Buttery, rich delicious English toffee! This perfectly crunchy, yet creamy chocolatey in one of the best holiday treats (or anytime of the year for me) I make. I'm giving you step by step instructions in this english toffee recipe so you can make it with no problems!
WHAT IS ENGLISH TOFFEE?
English toffee is a creamy crunchy sweet dessert with a chocolate and nuts topping. The flavor tastes a like a buttery caramel- perfect combination right?
INGREDIENTS YOU NEED FOR THIS ENGLISH TOFFEE RECIPE:
- butter
- sugar
- corn syrup
- chocolate chips
- nuts
DO I HAVE TO USE SEMI-SWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS?
NO! you definitely can use whatever is your favorite chocolate chips. Dark chocolate? yes! milk chocolate? yes! just make sure it is chips or chopped up into small chunks like chocolate chips.
DO I HAVE TO PUT ON NUTS?
ALSO, no. If nuts aren't your thing don't use them. Like walnuts better than hazelnuts use those! Thats the beauty of cooking- you can alter parts of recipes to YOUR TASTE. So feel free to do it!
IMPORTANT EQUIPMENT YOU NEED
- heavy bottom pan (dont use one that is thin! or your toffee will burn too easy)
- high temp spatula like silicone
- RELIABLE thermometer
STEPS TO MAKING THE PERFECT ENGLISH TOFFEE RECIPE:
- melt your butter over medium heat.
- stir in your sugar, corn syrup and remaining ingredients
- turn the heat up to med-high.Bring to a boil and stir constantly.
- DO NOT SCRAP THE SIDES- JUST STIR CONSTANTLY Till the temp gets to 285 degrees. Your toffee will go from a cream color to a nice dark golden brown. Insert your thermometer when your toffee is turning colors. My favorite, most reliable candy thermometer is the chef alarm by thermoworks.
****if you see little dark brown flecks in your pot then your toffee is burning on the bottom and getting too hot. Remove from heat and stir for a few minutes. turn down heat and place back on burner until the temperature of the toffee comes to 285.***
TRANSFERRING YOUR TOFFEE
Be very very careful when transferring your toffee. This liquid is so hot and when it gets on your skin it sticks- which will cause a bad burn (I know from experience!)
- I like to prepare my sheet pan with a parchment paper. If you dont have parchment paper butter your pan so it is non-stick. Use the spatula and spread the toffee so it is even in the pan.
- After a few minutes of letting it cool evenly pour your chocolate chips on top and let sit for a few minutes to let melt.
SPREADING THE CHOCOLATE
Using a flat spatula or knife spread the melting chocolate chips into a thin even layer of chocolate all over the toffee.
You can make it reallllly gorgeous,
ADD SOME COARSE SEA SALT
ok, this is seriously the icing on the cake. It really makes a difference. Follow my lead and JUST. DO. IT.
ADDING CHOPPED NUTS TO YOUR ENGLISH TOFFEE
As mentioned above, if you dont like nuts, or have an allergy you can skip this step. Or just add them to half the batch. Hazelnuts are a really great nut to pair with toffee because their taste is mild and they have a soft crunch. They dont over power the texture and flavors of the toffee rather just add and accentuate it.
HOW LONG DO I NEED TO LET IT COOL?
Plan for at least an hour. If you are in a rush put it in the fridge (or if you are in a cold climate set it outside haha) it will help cool it faster. When your chocolate has set and you toffee is cool you can crack it!
HOW DO I KNOW MY CHOCOLATE IS SET?
When your chocolate has set it will have more of a dark matte color to it, and when you go to touch it it will be hard.
= 
WHATS THE BEST WAY TO CRACK MY TOFFEE?
WELL, do you want the fun way or the least messy? Fun? Pick it up a foot or two and drop it! Drop it into the sheet pan to keep pieces from scattering too far. ha ha Least messy? I just use a knife, point it down and press into the toffee. It natural cracks into pieces.
HOW DO I STORE ENGLISH TOFFEE?
You can store it at room temp for a couple of weeks! If you live in a warm humid climate I recommend storing it in an air tight container in the fridge. Freezing it is also really yummy!
HOW LONG DOES ENGLISH TOFFEE LAST?
If you still have it around after 2 weeks I'll be surprised! seriously. If at room temp it will be good for 2 weeks, if you keep it in the fridge it will last a couple more weeks after that.
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS?
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Hazelnut English Toffee
Ingredients
- 1 lb butter
- 2 ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup corn syrup
- 1 10 oz. bag semi sweet chocolate chips
- ¾ cup roasted hazelnuts can sub almonds
- kosher salt
Instructions
- Grease jelly roll pan with butter, or line with parchment paper.
- Melt butter in large heavy-bottomed pot, add sugar, water, and corn syrup. Stir over medium heat frequently until it reaches the hard crack stage, or 285 degrees. Stir the bottom only, not the sides to prevent crystals. Place candy thermometer in candy once mixture begins to darken in color, almost amber in color. To ensure candy is ready, drop a bit into ice-cold water and roll it between your fingers (let it cool for 10 seconds or so). If it easily rolls into a tight ball, it's ready. If it's still loose and stretchy, it needs more time.
- Pour candy into sheet pan once it's reached the hard crack stage. Don't scrap the sides. Spread candy out to reach the edges of the pan. After a couple minutes, sprinkle the chocolate over the hot candy. Let it heat up, and after another 2 minutes, spread it gently with a spatula to cover the chocolate. Sprinkle the chopped nuts and kosher salt, let pan cool. After 2 hours (can place in freezer once it reaches room temperature), break into pieces.
Nutrition
Jill says
Dang this looks SO good! I failed miserably last time I tried toffee. Going to give this a shot - thanks for the tips!
Miranda Taylor says
Definitely will have to try these soon! Toffee is the best thing ever!!
Emily Rogers says
Oh my gosh! This looks amazing. My mouth is watering right now!
Itzel Ruizesparza says
Making this tonight, for our Christmas movie night.
Lori SextonLeal says
Oh my goodness, English Toffee...HAZELNUT English Toffee! I don't think I could ever put this down. I contemplating how delicious this would be with coffee for breakfast ;) Also, what a great gift idea for the holidays! I'm picturing festive tins and happy friends, love it!! :) xo, Lori
Karly says
I'm going to make this under the guise of giving it to family and friends - but let's be real. I'm going to eat it all myself. ;)