Anything chocolate/peanut butter is a win in my book, but these bars take it a step further with an awesome flaky crunch from the crackers, a hint of butterscotch, and a nice amount of flaky salt to round out the experience. If you don’t love the salt/sugar combo you can leave the salt off these, but I highly recommend trying it on one if you haven’t.
These are really easy to make and are kind of a variant of this Christmas crack, which I also love. Whoever thought of using crackers as a shortcut to get flaky, crispy texture in these was soooo smart. This recipe layers crackers with the caramel base, and then tops it with a combo of chocolate, peanut butter, and butterscotch. You could leave the peanut butter out for those with an allergy and the butterscotch/chocolate combo would still be really good. I use good flaky sea salt on these, and on many other things. It gives such a nice finish and little pop in the mouth when eating. These large precut parchment sheets are also super useful here as they fit the 9×13 pan perfectly. I use these for baking anything on my sheet pans and also for brownies, bars, etc.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Crunch Bars
Ingredients
- 90 club crackers
- 1 cup salted butter
- 2 cups light brown sugar packed
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup butterscotch chips
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment. It is best to use one with square corners. If you only have a rounded corner one, just use less crackers and don't put them all the way to the curved edge. Line the pan with 5 rows of 6 crackers, or whatever fits your pan. You will make 3 layers of crackers.
- Spray the parchment and pan with oil spray. In a heavy bottom sauce pan, add the butter, sugar, graham cracker crumbs, and cream, stirring occasionally until it boils. Reduce the heat and simmer on low for 7 minutes.
- Pour half of the mixture over the crackers and spread with an offset spatula, then quickly add another layer of 30 crackers. Pour the rest of the caramel over and spread it to the edges. Top with the last 30 crackers. Place in the fridge while you make the topping.
- Combine the chips and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 20 second increments, stirring between each, until smooth. Pour over the top of the crackers and spread it evenly, topping with flaky sea salt. Put into the fridge for a couple hours to set, then cut into bars. Store in an airtight container, or in the freezer.