There are lots of varieties of English toffee. Here is my favorite! This candy takes no more than 20 minutes to make – perfect for a busy Christmas season!
The Recipe
by volume by weight
1 cup butter 226 grams butter
1¼ cups sugar 248 grams sugar
2 tablespoons corn syrup 40 grams corn syrup
2 tablespoons water 30 grams water
1 tablespoon vanilla 12 grams vanilla
2 cups sliced almonds 200 grams sliced almonds
1 cup chopped bittersweet 175 grams chopped bittersweet
chocolate chocolate
Directions
Toast the almonds until golden brown. I do this on the stovetop over medium heat. Stir constantly until the nuts are the desired color. Remove the nuts from the pan to cool since the nuts will continue to toast if left in a hot pan and may burn. (The nuts can also be toasted in the oven if you prefer to do it that way but I hate to turn on the oven just to toast a pan of nuts!)
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the sugar, water, and corn syrup and stir just to wet all the sugar.
Bring the mixture to a boil and boil without stirring until the mixture reaches 305F and is a deep caramel color.
Remove from the heat and add half of the almonds.
Stir to completely coat the nuts and then pour onto a buttered sheet pan. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes. The mixture will level itself out so it is not necessary to spread it in any way.
Sprinkle the chocolate over the surface of the toffee and let sit for 5 minutes. Use a small spatula to spread the chocolate evenly over the surface. It doesn’t have to be smooth.
Sprinkle with the remaining nuts and press gently with a fork to help the nuts adhere.
Allow the toffee to cool completely (I put it on a shelf in the garage to speed things up!) and then break into pieces. It is tempting to put the toffee in the refrigerator to get the chocolate to set up more quickly. Resist! This will cause beads of moisture to form on the surface of the toffee and make it sticky.
Alternatives
There are many ways to make delicious English toffee. If you don’t care for almonds, pecans and walnuts work very well. The toffee can also be made without mixing nuts into the candy itself. Simply use half of the amount in the recipe and sprinkle them only on the top.
You can also use milk or white chocolate for the top but neither of these chocolates will set up as firmly as dark chocolate unless you temper the chocolate.
Whatever variety of English toffee you choose, be sure to make plenty. This buttery treat disappears very quickly!
