English Toffee

Imagine our horror and surprise when we realized how simple English toffee is to make. Egads! It's just been added to our holiday baking rotation because it's so incredibly easy and also meltingly rich and delicious. We are SCREWED! But also, yum.

Rating: 1/4 assed

Here's what you need and how you do it

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups butter or Earth Balance margarine (preferably soy-free as we've heard soy can give the toffee a bit of an aftertaste, but regular will work, too).

6 squares of semi-sweet baking chocolate, or the equivalent in semi-sweet chocolate chips

Chopped nuts such as almonds, macadamia, pecans, or walnuts (optional)

Special equipment: candy thermometer

In a medium saucepan on medium heat, melt butter and add sugar. Stir. Stir and stir and stir. This could go on for twenty minutes, so have your phone or a book handy. When the mixture gets thick and foamy, clip your candy thermometer to the pan. Make sure your butter/sugar is up to 300 degrees, or the "hard crack" stage.

Then pour onto a buttered cookie sheet or into a shallow baking dish (the cookie sheet will make removal easier).

While the toffee is cooling, heat chocolate in the microwave at 1/2 heat for about thirty seconds. Stir, then repeat if necessary to melt the chocolate. You don't want to heat it too high or too much or it will turn lumpy and grainy.

When toffee has cooled some but isn't rock hard, top with chocolate. If you let the toffee turn too hard, the chocolate will slide right off at room temp. Still delicious, but not the effect we're going for.

Top with chopped nuts and let cool.

When it has cooled, break into pieces. Store in an airtight container (if any makes it that far).

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Comments

[Kristy]

I have made this along with super-easy peppermint bark for the past three years as teacher gifts. I use the almond roca recipe from girlsgonechild, but replace the almonds with pecans. Don't even need the vandy thermometer!

[MommyTime]

This looks incredibly good! Now I can't wait to make it. For melting chocolate: Put the chips/squares in microwave at 30% heat for one minute. Stir. Then continue at 30% power in 30 second intervals until melted. It's important to stir after each heating, as the chips can hold their shape slightly, even when melting hot. This way you never overheat. (I learned this because I have a fantastic icing recipe that calls for melted white chocolate.)

[Reay Jespersen]

I'm a bit thrown by the very specific use of margarine. Can butter be used instead? Because, really... mmmm, butter...

[Half Assed Kitchen]

Reay, yes, we state in the ingredient list that butter can be used. We can't eat dairy, so have tried to provide an alternative to others in the same situation. Earth Balance margarine works very well, but if butter is your thing, by all means use that. We would if we could!

[Ashley Bee]

I keep ending up with caramel sauce when I try to make caramel :\ I wonder if I'll have the same luck with toffee...

[Half Assed Kitchen]

Ashley, just make sure you use a reliable candy thermometer and that the temp gets up to "hard crack".

[JennyExplainsItAll]

It's important to only make toffee on a dry day, too. Humidity makes your batch sticky, no matter how badly you want it not to be. Keep an eye on the holiday weather and be ready to roll when the humidity is low!

Also, you needn't melt the chocolate--as soon as the poured toffee has firmed up but is still hot, sprinkle the chips or broken bar over it. In a few minutes it will be soft enough to spread--saves another step!

I've been making toffee (a slightly different recipe) for decades and it is my most requested holiday bring-along. I think it's the primary reason I get invited at all!