I have the best girl friends for a lot of reasons. Many of them live across the country, but we are soul mates. We can pick up a conversation days, weeks, or months after it began without missing a beat.

That’s a real friend, you know?

Anyway, one of my dearest friends, Carol, left a comment here a couple of weeks ago about Christmas Crack.

That made you raise your eyebrows, didn’t it?

I have to think that this name, Christmas Crack, came from our other dear friend, Sara. I can’t think of anyone else who would come up with such a name.

As soon as Carol mentioned that Christmas Crack involved toffee and chocolate, I neeeeded the recipe.

That’s typical of crack, isn’t it? It’s a good name for this candy.

I used to eat this candy at my grandparents’ house at Christmastime. It was a layer of toffee in between two layers of chocolate. It was heavenly. I’d eat it in place of dinner if I could have.

I’ve never seen a recipe for that candy, but this comes close.

I know that Christmas is over, but this is so delicious that you could make it for Valentine’s Day. Or Mother’s Day. How about Easter? Every week on Tuesday?

Don’t do that. You’ll gain thirty pounds by summer.

Actually, you’d be furthest ahead to just forget I shared this recipe with you.

Christmas Crack (otherwise known as Cracker Candy or Toffee Bark)

• 4 ounces saltine crackers
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Line cookie sheet with saltine crackers in single layer.
3. In a saucepan, combine the sugar and the butter. Very slowly, heat until mixture reaches 270-275 degrees F. (This will take about 30 minutes, according to Carol.)  Immediately pour over saltines and spread t0 cover crackers completely.
4. Bake at 400 degrees F for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Let sit for 5 minutes. Spread melted chocolate and top with chopped nuts. Cool completely and break into pieces.

Carol also says that cooking it quickly will make the toffee soft and sticky, like caramel. Cooking it very slowly will make it harder, more like hard candy.

Happily submitted to Ultimate Recipe Swap, What’s Cooking Wednesday, Friday Feasts, Foodie Friday, What Did You Bake Today?, Food on Friday, and  Fight Back Friday

Photo courtesy of Liz Marie on Flickr