Keto Christmas Crack – Caramel Pecan Bark
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
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)
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 3 cups pecans toasted
- 8 oz sugar-free chocolate chips
- 1/2 tsp 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
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Originally Published October 25, 2017. Revised and Republished November 23, 2021.
When I get my taste back these look amazing to try!
I made this twice during the holidays! Easy and delicious. My none keto friends loved it!!
I love this – I don’t just make it at Christmas either. My hubby enjoys it even more than I do and we make it whenever we want something sweet and decadent. This fits the bill.
This sounds amazing! Can’t wait to make it soon.
I make this treat when my parents come this weekend, yummy.
I was so excited to see this recipe . I used to make the reg version all the time but have t because I didn’t think I could SF !!! Cannot wait to try it !!!!!
What would happen if I didn’t use the heavy whipping cream. I used to make a non keto version without it and it was great thx
I haven’t tested it but it should work. It will be firmer without the cream.
My family and I love this! It turned out perfectly and my son didn’t even realize it was “on plan”. Quick and easy! Love it!!!!
Made this twice , didn’t work either time. Before anyone asks, yes I cooked it to dark golden brown , it took forever. Just made a caramel. Never hardened. Tastes good, just is a mess.
Which sweetener did you use? Did you refrigerate it? Even keto caramel that is supposed to be a sauce will recrystallize and set placed in the fridge long enough.
I just saw a NOT keto friendly recipe similar to this, but for the chocolate chip part, the recipe called for just sprinkling the chocolate on top of the hot caramel right after you spread it over the nuts, and the residual heat melted the chocolate, then you just gently spread it over the whole surface after it melts. I can’t wait to try this! Going to use almonds, though, because I don’t like pecans!😀
Thanks for the recipe! I used swerve brown sugar and a pinch of stevia for extra sweetness. Since it was already brown it was hard to judge by color and I burnt the crap out of the first batch. What’s Christmas cooking without smoke detectors going off 😂
2nd try I knew what to watch for. As soon as I smelled the carmalization I knew it was time to watch it close. About a minute later the bubbles reduced. And the instant I saw the steam start to turn Smokey I removed it from the heat and poured it on the pecans. Perfect!
Overall it didn’t thicken much while cooking but it set up nice
My husband has odd dairy issues and cannot have HWC. I have tried using the Silk HWC in some recipes with varying results. Oftentimes it separates, which would be problematic in a caramel recipe. Do you know if it would work in this?
I’m sorry I haven’t tested that. I have used coconut cream in caramel before.
It works fine?
Very good but crunchy
It is supposed to be crunchy like toffee. If you’d like a softer caramel try this recipe (you can add pecans): https://joyfilledeats.com/salted-caramel-cups/
Do you put tinfoil or parchment paper in the pan first?
Either greased foil or parchment paper does help with clean up.
This is now our favorite holiday candy!! Thank you for sharing
I Loved this recipe, just wondering, if you my sister from another mother, you have great taste !!!