"English" toffee

[yslee]

Hello,

Lately I've been obsessed with crunchy toffee (the type in the middle of a Skor bar). The only varieties I've found for sale tend to be coated with indifferent milk chocolate and not the freshest of nuts. Can anyone recommend a recipe for this? Thank you!

[Darcie B]

Hello,

Lately I've been obsessed with crunchy toffee (the type in the middle of a Skor bar). The only varieties I've found for sale tend to be coated with indifferent milk chocolate and not the freshest of nuts. Can anyone recommend a recipe for this? Thank you!

←

Why, yes, I can. A friend showed me how to make toffee last July and I made three batches for Christmas presents. They all turned out great. IMO, it's better than the stuff in Heath/Skor bars and doesn't stick in your teeth as much. Here's the recipe.

English Toffee

1 lb unsalted butter

½ tsp. table salt

2 cups granulated sugar

3 tbsp. water

1 cup slivered almonds (do NOT use sliced almonds, they will scorch)

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

1½ -2 cups lightly toasted pecans (or walnuts), finely chopped

Melt ¾ of chocolate over hot water or in a microwave oven at half power for 2-3 minutes. When melted, stir in remaining chocolate and set aside. Line a large jelly roll or half-sheet pan with heavy-duty foil and butter the foil.

Melt the butter with the salt in a heavy 3 quart saucepan over medium heat. Slowly add the sugar, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Add the water about halfway through this process.

After all the sugar is added, begin testing the mixture to see if the sugar is dissolved. Place a drop of mixture on wax paper; allow it to cool and rub it between your fingers to make sure it doesn’t feel grainy. If it does, continue to cook and test again. The mixture will probably be boiling at this point.

When sugar is dissolved, add the almonds, and increase the heat to medium high. Cook to the hard-crack stage, or about 310-320 degrees on a candy thermometer, stirring often to keep the candy from burning on the bottom. When it’s done, it should be a medium-dark amber color and have a caramel aroma. The almonds should have a toasted color but they should not burn. This is the tricky part, as there’s a thin line between perfect and overdone, and to some extent it’s a matter of taste.

Remove from heat and pour into the prepared pan, spreading as evenly as possible with an offset spatula. Be careful, this stuff is hot! Set the pan on a cooling rack. After 2-3 minutes, when toffee is just set, pour reserved chocolate on top and spread evenly. Sprinkle with chopped nuts, and press them in gently with a spatula or bottom of a glass to anchor them in the chocolate.

Allow the toffee to harden at least 6-8 hours—overnight is better. Break into pieces using a sharp pointed knife with a rigid blade, or you can use your hands. Store in an airtight container in a cool place. Makes about 3 pounds.

[JFLinLA]

So could you just make the toffee without any chocolate, nuts or anything? I never see just the plain stuff. I love crumbling it onto or into ice cream, into cookies, or other things.

Actually, here's a technical question for the experts. If caramel is cooked sugar, what is toffee and what is butterscotch?

[Patrick S]

I'm no expert, but I think the main difference is just that butterscotch is made from brown sugar instead of white. Both toffee and butterscotch candies are made from caramelized sugar.

Edited January 22, 2005 by Patrick S (log)

[browniebaker]

I always thought that caramel was made from sugar, while butterscotch and toffee were made from sugar and butter; and that toffee was cooked to a higher temperature than butterscotch.

[Patrick S]

I always thought that caramel was made from sugar, while butterscotch and toffee were made from sugar and butter; and that toffee was cooked to a higher temperature than butterscotch.

←

Well, I guess it depends on what we mean by caramel. Caramel can mean just caramelized sugar, or it can mean caramelized sugar to which butter and cream have been added to make 'caramels.' I think in the first sense, both butterscotch candy and toffee are caramel candies.

Actually, now that I think about it, I guess butterscotch isnt a caramel in any sense, since it is not cooked past 320F. Toffee though could still be considered a caramel, since it is usually heated well past 320F.

EDIT: Scratch that. Though sucrose and glucose start to caramelize at 320F, molasses in brown sugar caramelizes at a lower temp (230F), so I guess both could be caramels in the sense of being flavored by caramelized sugar.

Edited January 22, 2005 by Patrick S (log)

[nightscotsman]

You might want to also check out this earlier thread on toffee for more advice and recipes: here.

[Swisskaese]

This is my family English Toffee recipe. It is a big hit. We used to give it as Christmas gifts to our teachers when I was in elementary school a hundred years ago....

Kemp Family English Toffee

2 Sticks butter

1 C. Sugar

1 Tbsp. light Karo Syrup

1 Tbsp. Water

1/3 C. Slivered Almonds

8 oz bar broken Hershey Chocolate

Put first five ingredients into heavy saucepan. Insert Candy thermometer. Set on medium high heat. Line 12" x 9" pan with aluminium foil. Heat ingredients until they reach 300º. (Not a degree over or under.) Immediately spread onto foil with a spatula and place broken chocolate pieces to cover surface. Chocolate will melt in a few minutes. Spread evenly. When hard, break into small pieces.

[viva]

So could you just make the toffee without any chocolate, nuts or anything?  I never see just the plain stuff.  I love crumbling it onto or into ice cream, into cookies, or other things.

←

Good question. Anyone know if this is possible? I like toffee bits in my cookies and brownies, but I don't want the nuts or chocolate.

[Darcie B]

So could you just make the toffee without any chocolate, nuts or anything?  I never see just the plain stuff.  I love crumbling it onto or into ice cream, into cookies, or other things.

←

Yes, you can. Just omit the almonds in the recipe I provided, and don't coat with chocolate/nuts. I use the crumbs left after I break mine apart for ice cream topping but of course there is some chocolate and nuts. A friend made the recipe w/o nuts for her allergic husband and it was fine.

[Swisskaese]

So could you just make the toffee without any chocolate, nuts or anything?  I never see just the plain stuff.  I love crumbling it onto or into ice cream, into cookies, or other things.

←

Yes, you can. Just omit the almonds in the recipe I provided, and don't coat with chocolate/nuts. I use the crumbs left after I break mine apart for ice cream topping but of course there is some chocolate and nuts. A friend made the recipe w/o nuts for her allergic husband and it was fine.

←

Ditto with my recipe.

[viva]

Excellent! I was worried the nuts & chocolate were structurally necessary.

I think I know what I'll be cooking tonight.