Saltine Toffee Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my saltine toffee chewy? ›

If your saltine toffee, or Christmas crack, is chewy, it's because the chocolate hasn't fully set yet. Try popping it in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm it up. Do not store it in the fridge for any longer than 15 minutes, however.

Don't hurry this gradual transformation; syrup that doesn't reach 300°F, or close to it, will make candy with timid flavor and chewy (not crunchy) texture. Think you can save time by bringing the syrup to a full rolling, popping boil in order for it to darken more quickly? Think again.

Stirring too quickly or too often can cause the toffee to separate. Moderate the heat as needed – turn it down if the toffee is boiling or cooking too fast so it doesn't burn. Cook until the toffee registers 285-290 degrees on an instant-read or candy thermometer and is deep amber brown in color, about 20-25 minutes.

Try the 3,2,1 strategy.

This strategy is done by eating your crackers in sets of three, then two, and eating the last cracker on it's own. Your saliva is absorbed after eating two saltines separately, so when you use this strategy it is said to be easier since half of the challenge is over with in the first go.

As the toffee cools and the molten sugar crystals become solid again, they are attracted to the 'seed' forming new lumps of tiny crystals – hence the grainy texture. This can also happen if the toffee is stirred, or agitated, after it has begun to boil or on cooling (as happened with this pink-tinted toffee).

Undercooked toffee won't be anything more than a caramel sauce. But overcooked toffee will be just slightly crunchier (almost unrecognizably).

If your toffee doesn't have a hard texture (where you can snap it in half) you did not cook it long enough. Again, the 5-minutes is just a guide. Cook it until it is the color of a brown bag.

This toffee is cooked initially to 310°F (154°C), then the salt and baking soda are added, creating carbon dioxide. The foaming and bubbling aerate the candy somewhat, making the texture lighter and the candy easier to bite into.

If the two elements melt unevenly it can result in separation. If you have good stovetop burners, we recommend turning them to medium-low to allow the butter and sugar to melt gently in the beginning stages. If the heat is too high, but butter might melt too quickly and can separate from the sugar.

Americanized toffee may include nuts, while a completely traditional British toffee will not. On the other hand, English toffee uses pure cane sugar, brown sugar, or molasses as its sweet base and always involves chocolate.

What is the crack stage of toffee? ›

Most people agree that toffee is cooked to soft crack stage, which is at temperature of 135°C – 140°C (275°F – 284°F), or hard crack stage which occurs at temperature of 145°C – 155°C (293°F – 311°F). More precisely, this candy is usually cooked at temperatures from 140°C – 150°C (284°F – 302°F).

If the candy forms thick threads when it drips from the spoon, it is in the hard ball stage or 250°—265°F. If you gather the candy mixture into a ball it will be a hard ball. Divinity or rock candy is typically cooked to this stage.

In actuality, without these holes, crackers wouldn't bake correctly. These holes allow steam to escape during cooking. This keeps the crackers flat, instead of rising a bit like a normal biscuit as the steam tries to escape; these holes also help to properly crisp the crackers.

Although the challenge may sound trivial, it is difficult because the crackers quickly exhaust the saliva in the mouth. Even though six saltines can fit in one's mouth at the same time, and a minute is plenty of time to chew, the resulting mass of crumbs is still difficult to swallow with a dry mouth.

THREE? They say this is fairly impossible. All we are asking you to do is eat THREE cream crackers in one minute or under. You cannot drink or eat anything else during this time.

The staling of dry, crisp foods such as crackers, tortilla chips, and crunchy cookies occurs because moisture from the atmosphere gets absorbed by the item's starches, which soften and rob it of its crisp texture. Luckily, this process is reversible.

a hard, chewy, often brown sweet that is made from sugar boiled with butter.

Toffee basics

Toffee is a hard candy made by cooking a sugar syrup with butter to the hard crack stage, 300–310°F (149–154°C), and then pouring it out to cool. It can have inclusions or not, and it can be made either very dense and hard or can be lightened by adding baking soda when the candy is almost done cooking .

If your toffee doesn't have a hard texture (where you can snap it in half) you did not cook it long enough. Again, the 5-minutes is just a guide. Cook it until it is the color of a brown bag.