English Toffee

Toffee is a magic candy. The love and appreciation you receive relative to the effort expended defies Einstein's theory of energy conservation.

The recipe is simple, but there is a little bit of technique--but not so much that first-timers can't make a perfect batch the very first attempt. Please read the NOTES at the end of the instructions.

EQUIPMENT
heavy 2 or 2.5-qt saucepan with straight sides
candy thermometer
11 x 17 silicon baking mat or parchment paper on a cookie sheet
silicon spatula or wooden spoon

INGREDIENTS
1 C (2 sticks) butter - no substitutions
1 C granulated sugar (super or extra fine is best)
8 oz milk chocolate (I use Hershey candy bars)
1/2 C finely chopped nuts, lightly toasted (I use pecans) for toffee
plus
1/2 C VERY finely chopped nuts, lightly toasted, for topping

This recipe can be doubled.

Lightly spray an 11 x 17 silicon baking mat with cooking spray (can use cookie sheet with parchment paper). If making a double batch, remember to prepare 2 surfaces.

Melt butter in saucepan over low or medium heat. Add sugar and stir well to dissolve sugar into butter. Continue stirring frequently until syrup begins to darken. Attach thermometer to side of pan and continue cooking and stirring until temp reaches 300 degrees F (at sea level). Immediately remove from heat and quickly stir in 1/2 C finely chopped nuts and pour out on prepared surface. Spread as thinly as possible in a solid oval or rectangle without leaving any openings. Free form is OK--you're going to break it up and not cut evenly.

Heat chocolate in a double boiler just till melted. Do not heat beyond melting point. Remove top pan containing chocolate from water, dry bottom of pan and pour over toffee sheet. Spread evenly and all the way to edges. You will have plenty of chocolate to overflow a bit onto the mat to be sure edges are coated. When toffee hardens, the sheet will lift cleanly off the mat. The chocolate can be heating while you are cooking the toffee syrup.

Sprinkle 1/2 C very finely chopped pecans evenly over chocolate. You can use a metal spatula to press the nuts a bit into the chocolate. Any loose nuts not inbedded in the chocolate will fall off when cutting.

Cool uncovered in a cool room or porch. In high humidity this might take overnight. Can put in fridge for quicker setup, but do not leave longer than it takes to set up.

When chocolate is completely set, lift candy sheet off mat and transfer to a cutting board. Break candy into large pieces and then cut into smaller pieces using a large chef's knife. When cutting, use a single rocking stroke that completely spans the large broken piece to prevent shattering.

Store in airtight containers (such as Gladware) in freezer if not to be consumed in a few days. Do not store in fridge--chocolate might haze.

NOTES:

Can use 2 oz dark chocolate plus 6 oz milk chocolate or other chocolate combo that appeals to you, but I would avoid using all semi-sweet.

Cooking to temperature is the most critical part of this recipe. Toffee that is chewy or tough is toffee that has been undercooked. Syrup will get quite dark and be just on the verge of burning in order to get that very well browned toffee taste and the desirable brittleness. TEST your candy thermometer before making this or any candy. Hang a thermometer on the side of a small pan of water. Bring to boil. About 2 minutes after water comes to a boil, the thermometer should read 212 at sea level. At altitudes above sea level, the water will boil at a lower temp. The reading at 2 minutes after boiling subtracted from 212 will give the number of degrees of adjustment for your altitude. Where I live, my thermometer reads 207 when tested because we are above sea level, so I deduct 5 degrees from all candy recipe instructions--i.e., I cook toffee to 295 rather than 300.

We have made this recipe using fewer nuts (by about 25%), and it was still great.

I use salted butter. You might want to add a little salt if you use unsalted. DO NOT use European butter. It has a lower water content than American butter, and the butter will separate out of the syrup and you will get a horrible result. If European is all you have, add about 2 T water per recipe and you should be OK.

Some recipes call for the addition of water and/or corn syrup to this recipe. Don't use corn syrup and don't add water unless you are using European butter.

Use a food processor to finely chop the nuts for this recipe. Take the time to be sure there are no pieces of shell in the nuts.

Buy fresh pecans at a local grower or sheller. Be sure to ask for the current year's crop, and taste a sample of the pecans before purchasing. They will sometimes try to pass off last year's crop from their freezer. Buy enough for a full year's cooking and baking and keep sealed and stored in the freezer at all times.

The candy pot I use is perfect for toffee and other candies. It is 5" tall and 6" in diam. with straight sides and a heavy bottom. We have 2 of these pots, and when the family gets together we make 2 recipes in each simultaneously, so we can turn out 4 recipes (about 4 lbs) in about a half hour, including prep time. We do this several times, so we have LOTS of toffee to eat and give away and have on hand in the freezer for months. I think I got the pots at Amazon.com. They are Krona Norpro, 8/10 stainless steel, and I think they were about $20 each.

Remove from freezer and wrap candies in clear plastic food bags (with open end, not zip top) and tie with curly ribbon for great Christmas gifting. This candy keeps great in the freezer for months. You can make this candy well ahead of Christmas. Actually it is even great straight out of the freezer with no thawing. You have never ever tasted commercially prepared toffee that is this good.

--Pen