The best part about this viral Christmas Crack is that there is no refined sugar. My family was blown away when I told them I made this classic Christmas dessert without any cane sugar. It was truly amazing! These are so easy to make, I always like to make a double batch.

Irresistible Flavors

What I love about this classic Christmas sweet is that despite having no refined sugar, one small piece still packs tons of flavor. The bittersweet chocolate combined with the buttery toffee and sweet shortbread crust (made from Simple Mills graham crackers) makes this one of grandma’s recipes you’ll want to enjoy all season long. With a cleaner ingredients list, this tasty treat is one don’t have to feel guilty about enjoying. Just be warned – this stuff is completely addicting! The golden brown toffee sandwiched between a layer of chocolate and crust is irresistible. You’ll want to hide a few pieces just for yourself before sharing the whole pan at your next Christmas cookie exchange. It’s sure to be a hit!

Easy Recipe

This is seriously such an easy dessert recipe. With hardly any hands on time, you can have a real crowd pleaser that your friends and family are sure to gobble up. I love to make a double or triple recipe of this to have on hand during the holiday season. There are countless way for serving and giving this treasured delight. This past Christmas season, I took this to a church social, served this when family came in town, and gave this as gifts to neighbors and friends. There is something truly special about receiving homemade English toffee, and your friends, family and neighbors are going to love it. For gifts, I like to wrap this up with a beautiful red bow and for serving, I’ll put this on a beautiful serving platter all on it’s own or serve alongside some of my other favorite Christmas greats.

Storage Instructions

Room Temperature: Store bars in a tightly sealed container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Refrigerator: For best texture and freshness, store bars covered in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.

Freezer: You can freeze baked bars for long term storage. Allow bars to cool completely before placing in a freezer bag or airtight container with parchment paper between layers. Press out excess air and seal. Freeze for 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

General Tips

If storing for more than a day or two, refrigeration is best to preserve freshness.
Allow chilled or frozen bars to come closer to room temp before eating for best flavor and texture.
Cut into servings just before eating or gifting for clean slices.

What You Need to Make Christmas Crack

Here are the ingredients I use in order to maintain my family’s dietary needs. There are also some great alternatives listed to keep this gluten free, dairy free and free from any refined sugar. All of these ingredients can be found at your local grocery store.

Graham crackers – Instead of a buttery shortbread base, gluten free or grain free graham crackers work in this recipe. To keep this recipe as close to paleo as possible, I like to use Simple Mills graham crackers.

Butter – For a cleaner version, ghee can be used in this recipe. Or, to make it vegan, vegan butter can be used. Coconut oil would also probably work. Full disclosure, I have only personally made this recipe with real butter.

Coconut Sugar – For any of you with a medically restrictive diet, this recipe is made with cleaner ingredients like coconut sugar in lieu of the regular sugar, brown sugar, or dark brown sugar typically found in this recipe. Or maybe you just prefer cleaner ingredients. The best part is that nobody will know. I made this for a church social and had several people ask for the recipe. They were blown away when they found out it contained no refined sugar.

Vanilla – Vanilla extract adds a nice depth of flavor to any recipe, and in this recipe is the perfect complete to the rich, buttery toffee candy layer in the center.

Chocolate Chips – I used Enjoy Life chocolate chips, which are gluten free and dairy free. Hu makes excellent sugar free chocolate chips, which would also work in this recipe. Really any kind of chocolate chips you prefer work well in this recipe. You can use semi-sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, and I bet even white chocolate would put a fun twist on these english toffee bars.

Coconut oil – Although not traditionally in this recipe, I like add a couple of tablespoons to melted chocolate as it gives the chocolate a beautiful sheen after hardening.

Flaky sea salt – Flaky sea salt is listed as an optional ingredients. However, I encourage to sprinkle just a little bit on top. There is just something so special about the combination of salt, toffee and chocolate. That sweet and salty combo is truly the chef’s kiss.

Sprinkles – Another optional ingredient that really takes this recipe over the top. As the perfect addition, sprinkles really take this toffee over the top. For dye free options, I suggest looking at Sprouts, Whole Foods, Trader Joes or search for the Supernatural brand on Amazon.

How to Make Christmas Crack

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and grease with butter or coconut oil for easiest removal later.
In a medium sauce pan, mix butter and brown sugar over medium to medium-high heat for about 4 minutes. Stir continuously with a wire whisk.
Add vanilla and a pinch of salt to sugar mixture. Pour over graham cracker crust arranged in a single layer on the baking sheet.
Bake hot crust for 5 minutes until light brown.
While bars cool on wire rack, melt chocolate chips and coconut oil in microwave, stirring until smooth.
Spread chocolate over baked graham crust using a spatula to coat sides of the pan evenly.
Sprinkle with sea salt and decorations if desired. Let chocolate toffee bars sit at room temperature 1 hour to set or to set quickly place in the refrigerator or freezer.
Cut into small pieces with a sharp knife or pizza cutter or even use your hands to break pieces apart (my preferred method).