Description
Christmas Crack Cookies are buttery, crunchy, and topped with melted chocolate and toffee bits for a festive treat. These large, soft-centered cookies feature a unique twist with browned butter and crushed saltine crackers creating a perfect sweet and salty flavor balance.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (270g)
- 2 tablespoons powdered milk (12g)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Wet Ingredients
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter (196g), sliced into tablespoons and divided
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- ¾ cup light brown sugar (150g), packed
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
Mix-ins & Toppings
- 10 Saltine crackers, crushed
- 1 cup bits o brickle toffee bits, plus more for topping
- ½ cup pecan pieces (optional topping)
- 12 ounces chocolate chips
- Holiday sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare: Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Use two baking sheets and rotate them during baking for even cooking.
- Prepare Butter: Pull butter from refrigerator 15 minutes before use to reach room temperature. Use 10 tablespoons butter to brown in a skillet over medium heat until nutty aroma and brown bits form, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in remaining 4 tablespoons butter until melted, then transfer to a large bowl.
- Mix Sugars and Flavorings: Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, light corn syrup, and vanilla extract to the browned butter. Mix to combine thoroughly.
- Add Eggs: Add egg and egg yolk to mixture and whip for 30 seconds. Rest for 3 minutes then whisk 30 seconds. Repeat resting and whisking twice more until batter is smooth, thick, and shiny like caramel sauce.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: Whisk flour, powdered milk, salt, and baking soda in a separate bowl. Then gently mix dry ingredients into wet mixture for 1 minute. Dough will be soft; no chilling needed.
- Fold in Mix-ins: Fold in crushed saltine crackers and most of the toffee bits evenly into the dough.
- Scoop Cookies: Portion dough with a ¼ cup cookie scoop onto prepared baking sheet, spacing cookies 3 inches apart.
- Bake: Bake cookies for 10 minutes, rotating baking sheets halfway through. Cookies should look cracked with slightly browned edges. Cool cookies on baking sheet for 3 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.
- Toast Pecans: Place pecan pieces in a small bowl and microwave for 1 minute, stir, then microwave 30 seconds more to toast.
- Melt Chocolate: Melt chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl at 30-second intervals, stirring between until fully melted.
- Decorate Cookies: Spoon melted chocolate on cooled cookies and spread to cover most of the top. Sprinkle toasted pecans, extra toffee bits, and holiday sprinkles over chocolate. Let chocolate set before serving.
Notes
- Use a kitchen scale for accurate ingredient measurement for best results.
- Do not brown all of the butter; keep 4 tablespoons just melted to avoid altering texture.
- Slicing butter before melting helps it melt evenly and quickly.
- These cookies are large, about 4 to 5 inches. For smaller cookies, use a medium scoop and bake 9 minutes.
- Chopped chocolate chunks create better texture, but chocolate chips can be used as an alternative.
- Nutritional information excludes the chocolate used for topping.
- Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- You can add any chopped nuts as preferred for extra crunch.
- Cookie dough freezes well: flash-freeze scooped dough on a baking sheet for 1 hour, then store in airtight bag for up to 3 months. Add 1–2 minutes to baking time when baking from frozen.
- If using salted butter, omit the additional salt from the recipe.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 220 kcal
- Sugar: 16 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 35 mg
