Decadent peanut butter bars made with cracker crumbs are oozing with rich caramel and chocolate! Caramel Cracker Bars are just the treat to bring a little bit of sweetness to your day.
Have you ever made cracker bars? Not to be confused with Brickle Bars or Cracker Toffee. Both tasty but two totally different treats.
Cracker Bars (or Club Cracker Bars) are layers of crispy crackers and chewy caramel, and topped with chocolate. Delish.
The Caramel Cracker Bar recipe I’m sharing today also adds a little peanut butter in the mix because, why not?
You’re already putting butterscotch, caramel and chocolate into one dessert bar so you might as well go all out and get some peanut butter in there, too!
Use my hashtag #shugarysweets
Follow Shugary Sweets on InstagramWhat are Club Cracker Bars
I first knew of these bars as “Club Cracker Bars” because I believe they were originally made with club crackers. You can also make these with Ritz crackers.
The taste combo of salty crispy cracker crumbs with gooey sweet caramel is a thing of beauty.
If you like cracker toffee, you’ll love these bars. The idea is similar except these are a softer and chewier bar with layers of cracker crispiness throughout.
Caramel Cracker Bars are extremely rich and completely decadent tasting which makes them great for sharing.
Just one club cracker bar can satisfy my sweet tooth. . . for an hour or so at least. Then, I’ll gladly help myself to another thank-you-very-much. Make them for yourself and you’ll see what I mean.
You’ll be welcomed anywhere if you have a plate of these to share!
No Bake Treats
Did I mention this also happens to be a no-bake club cracker dessert? Perfect for hot summer days when you don’t want to turn on your oven, or when you don’t have time to monitor a pan of bars while they bake.
You just layer everything in a baking pan and let it set up in the fridge until firm. I recommend making these the night before and allowing them to set in the fridge overnight.
(Yes, you’re allowed to eat dessert for breakfast in these situations. I’ve decided.)
What You’ll Need
Here’s what you need to make these bars:
{Ingredients at a glance; scroll down for full printable recipe with ingredient amounts}
- Club crackers (or Ritz)
- Graham cracker crumbs
- Butterscotch chips
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Butter
- Peanut Butter
- Granulated Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Milk
How to Make Club Cracker Bars
STEP 1. In saucepan, heat graham cracker crumbs, sugars, butter and milk. Bring to a boil and continue stirring while boiling for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
STEP 2. In foil lined (and buttered) 13×9 baking dish, layer club crackers over bottom. Pour half of caramel mixture over crackers, then lay another layer of Club crackers over caramel mixture, and remaining caramel.
Repeat with one more layer of crackers. Refrigerate while continuing with the next step.
STEP 3. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butterscotch and semi sweet morsels with peanut butter. Stir until smooth and creamy.
STEP 4. Remove the pan of crackers and caramel from the fridge. Pour the butterscotch mixture over the crackers and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or over night.
Cut into bite sized pieces and serve cold!
Tips and Tricks
- Make your own graham cracker crumbs by pulsing whole Graham crackers in a food processor to form sand-like crumbs.
- Store these caramel dessert bars in the fridge in an airtight containers. They can soften quickly at room temperature so I prefer to eat them cold!
- These treats freeze beautifully, too! After cutting into pieces, transfer to a freezer-safe container with wax paper between each layer of bars to keep them from sticking. Let thaw in the fridge when ready to serve.
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Caramel Cracker Bars
Layers of cracker and caramel create the most delicious dessert: Caramel Cracker Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup butter
- ½ cup milk
- 1 box Ritz crackers (about 80 crackers)
- 1 cup butterscotch morsels
- 1 cup semi-sweet morsels
- ¾ cup peanut butter
Instructions
- In saucepan, heat graham cracker crumbs, sugars, butter and milk. Bring to a boil and continue stirring while boiling for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In foil lined (and buttered) 13x9 baking dish, layer Ritz crackers over bottom. Pour half of caramel mixture over Ritz, then lay another layer of Ritz over caramel mixture, and remaining caramel. Repeat with one more layer of Ritz crackers. Refrigerate while continuing with next step in recipe.
- In small saucepan, melt butterscotch and semi sweet morsels with peanut butter. Stir until smooth and creamy. Pour over Ritz crackers, refrigerate 4 hours or over night.
- Cut into bite size pieces and enjoy cold!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
64Serving Size:
1 barAmount Per Serving: Calories: 93Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 8mgSodium: 65mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 0gSugar: 10gProtein: 1g
Recipe originally published June 23, 2011. Photos updated May 23, 2019.
If you love cracker toffee and club cracker desserts, Caramel Cracker Bars are bound to become your new favorite treat! For a party, an after dinner dessert or a midday snack, everyone loves these heavenly caramel bars.
I’d try vanilla wafers if you have those.
Ritz crackers and Club crackers are not the same. Which kind of cracker do you use?
They are both buttery crackers, and the recipe turns out great with either one. Typically I use Club crackers because they have square edges and fit in the pan nicely 🙂
Making them but wonder what number I should be on wothy stove top, like medium heat? #4 or #5?
I just pinned this recipe to one of my boards….we don’t have Graham crackers here in Australia…does anyone know an equivalent that I can use..would love to make them!
Wow looks so rich and tasty
I made this dessert & it’s wonderful; so easy to make. Next time I will use club crackers since they have a straight edge. The ritz crackers were good, but caramel sauce didn’t spread as well around the edges since the crackers are round. Love all your receipes!
These stack up to one sweet piece of heaven! Great presentation for the holidays!
Yum! These look beautiful! And if it makes you feel any better, I didn’t know what IKR was either! 🙂
Is there a way to print the recipe, without all the ads and comments?
Is there a sub for the pb?
I just made these and haven’t tasted them yet. Mine don’t look as tall as the ones in the photo. May need to use a slightly smaller pan for that effect
I made these at Christmas time and loved them! Thanks for sharing. God bless you today!
Be still my beating heart…that’s my kinda dessert! Salty, sweet, chewy, crunchy…
Thank you so much for linking up to last week’s “A Little Birdie Told Me…”. My apologies for the belated vist — with July 4 falling on a Monday, it threw my whole schedule off, and I’m just now making the rounds to visit the party-goers from that week. Best, Jenn
These look so good! I can’t wait to try them! I found you via a hop (can’t remember which one, lol) and am now a follower.
Chrystal
www.adornonashoestring.com
These look wonderful! Do you think I can make them w/o the peanut butter? Or, will they fall apart?
I had no idea what ikr meant… thanks for the lesson 🙂
Oh.my.gosh.
Just those photos make me so hungry! This looks amazing!
Yum! I just saw these on the Blue Eyed Bakers blog a week ago or so. They’re on my list to make soon!
These are so pretty! Thanks for sharing