I call this stuff.... "Elf Bark"

I'm fighting a cold this weekend, so I'm not feeling up to cooking for real.  I thought this would be a good time to post something I've already tried and loved!  (This is also why my pictures are cell-phone quality.)

The original name is "Christmas Crack" from the Passionate Penny Pincher, but I was taking this to work and really needed a name appropriate for the corporate office in which I work. Thanks to my friend, Kim (Hi Kim!), we came up with Elf Bark instead.

I really like that there is so much you can do to this to make it your own. Saltines or pretzels or graham crackers or butter crackers; salted vs unsalted butter; milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, dark chocolate... heck, even white chocolate might work; top with nuts or peppermint or salt or nothing.

When I make something for the first time, I always stick pretty close to the original recipe and adjust later once I figure out what I like about the original.


1.  Gather your stuff!
There isn't as much to gather with this recipe, but it's still a good practice.  Remember - put things away once you've used them for a faster cleanup when you're done!

• 1 cup salted butter (NOT margarine)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
• ~40 Saltine crackers

I added 2 items because I love them:

• kosher salt (salted dark chocolate is my kryptonite, I swear!)
• crushed peppermint candies

2. Prep your pan(s)

Heat the oven to 400.

Line a 12x17 jelly roll pan with foil.  Make sure it's a pan with edges... otherwise the melted sugar we pour over the crackers shortly will go all over the place and make a hot, sticky mess! (Trust me on the foil - do this.  Don't skip it and just plan on cleaning the pan later.  We're playing with molten sugar... it won't be pretty.)

Spray well with cooking spray.  (Again, trust me.  You don't want to have foil stuck to your bark.)

Place Saltines all over the pan.  They should be touching each other and fill the pan as completely as you can.  You want one full, even layer of saltines.

3. Make the toffee

Put butter and sugar in a saucepan on the stove top and heat on high until gentle boiling, stirring constantly.
Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 4-6 minutes until the mixture is thick and sugar is dissolved.

For me, I found that it was cooked when the white-ish foam (see photo below) was gone and the whole pot was a dark toffee/caramel color.  Stir frequently or constantly.  You do NOT want to burn the sugar; It'll taste bitter and ruin the candy.

Pour butter and sugar over the crackers evenly.  Take your time and be careful.  Boiling sugar doesn't mix well with skin!!

Bake 5-6 minutes in 400 degree (F) oven.

4. Melt the chocolate

Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 2-3 minutes.
Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top and put the pan back into the oven for 20-30 seconds.
Remove the pan again and with a spatula carefully spread the chocolate evenly across the candy.

5. Top it and... wait. (This is the hardest part!)

Sprinkle the top with kosher salt and peppermint candy pieces.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

6. Break it up and ENJOY!

Once cold, break the bark into bite-sized pieces (I tried to make them fairly small, so you can just pop a small piece in your mouth).  The peppermint candies made it very sharp and difficult to break up, but SO worth it.

I stored these in zip-top bags in the fridge with no problem.  The original recipe mentions storing in the freezer as well - that works too.