Keto Caramel Pecan Bark is the ultimate indulgence. This tastes like the very best caramel pecan turtle from a chocolate shop combined with classic cracker toffee aka Keto Christmas Crack.
One of my favorite things around Christmas is the popular cracker toffee made with saltine crackers.
You lay the crackers on a baking sheet, microwave butter, and brown sugar (and vanilla, maybe?) and pour it on top of the crackers. Bake for a bit, sprinkle chocolate chips on top, spread the melted chocolate, cool, and eat the whole tray. Did I say that? Not the best option for any diet.
My Keto Christmas Crack is healthier and almost as easy to make at home. This keto bark recipe is low carb, keto, gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free, and Trim Healthy Mama friendly.
This Caramel Pecan Turtle Bark reminds me of that holiday treat. I'm thrilled to have a suitable alternative when the Christmas cookie and candy trays start appearing. It is one of my favorite keto Christmas desserts.
Ingredients
Just six ingredients for this amazing low carb candy!
Sweetener - I use my sweetened blend of xylitol, erythritol, and stevia. This is twice as sweet as sugar and most other sweeteners so you need less. I offer suggestions for alternatives in the recipe card but candies are tricky and I do not test my recipes with other sweeteners so I cannot guarantee they will work.
Heavy Cream - You need heavy whipping cream to make the caramel toffee base.
Salted Butter - I only buy salted butter but unsalted will work in this recipe.
Pecans - Toast your pecans for the best flavor. Just bake on a sheet pan for 5-7 minutes at 350. Watch them closely. Nuts can burn easily.
Sugar-Free Chocolate - I use ChocZero chocolate because it melts easily.
Coarse Salt - Coarse salt gives this a bit of a crunch and the perfect sweet-salty combination just like cracker toffee.
How to Make Keto Christmas Crack
Step One: Cook the sweetener, cream, and butter over medium heat. You want it to be deep brown, fragrant, and thickened. If you do not cook it long enough it won't set.
Step Two: Put the pecans on a small rimmed baking sheet. Mine is 8 x 11. Drizzle the caramel over the pecans.
Step Three: Melt the chocolate over low heat. You can do this in the pan you used to cook the caramel.
Step Four: Spread the melted chocolate over the pecans. Sprinkle with coarse salt.
Expert Tip: Make sure to use coarse salt. It gives these a bit of crunch!
Variations on Keto Christmas Crack
Nuts - Go ahead and use whichever nuts you prefer. Walnuts, macadamia nuts, pine nuts, almonds, or even roasted salted pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds will all taste great.
Chocolate - The same goes for chocolate. You can use any sugar-free chocolate or even sugar-free white chocolate.
Common Questions
What should the caramel look like?
This recipe is easy to make but you have to make sure you cook the caramel long enough. It should be a deep golden color, coat the back of the spoon, and smell fragrant. I let it go until it is close to burning. When I'm standing at the stove stirring like crazy and there are a few darkened bits forming at the bottom of the pan I know it's done.
The caramel in the photo above in the saucepan still needs to cook a bit longer. It is done when it is deep brown and very fragrant. I've also noticed that when it's done it will also stop bubbling up when stirred. Don't rely on that to tell when it has cooked enough though. The color is much more reliable.
If you do not cook the caramel long enough the keto Christmas crack will not set in the fridge.
How to melt chocolate
I go ahead and melt the chocolate over VERY LOW heat in the same pan the caramel was in. As long as you stay there and stir and use the lowest heat possible your chocolate chips will melt nicely without burning.
My pieces are a bit big. They are fine if you just want one piece for dessert. Next time I'm going to cut them smaller so I can have several. I'm one of those people who prefers three little cookies to one huge cookie.
Make sure to these low carb candies next:
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Keto Christmas Crack aka Caramel Pecan Turtle Bark
Ingredients
- 1 cup Joy Filled Eats Sweetener (or see alternatives in recipe notes)
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup salted butter
- 3 cups pecans toasted
- 8 oz sugar-free chocolate chips
- ½ teaspoon coarse salt
Instructions
- Combine the sweetener, cream, and butter in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium, stirring frequently, until deep golden brown and thickened. Depending on the heat of your stovetop this can take 10-15 minutes. Watch it carefully.
- Spread the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle the caramel over the pecans.
- Put the chocolate chips in the saucepan. You do not need to wash it first. Put it back on the stove over very low heat. The lowest your stovetop goes. Stir until the chocolate chips have melted. Drizzle on top of the caramel and pecans. Spread gently.
- Sprinkle with the coarse salt. Refrigerate until the chocolate has hardened.
- Cut the Caramel Pecan Turtle Bark into small squares. The caramel side will be gooey. Turn one upside down and with another square so the caramel is in the center. Serve immediately or store in the fridge. The caramel will firm up into more of a toffee consistency with refrigeration.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally Published October 25, 2017. Revised and Republished November 23, 2021.
Melony says
Tried this last night and like many have said above the caramel seemed to be scorching without thickening! I used about half Xyla & half MonkSweet Plus. After being super sad it hadn’t worked and I’d used the last of my MonkSweet +, I just st moved it off the burner in the saucepan and went to watch the Bachelorette finale!😂 Anyway...a little later I went back in there and it had thickened as it sat off the burner! The butter had separated a bit and it looked like it was MAYBE burnt. But I tried it and it wasn’t. Maybe almost there....but not quite. It was still usable. I also used one cup of sliced almonds, one cup chopped macadamia nuts, and one cup of chopped pecans. It also was too a bit too sweet. I heated the caramel back up which reincorporated the butter without further cooking it. It also thinnned it enough so I could pour it over the nuts. Then, since it was so sweet, I salted that layer pretty good before the chocolate layer.
My chocolate also seized. I added about 1/4 cup coconut oil which fixed that wonderfully! And it ended up terrific after my modifications! I shared this on my Instagram! Thanks!
Taryn says
I don't recommend switching out sweeteners for candies and caramel. They can be fickle. I'm glad it ended up working for you anyway!
Wendy Greene says
Total flop of the caramel. It never thickened.
Taryn says
Hi Wendy, which sweetener did you use? You may have needed to turn up the heat on your stovetop. I've made this at least a few dozen times and it always thickens.
Michele says
I had to mix everything together and just flatten it out in the pan since the caramel was a huge FAIL. I even tried to make it a second time. My chocolate also seized up. Tasted great but not an easy recipe. I don’t think I’d try to n
Make this again.
michele says
i'm dying to try these! i just bought a new bag of SWERVE sweetener. do you think i could use the same 1c measure?
Taryn says
I think you can make caramel from swerve but I have not tried it. I'm not 100% positive it will work. My sweetener is twice as sweet as sugar and swerve is equal to sugar so you may need more.
Sharon says
So yummy!
Nurtureself365 says
This is so freaking good! Even my non-keto family/friends love it! I'm a total caramel and chocolate fan, throw in Pecans and I'm in total heaven! The only thing I would change in your recipe - at least this worked better for me - is instead of melting the chocolate on stove top (it siezed on me) spread the Lily's chocolate chips over the caramel and pecans on the cookie sheet, stick it a warm oven for a few minutes to melt the chocolate then just spread over the caramel pecan layer. Works like a charm. I just use the whole bag of Lily's - which is 9oz.
Dana says
How much caramel do you melt? I don’t see it in the ingredients anywhere?
And can I use a caramel drizzle from the store?
Taryn says
You make homemade caramel by cooking the sweetener, butter, and cream. Using store bought caramels or caramel sauce will not work
Kim says
I’m not familiar with the sweetener ingredient, but I have erythritol and monk fruit. Do you how much of either of those ingredients I would use?
Taryn says
I think all erythritol could work but you would need more, maybe twice as much, so it will take longer to cook down into caramel.
Amber says
What size baking sheet did you use? Could you line with parchment paper for easier cutting?
Taryn says
My pan is about 10 x 13 I think. I'll double check when I'm home. Yes, you can line with parchment.
gjeanieg says
WOW!! These aren't even all the way cold, but I had to taste them... FABULOUS!! I am thrilled!!! Taryn, thank you so much!!
Mary says
What is mama sweetener or if you don’t have it what else can u use instead?
Taryn says
I use a blend of xylitol, erythritol, and stevia. http://www.joyfilledeats.com/sweetener
Ileana says
I tried this recipe tonight and mine did not set. My Carmel was dark and stopped bubbling. Also my chocolate seized. Was my caramel supposed to be thick? Mine will not be able to cut into pieces. Please help.
Taryn says
Did you refrigerate it? The caramel will firm up in the fridge. It should end up thick enough to coat the back of a spoon but not as thick as a store bought caramel sauce.
miranda says
sounds devine!! I am gonna make these next week, I already have all the ingredients so that's easy.
Kim says
They are super yummy! I think the next time I make them, instead of melting the chocolate in the pan and trying to drizzle/spread/smear over the caramel pecans I am just going to put the chocolate chips on it and then stick it in the warm oven for a few minutes to melt then spread. I've done that with another recipe that is similar and it works really well. We'll see how long these last me!
Kim says
Do you know if they freeze well?
Taryn says
They'll last weeks in the fridge. I haven't frozen them but I think so.
Robin says
Thank you for your lovely recipes! Saw in a comment regarding chocolate chips that sometimes you make your own with unsweetened chocolate and sweetener. Could you give instructions?? I have a really difficult time finding sugar free chocolate chips. Thanks so much!!!
Taryn says
I wing it but here is a recipe: https://wonderfullymadeanddearlyloved.com/stevia-sweetened-chocolate-chips/
Robin says
Thank you so much!!!
Cindy says
I made these today. They’re in fridge setting. My caramel got the deep dark golden brown color but wasn’t very thick. Should I have kept cooking? I’m sure either way will taste good but was looking for that thickness you showed in your picture. Thanks for sharing.
Taryn says
It should just be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. I'm sure it will set fine 🙂
CINDY LEVY says
They turned out delicious. Definitely won’t feel as if I’m going without this holiday season
Sharon says
I made these today! So yummy! I loved them! Thanks so much! Hugs!
J. hess says
This is a delicious replica of the toffee saltine bark! So darn yummy!! A new favorite of your recipes!!
Courtney@Booksnboys says
I'm definitely going to make this for the holidays, but I think instead of flipping and putting chocolate on, I'll start with chocolate at the bottom and put them into my silicone mini muffin tin (24 bite size) to portion it and make it easier. My mom and dad will LOVE these at Christmas. Thanks SO much!
Nurtureself365 says
What a great idea!