Barks of any kind are a great choice for holiday gifts or for serving at family gatherings. They don't take much time at all, there are hundreds of different varieties, and they are oh so delicious. Here's a fantastic recipe that I've been using for several years. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Here's a few step-by-step photos, though this is such a simple recipe that I doubt you'll need them (the final printable recipe can be found at the bottom)
Preheat oven to 400F and while it's heating, line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, and spread 1 sleeve of saltine crackers in a single layer on top of the foil. I made a double batch. Well, more like 1 ¾ batch because my second cookie sheet was smaller)
Melt some butter in a sauce pan, and then add brown sugar.
Bring it to a boil and allow to cook for 3-5 minutes.
Pour caramel over the saltines and gently spread with a non-stick spatula. Place the pan in the oven and bake for about 5-8 minutes until the caramel is hot and bubbly.
Remove the pan from the oven and immediately sprinkle the chocolate chips on top and allow them to sit for 3-5 minutes. They'll start to get soft but will retain their shape.
Use a nonstick spatula to spread the chocolate into a single layer, and top with Heath bar pieces. Place the pans into the freezer for 3-4 hours. Once frozen, turn them over, remove the foil and break into pieces. These can be stored at room temperature but if the chocolate begins to soften, they can also be stored in the refrigerator.
The saltiness of the crackers is a delicious addition to the chocolate and caramel. You can experiment with your toppings if you don't want to use Heath bars - any kind of chopped nuts would be delicious as well.
Heath Bar Brickle or "Christmas Crack"
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 1 pan
Ingredients
- 1 sleeve of saltine crackers (about 40 crackers)
- 1 bag of milk chocolate chips
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 5-6 heath bars, crushed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F
- Line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil and cover it with a single layer of saltine crackers.
- In a saucepan, melt butter and sugar together. Bring to boil then let cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Pour hot caramel over the saltines and place the pan in the oven for 5-8 minutes until caramel is hot and bubbly.
- Remove pan from oven and immediately cover the top with chocolate chips. Let set for 3-5 minutes so the chocolate begins to melt.
- Use a nonstick spatula to spread the chocolate into a single layer and then top with crushed Heath bars.
- Place pan in freezer for several hours until set.
- Turn pan over and carefully remove the foil. Break the bark into pieces.
- Can be stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator if chocolate gets too soft.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
Here's a Pinterest-optimized image for saving this recipe for later. Just hover your mouse over the photo and click, "Pin it!"
Donna Schwarz
Hi. Can you use the heath bar chocolate toffee bits instead of breaking up the heath boas and if not, is it regular size heath bars that you use or the bigger ones. Thank you
Donna
Erin
Yes, you can definitely use the bits instead of crushing full-sized bars. I used the regular size, but the amount of bits is really a preference thing - sprinkle on as little or as much as you want.
Susan Sutherlin
Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm