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Brittle, crunchy, and sweet, English toffee is an amazing treat that will be perfect as a gift, as a contribution to a holiday party, or simply as a treat for the family. Our recipe takes the process of making this treat and breaks it down so anyone can do it.
Making toffee is a little bit like a fun science experiment. Basically, you are taking butter and sugar and heating them until the sugar is transformed into a different texture. The temperature where the magic happens is between 300 and 320 degrees and is called by candy makers “the hard crack stage.”
At this temperature, the sugar becomes a brittle sheet of caramel flavored brittle.. After the mixture reaches this stage, you’ll spread the mass of fragrant, gooey sweetness onto a baking pan where it will cool into a buttery-rich sheet of candy. You can then top the toffee with chocolate and chopped nuts.

English Toffee Recipe
Equipment
- Cookie Baking Sheet
- Medium-Sized Saucepan
- Thermometer
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 1 cup Sugar
- 3/4 cup Chocolate Chips
- 1/4 cup Chopped Nuts pecans, walnuts, or slivered almonds are perfect
- 1 cup Butter or 2 sticks
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Before you start, measure out all of your ingredients. Things move quickly in candy making and you don’t want to be digging through a drawer while something is burning.
- Also, prepare a cookie sheet by lining it with a piece of parchment paper sprayed with cooking spray.
- In a medium-sized saucepan with a heavy bottom, melt the butter and the sugar together with the salt over low heat. You can add a teaspoon of water to help the ingredients melt a little more evenly. Take your time and don’t try to rush this process.
- Once the butter and sugar are melted and mixed well, turn the heat up to medium-high. The mixture will start to bubble and foam as the water in the butter begins to evaporate.
- You can now clip the thermometer to the side of the saucepan. Take care that you don’t rest the bulb of the thermometer on the bottom of the pot. The temperature should be close to 212 degrees, or the boiling point of water.
- After the last of the water is cooked away, the mass will collapse into a thick goo. The temperature will again begin to rise. The temperature can rise pretty quickly once all the water is gone, so pay close attention to your thermometer. The goal is to remove the candy from the heat when the temperature reaches between 300 and 320 degrees.
- After the correct temperature is reached, remove the pot from the stove, stir in the vanilla, and use the spatula to pour it on the prepared pan.
- Spread it out into a large rectangle, evenly smoothing the candy into a consistent layer.
- While the candy is still very hot, sprinkle the chocolate chips on the candy layer. Wait about four or five minutes and use a spatula or an icing spreader to spread the now melty chocolate chips all over the toffee in an even later.
- While the chocolate is still melty, sprinkle it with the nuts. You may want to use a spatula to kind of “tap” the nuts more firmly in the chocolate.
- Let the toffee cool to about room temperature on the counter, and then slide it in the refrigerator to cool for at least half an hour.
- When the time is up the toffee will be brittle and firm and so should the chocolate. You can break it into pieces and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator until you and your family eat it all, which probably won’t take long!
Notes
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