toffee vodka

[Vikram]

Maybe I should be posting this in the Pastry forum, but anyway, here's my request: does anyone have a recipe for good, basic, minimum effort toffees? Not because I want to make them for myself, but because I need them for toffee vodka.

Someone gave me a small bottle last New Year's (it was part of a New Year's hamper of goodies made and sent out by a top Bombay restaurant) and I loved it. And I found a recipe on the Net that said simply, take vodka, put toffees in, shake it it all melts and drink.

The recipe suggested putting it through two dishwasher cycles, but my dishwasher is a lady called Nanda, who probably would not be too enthused to spend her time shaking bottles of vodka for me, so I just left it in the kitchen and shook it up now and then when I remembered and soon enough there was excellent toffee vodka which was a big hit with everyone.

Even better, that's what everyone wanted me to bring when I went over to their place, so I stopped bothering with bottles of wine, an excellent decision for my pocket since I only used the cheapest vodka - I think the raw edge stops it becoming too sugary.

Now a real crisis has hit. I was using a commercial toffee made in India by Perfetti, a hard round toffee called Alpenliebe, with a buttery caramel taste. But no sooner did I get into production mode, Perfetti seems to have stopped production of this. And I am not finding any other decent toffees in the market.

So it looks like I'm stuck with making them, so if anyone has a recipe that would be great. If anyone can suggest ways to cut the whole process even shorter by maybe making the toffee along with the vodka that would be INCREDIBLE! So please, if there are any confectioner-boozers out there, please come to my help,

Vikram

[Carolyn Tillie]

How terribly intriguing! I've never heard of such a thing, but when you figure it out, do post!

[KatieLoeb]

I've seen this done with various flavors of Jolly Rancher candies, and with Red Hots. Works very effectively.

What's up with putinng it through the dishwasher?

[beans]

I'm guessing the heat and jostling about help to disolve and blend in the candy. Good luck in locating a good quality of toffee -- homemade or commercial. Sounds yummy.

(I have a huge sweet tooth, so I empathise).

edit to add: Vikram, have you opportunity to sample Dooley's? It is a liqueur made from vodka and toffee. (However I bet the toffee is not as wonderful in quality to those you have already listed...) Just a thought.

Edited March 10, 2004 by beans (log)