Chocolate Toffee "Crack"

Dear Lissy,
The beauty of early spring is upon us, and we are spending hours outdoors in the gardens and on the trails.  We still love a sweet treat, but I don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen.  Enter "crack", a nut bedecked chocolate and toffee candy on a cracker base.  The whole recipe goes together in 20 minutes and makes 35 - 40 treats.

This luscious photo is from Once Upon A Chef
She makes her "crack" on Matzo bread

Toffee Crack

4-6 sheets lightly salted matzo, 40 saltines, or 2 sleeves of graham crackers

You need enough crackers to completely cover the bottom of an 11 x 17 baking sheet.

2 sticks (1 cup) butter

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

12 oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped, toasted nuts (or bashed up M&M's if you're making this for kids)

Sea Salt

1. Line an 11 x 17 baking sheet with foil.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Place crackers with sides touching on baking sheet, breaking and fitting crackers if necessary to completely cover bottom of the pan.
3. Melt butter and sugar in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, stirring often  Once mixture comes to a boil, boil for 3 minutes.  Mixture will foam and thicken.  
4. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla. The caramel is wicked hot.  Use extreme caution to pour mixture over crackers, spreading to an even thickness with a rubber spatula.  Place in preheated oven, and bake until bubbly, 8-15 minutes.  I've had the best results with the middle rack of the oven, but you still want to keep a close eye on it so it doesn't burn.
5. Sprinkle with the chocolate bits.  Once chocolate has melted (a minute or two), spread  evenly across the top of the crackers. An offset spatula works best for this step.
6. Sprinkle with toasted nuts and sea salt if desired. If you're making this for kids, bashed up M&M's are usually a better choice than nuts.  Let cool completely before cutting or breaking into 2" squares.  It will cool in 45 minutes in the fridge if you're impatient.  Mail at least half of the batch to your mother.
7. Store in an airtight container.  Theoretically, this lasts a week.  

I love you, Sweetie,

Momma