Wait, what? Can it be possible? Oh yeah…this low carb Cracker Toffee is destined to be a favourite holiday treat. Dig in, because it’s sugar-free! This post is sponsored by Lily’s Sweets.
What’s that sound? That thumping, bumping sound? Oh, ouch! That’s the sound of jaws hitting the floor. And that, my friends, is the sound you will hear when you serve your friends this Keto Cracker Toffee and then you tell them it’s low carb and sugar-free. You’ll may also hear a few gasps and possibly a disbelieving snort or two. Really, you’re going to hear a cacophony of startled and surprised sounds. And you are going to feel that warm inner glow of knowing you just totally crushed it. And that’s a pretty great feeling, I must admit.
Cracker Toffee is a holiday classic and I love nothing more than re-creating holiday classics in a healthier form. It makes me giddy with excitement, really. But you are going to hate me when you hear that I actually made this treat LAST YEAR and I didn’t share it with you. It happens every year. I start creating low carb holiday cookies and the like so early in the season, because I love them so much. And inevitably, by the time the holidays roll around, I don’t manage to get them all published in time. So I held onto this one. I held onto it for a long time, holding it close to my chest, just waiting until the right time to bring it out again. I held it like a precious object, like Frodo with The Ring, carrying it carefully, always conscious of its existence.
Overly dramatic, much? Yeah, maybe a bit. I don’t apologize for it. I mean, we are talking about low carb cracker toffee.
Now, here’s the thing about low carb cracker toffee. Unlike our friends who consume flour and sugar, we can’t go out and pick up some crackers and whip up the toffee and throw it all together. We have to be industrious and make our own crackers. But it’s worth it, believe me. Now if you are a fan of my homemade graham crackers, you can use those here. But I whipped up some Basic Almond Flour crackers as the base for these. The recipe is actually in my cookbook, The Everyday Ketogenic Kitchen, but I am sharing it here with you today as well. Because I know you want to make this keto treat and I am not the sort of person to hold out on you!
Here’s the other thing I learned when making this: low carb toffee doesn’t work the way sugar-based toffee does. So don’t just go throwing your chocolate chips or chopped chocolate on top here because it will sink right in. I found it best to cool the the toffee/cracker combo first, and then melt my favourite Lily’s Dark Chocolate separately and spread it over. That way, I got a lovely proper toffee layer and a lovely proper chocolate layer, instead of some crazy mixed up layer.
Once again, thank goodness for Lily’s chocolate. I already have to make the crackers from scratch, and I have to make the toffee from scratch. It’s a huge relief not to make the chocolate from scratch!
Low Carb Cracker Toffee
Ingredients
Almond Flour Crackers
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp salted butter melted
Topping
- 3/4 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch salt
- 2 tbsp powdered Swerve Sweetener
- 4 ounces Lily's Dark Chocolate chopped
- 2 tsp coconut oil or avocado oil
- 3/4 cup chopped toasted pecans
Instructions
To make the crackers:
- Preheat the oven to 300F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir in the egg and the melted butter until the dough comes together.
- Turn the dough out onto a large piece of parchment paper and pat into a rough rectangle. Top with another piece of parchment paper and roll out to a 1/8 inch thickness, as evenly as you can. Remove the top piece of parchment paper.
- Using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter, score the dough into 2-inch squares. Transfer the parchment to a large cookie sheet and bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the crackers are firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before breaking apart into individual crackers.
To make the cracker toffee:
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a rimmed baking sheet, about 11x17 inches, with foil and spray lightly with coconut oil spray. Arrange the crackers in a single layer so that they are touching, covering as much of the sheet as you can (break them to fit, if necessary, and you may have some leftover crackers).
- In a medium heavy-duty saucepan over medium heat, combine Swerve and butter and stir until Swerve is dissolved. Bring to a boil and cook without stirring until mixture darkens to amber, about 5 to 7 minutes (time may vary depending on the quality of your cookware).
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and salt. If the mixture appears to be separating, stir in 2 tbsp of powdered Swerve Sweetener until it comes back together.
- Pour the hot toffee immediately over the crackers as evenly as possible to cover. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes, until bubbling. Let cool while melting the chocolate.
- Combine the chopped chocolate and oil in a microwave safe bowl and melt on high in 30 second increments, stirring in between. Alternatively, you can melt them together double boiler style.
- Drizzle the chocolate over the cooled toffee and spread evenly. Sprinkle immediately with the chopped pecans. Let set until the chocolate is firm and then break apart into pieces (it will typically break up along the lines of the crackers).
Notes
Many thanks to Lily’s Sweets for partnering with me to bring you this recipe.
karen says
Will granulated stevia work. Can’t get erythritol
Carolyn says
No, sorry. Stevia will not crisp and harden. Looks like you are in Canada, and I know for certain you can get Swerve there. Not sure where you are but all Loblaws stores carry it.
Carrie J says
Mine is not bubbling in the oven…?
Carolyn says
Sorry, I missed this earlier. How did it turn out?
LISA says
HI CAROLYN, CAN YOU PLEASE CONFIRM THAT WE’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO STIR THE TOFFEE WHILE IT’S COOKING? I WAS JUST WONDERING IF IT WAS PERHAPS A TYPO AS I’VE ALWAYS STIRRED TOFFEE WHILE MAKING IN PREVIOUS RECIPES. THANK YOU!!!
Carolyn says
No, this isn’t sugar so it’s different.
Lisa says
Thank you! I kept worrying that I’d screwed it up but they are now my favourite keto treat! You’re the best!
Lisa
Kim says
I bought the almond flour crackers from Do you think they would work?
Cassie says
I love this recipe so much! I just made it tonight and it’s so easy and delicious. I missed these after I started keto as well and it tastes just like the non-keto version. This will definitely be a dessert staple in my household. Thank you so much for sharing you’re amazing. ❤️
Bernice Tornquist says
This recipe is fabulous…have made it numerous times. One thing I would like to point out is that it would be more clear if the recipe was in 3 parts, instead of two. The first time I made it, I put all the ingredients together after the crackers were in the pan….everything from the topping to the chocolate was put together. If the chocolate mixture was pointed out to be the 3rd part, it would be more clear. Would like to reach Carolyn to tell her about it, but don’t know how. Thank you.
christin knechtges says
This stuff is awesome! Made a double batch for coworkers and another double batch for family. Making it regularly to have on hand for a little something sweet. Thank you!
Carolyn says
Hooray!
Sirah says
O.my.word. these are absolutely fabulous. Went straight to number 1 of my favourite cookies. I mean, they looked like a mess, there was toffee everywhere in the baking sheet ( except on top of the crackers), I have chocolate all over my fingers after eating just 1 peace and it’s very hard to keep with just 1 peace a day. But man are these nice!!! Worth all fuss and living up to the expectations the name implies.
Carolyn says
So happy to hear it. Messy is good!
Katie says
Your blog HANDS DOWN has the absolute best keto recipes. They keep us in check on trim healthy mama and I can always count on Your recipes Being amazing!!
Your thin mints have always been our favorite but THIS might top it. Made it exactly as you have it written, absolutely fantastic. Thank you so much for all the time and hard work you put into your recipes!
Carolyn says
I am so happy to hear it! Thank you.
Krista Smith says
Can you use monk fruit instead of swerve? If so how much?
Carolyn says
The question is… what do you mean by monk fruit? Do you mean a mostly erythritol based sweetener such as Lakanto?
Liz says
It will only work if it is an erythritol/monk fruit blend. Pure monk fruit does not chemically behave the same way as sugar, i.e. reaching the hard crack stage. Erythritol is the great equalizer in getting sugar substitutes to behave like sugar.
Maryse says
Wow, wow, wow, I finally made this today and it’s pretty darn good!! I made Christmas Crack at Thanksgiving for my inlaws that are not on Keto and I couldn’t help to have a taste … What a good recipe it is, thank you!!!
Carolyn says
So glad!!!
Rachel says
So
Good!
Deedee says
There’s sound perfect, however, I have but allergy. Can this be made using all purpose gluten-free flour??
Deedee says
NUT allergy! So sorry Siri really hates me.
Carolyn says
Or you can try sunflower seed flour for a lower carb option.
Jackie says
Carolyn,
If I just poured your toffee mixture on to some parchment and baked it….could I end up with some toffee I could smash up a bit, to get some toffee sprinkles to use for other recipes? Do you think that would work out?
Thanks!
Carolyn says
🙂 I already have a toffee recipe like that. It’s good but it does have a sandier texture than sugar-based toffee, and that’s just the nature of erythritol.
SimplyMe says
If I want to sub erythritol for the swerve would I use the same amount or less or more?
Carolyn says
You should be able to do it in the same amount.
Kathy says
The only sweeteners i use are coconut sugar, honey, and maple syrup. Could any of these be used instead of the swerve? I would love to give this a try! Thanks
Carolyn says
No, none of those will work. They don’t harden up enough.
Rebecca says
Best low carb dessert I have made. Delicious. Will definitely make again. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Kat says
Does this recipe use regular granulated swerve or the brown sugar kind?
Carolyn says
Well, when I first created it, there was no Swerve Brown. But I think it should work if you wanted to try it.
Esther says
I just made this with 2/4brown sugar swerve and 1/4 granular and I just took the toffee and crackers out of the oven and it looks like the crackers are floating in a puddle of liquid. Not sure it should look like that or if I’ve ruined the whole recipe. Most of the sugar has run off and is floating on the sides of my pan 😭
Carolyn says
It doesn’t sound right, if they are floating. But it may harden and come together in the end. I’ve never used Brown Swerve for this recipe.
Deborah says
Great! Thanks so much for your quick reply. May you and your family have a blessed and Merry Christmas!