Christmas Crack (technically, Turtle Grahams)

OK - so one of the most loved recipes I made last Christmas was a recipe I'd found online called "Turtle Graham Bars" by Claire Robinson, host of Food Network's 5 Ingredient Fix. Her recipes are usually pretty decent, so I decided to give this one a whirl. I ended up adapting it to what I had in house, which happened to be mixed nuts (versus pecans) and light brown sugar (versus dark). The end result was still lovely, however, and so I've decided to go ahead and put it here. 





What you'll need: a heavy saucepan, a baking pan with raised sides, parchment paper or foil, a double boiler or heavy microwavable bowl, and several spatulas.


Ingredients are super easy here -


14-ish honey graham crackers*
1 cup brown sugar**
1 cup butter
1 cup pecan pieces, finely chopped***
Kosher salt, to taste
12 oz good chocolate****


*You could use whatever kind you like, but I think regular works best
**Claire says dark, I used light because that's what was on hand
***Using mixed nuts or another favorite nut can work in your favor here
****I mixed milk chocolate, semi-sweet, and bittersweet Ghirardelli


OK. So first things first, mise en place.

This recipe is so easy to assemble, that it's hard sometimes NOT to make it. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees at this point, and layer your baking sheet with either parchment paper or foil. If using foil, I recommend spraying it with some kind of cooking spray. 

Next, line your baking sheet with graham crackers, like so:

Now onto the fun part. Using your saucepan, add the butter, pecans, and brown sugar over medium-high heat. You're going to want to melt this mixture together until it is liquid and then thickened slightly. 

Delicious!

Ooohhh, we're halfway there....

A few more stirs and we're good to go.

Now, you're going to want to take this delicious toffee goodness and pour it and spread it all over your graham crackers.

Continue adding until it is spread out, and then bake in the oven for about 12 minutes. Watch them carefully, as they can burn very easily if you leave them in too long.

As your toffee graham base is cooking, chop your chocolate into fine pieces and either melt it, using a double boiler, or in short 30 second increments, stirring frequently. (Please reference Oreo Cake Truffle blog on how to properly melt chocolate without burning it in a microwave.) Now, get ready for some fun.

See how nice and brown the toffee crunch is at this point? Your next move is to drizzle the chocolate over the top of the toffee crunch until it is evenly distributed.

This is about halfway through - once it's on, you can then spread it out with a spatula. Lastly, you're going to sprinkle sea salt on top of the chocolate, leaving little white flakes that will add a nice contrast to the richness of the toffee and chocolate when you eat it.

(I know. Not much difference here between the two photos).  Put the finished product into the fridge, let set for about 30 minutes, and then break into pieces or cut into rows, however you like, until your heart is content. Enjoy!