English Toffee

Hi Bakers, English Toffee is one of my most requested treats and always gets rave reviews! An almost magical process turns butter, sugar, and water into delicious candy. You can make this! I urge you to try and be rewarded with the best toffee you’ve ever eaten! It’s so buttery and rich with a nice crunch followed by a chew with chocolate and nuts! This recipe has been in my collection for so long it is just a tattered scrap of paper and I believe its origin is Bon Appetit magazine but I can’t find the recipe anywhere to confirm this! I hope you love it as much as I do and become a proficient candy maker too. So many candy recipes are gluten-free that it makes sense for a person with gluten intolerance to hone this skill. Have fun with this one and try not to eat it all at once- Carolyn

English Toffee

Recipe from my teenage recipe file (most likely from an old Bon Appetit)

1 cup butter

I cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups chocolate, semisweet, milk or white chocolate chips

1 1/2 cups roughly chopped roasted nuts

Grease a baking sheet or silicone mat with butter and set aside. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, cook butter, sugar, and water. Stir continuously over medium heat with a wooden spoon until the candy reaches 305F aka the hard crack stage. You can use a candy thermometer or use ice water to test this. If you drip a bit of candy mixture in ice water and it cracks when you break a cooled piece this is a hard crack. The toffee will be a deep brown color and smell like caramel. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour onto the prepared pan or silicone mat. If you want thinner toffee, tilt the pan a bit to spread it out. Cool completely. If there is oil on the surface of the toffee, use a paper towel to wipe it off. Spread with melted chocolate and immediately sprinkle with nuts. Let cool and turn over and cover the other side with chocolate and nuts. When chocolate is hardened, break it into pieces and store it in a bag or airtight container. Enjoy!

Options for not coating both sides in chocolate.

Toffee brittle- Pour hot toffee onto nuts, coconut shreds or anything else you want to be covered in toffee. I really like using cashews, coconut and cocoa nibs. Break up toffee and share with friends.

Dipped ends-break toffee into large chunks and dip one end into chocolate and then nuts.

*It took twenty minutes for my toffee to reach the hard crack stage.

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