Easy, Decadent, Buttery English Toffee

Happy English Toffee Day!

It's amazing how simple it is to make your own tray of the buttery delicacy. Aside from a few ingredients, the main apparatus needed is just a candy thermometer. If you're feeling ambitious on this National Toffee Day, try making some yourself 

Toffee is a confection made by caramelizing sugar or molasses (creating inverted sugar) along with butter, and occasionally flour. The mixture is heated until its temperature reaches the hard crack stage of 300 to 310 °F (149 to 154 °C).

While being prepared, toffee is sometimes mixed with nuts or raisins.  Toffee used in confectionery can be mixed with many different ingredients to produce a variety of flavors: rum & butter, chocolate covered, vanilla & chocolate, rum & raisin, raspberry, and honeycomb.

 To celebrate, I chose to make some Double-Nut English Toffee and unlike some versions, this toffee isn't too hard and is easy to eat since it's only boiled to the soft crack stage. So here we go.

Ingredients

1-1/2 teaspoons plus 2 cups butter, softened, divided

2 cups sugar

1 cup chopped almonds, toasted

1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips, divided

2 cups ground walnuts or pecans, divided

Directions

Butter a 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. pan with 1-1/2 teaspoons butter; set aside. In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar and remaining butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until a candy thermometer reads 290° (soft-crack stage). Remove from the heat; stir in almonds. Immediately pour into prepared pan.

Sprinkle with 1 cup chocolate chips; let stand until chips become glossy. Spread evenly over top. Sprinkle with 1 cup walnuts. Cover and refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.

In a microwave, melt remaining chips; stir until smooth. Spread over toffee. Sprinkle with remaining walnuts. Cover and refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes. Break into 2-in. pieces. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 3-1/2 pounds.

Editor's Note: We recommend that you test your candy thermometer before each use by bringing water to a boil; the thermometer should read 212°. Adjust your recipe temperature up or down based on your test.

Another wonderful English toffee recipe is by the one and only, Paula Deen.  Check it out here.  

Want to buy some specialty toffee instead? Check out the links below! :)

Happy Hour English Toffee with pretzels and peanuts( beer infused toffee)

Ascot Royale English Toffee

English Toffee with Chocolate and Nuts

White Satin Almond Toffee