Peppermint 'Crack' Recipe

By
Alexandra Penfold
Alexandra Penfold
Alexandra Penfold is a literary agent, author, blogger, and recipe developer who has contributed an extensive number of baking and candy recipes to Serious Eats. 
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Updated Dec. 17, 2020
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This salty and sweet chocolate bark is a super easy holiday variation of classic Chocolate 'Crack.' Mints can be crushed to personal perference—a mix of finely and coarsely crushed works well. Be sure to regular salted saltines—unsalted and low sodium version are now available, but won't work as well in this recipe.

Recipe Details

Peppermint 'Crack' Recipe

Active 20 mins
Total 2 hrs
Serves 20 servings

Ingredients

  • 51 saltine crackers (approximately)

  • 1 cup unsalted butter

  • 1 cup dark brown sugar

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 12 ounces high-quality dark chocolate (70% or greater)

  • 2/3 cup crushed candy canes or peppermints

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 12 x 17 inch jelly roll pan with foil. Place saltine crackers salt side up and side-by-side in the pan as tightly as possible without overlapping. Use saltine pieces to fill any gaps at the bottom of the pan. Set aside. Chop chocolate so pieces are about the size of standard chocolate chips and set aside.

  2. In a medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat stirring frequently with a spatula. Once butter has melted, add brown sugar and vanilla stirring to combine. Cook for about 5 minutes or until mixture is an even dark brown color and has begun to bubble. Remove from heat and pour over saltines using spatula to spread sauce.

  3. Bake crackers for 5 minutes or until butter mixture begins to bubble. Remove from oven and sprinkle evenly with chocolate allowing the heat to melt the chocolate. Spread chocolate evenly with the spatula so all of the crackers are completely covered.

  4. Let the chocolate cool slightly, so that it it cool to the touch, but not hardened. Sprinkle crushed candy canes or peppermints evenly on top and refrigerate until chocolate sets and hardens. Break apart and serve.

Special equipment

aluminum foil, jelly roll pan

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
274 Calories
17g Fat
28g Carbs
2g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 20
Amount per serving
Calories 274
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 17g 22%
Saturated Fat 10g 50%
Cholesterol 25mg 8%
Sodium 81mg 4%
Total Carbohydrate 28g 10%
Dietary Fiber 2g 7%
Total Sugars 17g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 24mg 2%
Iron 3mg 14%
Potassium 149mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)