a lovely browned butter flavor and the brown sugar? Well its flavor is just fabulous. Don’t use brown sugar in traditional homemade toffee recipes. You know, the kind using a candy thermometer. Too much moisture. But brown sugar in this easy saltine toffee works.
Pour the toffee syrup over the crackers. Then, and this is the weird part (as if crackers and toffee wasn’t weird already?!?), bake the crackers + toffee syrup. Only bake for about 5 minutes. The toffee will boil, bubble, and spread all around the crackers. This quick bake in the oven helps to solidify the toffee later in the recipe.
Right after the oven step, spread melted peanut butter over the warm toffee. Then, sprinkle on some chocolate. The chocolate options are endless. You can use chocolate chips (semi-sweet, milk, white, or mini) or use can use pure chopped chocolate. Sprinkle it on top. Then, pop back into the oven for a minute or two to help melt the chocolate.
Spread the melting chocolate all over top. And if you’re feeling jazzy, sprinkle it all with M&Ms. Or even sprinkles, toasted nuts, mini chocolate chips, etc etc. There are no rules when it comes to garnishing saltine toffee!
The final step is chilling the toffee. That’s where everything comes together. The toffee solidifies and becomes this incredible, magical, buttery, sticky, chewy, peanut buttery, chocolate-covered, crunchiness that is unlike anything I’ve ever eaten before. Rave reviews every time. And it all starts with… crackers.
THIS IS CRAZINESS.
Soooo if you haven’t tried it in the past 3 years, now’s the time. It’s a holiday must. And by holiday, I really mean everyday. Especially Friday.
PrintEasy Saltine Toffee (With Peanut Butter)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 20 minutes
- Yield: serves 40
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Crunchy, sweet, salty, and easy brown sugar buttery toffee with saltine crackers!
Ingredients
- One sleeve salted Saltine crackers (about 35-40 crackers)
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (200g) packed dark or light brown sugar
- 6 Tablespoons (100g) creamy peanut butter
- 2 and ½ cups (450g) semi-sweet, milk, or white chocolate chips
- 1 cup (200g) M&Ms
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Generously spray a half-sheet pan with cooking spray or line with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Arrange crackers on top as pictured. Set aside.
- Stirring lightly, bring butter and brown sugar to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat. As it begins to boil, leave it alone without stirring for 3 minutes. Pour boiling mixture evenly over crackers, then bake for 5 minutes.
- As toffee bakes, melt peanut butter in microwave. Remove toffee from the oven, then pour peanut butter over top. Smooth it into an even layer. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips on top, then return the pan to the oven for 1 minute to help chocolate chips melt. Remove from the oven and spread chocolate chips into one melted chocolate layer. Top with M&Ms.
- Refrigerate toffee for 2 hours. Once set, break into pieces.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: This toffee tastes wonderful for up to 2 weeks, so make it ahead and keep it covered tightly in the refrigerator. It freezes well too—up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then enjoy.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Half Sheet Baking Pan | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Saucepan
Keywords: saltine toffee