Easy Homemade Toffee
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An unbelievably easy peasy, no-fuss, homemade toffee recipe (even for you first-timers!). So perfect for the holidays!
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Need an easy budget-friendly holiday gift for neighbors, teachers, friends and family? Some candy to munch on for all of December? I have you completely covered with this easy homemade toffee recipe.
But never made toffee before? Don’t have a candy thermometer? Don’t you worry, I got you. With the ins and outs, dos and donts, tips and tricks, a step-by-step video guide, you’ll be making so much toffee in no time!
what is the difference between toffee and caramel?
- Both toffee and caramel are made from sugar and butter, but toffee is cooked at a much higher temperature than caramel, resulting in a hard and brittle texture known as the “hard-crack” stage.
- Caramel has a creamier, thicker consistency and typically does not contain butter, yielding a soft and chewy end result.
Ingredients
Almonds
We love whole almonds but you can improvise with your favorite nuts such as walnuts or pecans.
Butter
A quintessential toffee ingredient! We always recommend using unsalted butter as it allows for more control and consistency. You can of course replace unsalted butter with salted butter in a pinch, reducing the amount of salt indicated in the recipe, and adding to taste.
Sugar
Granulated sugar is a must. We do not recommend using brown sugar as the molasses in the brown sugar has a higher chance of burning and scorching.
Vanilla extract
For added flavor! You can omit if needed, but the subtle notes of vanilla flavors certainly takes this toffee to the next level.
Salt
A little bit of salt allows the other flavors of the toffee to shine through.
Chocolate chips
Semi-sweet chocolate chips are perfect here, melting their way over the hot toffee.
Pecans
An added crunch as a finishing touch! But you can also use almonds, pistachios or walnuts.
tips and tricks for success
- Patience. Making toffee is a labor of love. Do not try to rush the process and increase the heat for faster results.
- Use a heavy saucepan. A heavy bottom saucepan is key for even heat distribution. A thin bottom saucepan tends to heat too fast, causing separation and burning.
- Avoid abrupt temperature changes. A sudden drop or increase in temperature can cause separation. We want to keep the temperature consistent and steady.
- Use a jar of peanut butter as a color guide. Known as the “peanut butter trick”, it is helpful to have a jar of peanut butter handy in order to cook the hot toffee until it resembles approximately the same color as peanut butter.
Storing and freezing HOMEMADE TOFFEE
- At room temperature. Leftover toffee can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 week with layers separated by wax paper to avoid from getting sticky.
- In the refrigerator. Leftover toffee can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 weeks with layers separated by wax paper to avoid from getting sticky.
- In the freezer. Leftover toffee can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. To freeze toffee, place the leftover toffee pieces in a single layer on a baking sheet (making sure the pieces are not touching), covered, and place in the freezer until frozen. This can take a few hours or overnight. Once frozen, transfer the frozen toffee pieces into freezer bags, squeezing out any excess air before sealing. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Easy Homemade Toffee: Frequently Asked Questions
We recommend using a heavy saucepan for the best results possible, and to avoid any abrupt temperature changes during the cooking process. In some cases, separated toffee can be salvaged by removing from heat and whisking vigorously and constantly.
We recommend using whole almonds but pecans, pistachios or walnuts will also work very well here.
A candy thermometer is not necessary here. The beauty of this recipe is its ease and simplicity!
This is a handy trick to help cook the toffee mixture until it resembles the color of peanut butter.
Homemade toffee can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 week (away from heat) or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, letting it come to room temperature prior to serving.
Here is a foolproof step-by-step video guide for a stress-free toffee!
Easy Homemade Toffee
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Spread almonds in an even layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Place into oven and bake until toasted, about 10 minutes; set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine butter, sugar vanilla and salt over medium heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until butter has melted and mixture is almond brown in color, about 10-15 minutes.
- Immediately spread the hot toffee mixture evenly over the almonds. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. After 1-2 minutes, spread the chocolate chips in an even layer until smooth. Sprinkle with pecans.
- Let cool completely, about 2 hours. Break into pieces.
Video
Did you make this recipe?
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I’ve made this five times since Thanksgiving, everyone loves it! I had my butter separate tonight, I think because I let it melt before I added the sugar. Also, I love the peanut butter tip, it does take a little longer (20 min), but it’s worth it. Thanks for this yummy recipe!
Just made this last night and it turned out beautifully! Have never attempted to make anything like this so I was very nervous. Used one of the commenters trick of turning a jar of peanut butter upside down and setting by the stove. Be patient!! It took me about 25 minutes of continuous whisking but sure enough turned an almond brown and started setting as soon as it hit the parchment paper.
This is the second time I’ve made this super easy toffee. My family and friends love it! I use a stainless steel pan and wire whisk. I let the butter mostly melt before adding the other ingredients. I also prefer using pecans instead of almonds. I appreciate that no thermometer is necessary. It usuallyntakes 12-15 minutes for it to turn a Carmel brown. Thank you for this wonderful, delicious, easy recipe!
If anyone is interested, I have been making this MICROWAVE Toffee recipe for almost 30 years:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
4 oz. Milk chocolate
Rub the top of a mixing bowl with (extra) butter. Place butter into bowl. Pour sugar directly on butter. Add salt and water. Cook approximately 7 to 8 minutes and start watching at this point so as not to overcook. Candy is done when the color of a Heath bar or brown sugar. Pour mixture over sliced almonds (optional) on a buttered cookie sheet. Don’t scrape the bowl! Cool. Top with melted chocolate. Break into pieces and serve.
My notes over the years: The butter on rim of bowl is to help toffee pour out…you can use a little from your stick, use extra, or what I like to do is just take butter wrapper and wipe around rim. The TOTAL cook time should be between 7 and 12 minutes…this is me having several microwaves over the years, but all close to 1000 watts. I highly suggest your first few makings to watch closely after 7 mins as it can change within 20-30 secs. Then you will know about how long to watch for with your microwave. I have posted this other places online and read people have had more then 12 minutes but I think that’s pretty unusual. It’s a good idea to “swish” the bowl around and look after maybe 9 mins because I have seen it burn before and not be noticed until the batch is ruined. I have made this without the almonds plenty of times and is delicious too. Last year I wanted peanut brittle so bad that I tried it with peanuts and it was perfect…just left chocolate off. (Which I do sometimes anyway as I just want the toffee/butterscotch/caramel flavor!) I know my mom used to take mini Hershey bars and just let them melt on top of the hot candy. As for the greased cookie sheet, I don’t even bother because it’s pretty greasy and will not stick usually. You might wonder why you shouldn’t scrape the bowl…it will change the color of the toffee and make it cloudy, plus can have a different texture. I love this stuff so much I could care less, I scrape the bowl to get all the candy out. Soak the bowl in hot water to melt any leftover candy. Also, your bowl does matter somewhat… A medium to large bowl is best, and if you have a good plastic bowl that won’t melt in the microwave, great, but I have ruined many bowls because it gets very hot, so I use a glass bowl…BE CAREFUL doing this though, you will want to wear your oven mitts when you take the bowl out. It can get pretty heavy to pour too when using glass instead of plastic. Enjoy!!!
Thank you for sharing that!
I must say this was my 3 rd attempt to make this toffee….I was determined to make this! I have made a similar candy, peanut crunch and have never had any problem. I did change from a wisk to a wooden spoon and to a heavy bottom saucepan ( which I used a skillet the first time , which is what I use for my peanut crunch and I might add is amazing! But…with this recipe I needed to make sure I used a wooden spoon, a heavy saucepan and make sure I used a candy thermometer (temp to 300) it helped tremendously!! Well…I know you’re all wondering, did it come out? YES!!!! Success! Now I’ve got it! Thank you for the recipe!
This recipe is simple, complete and turns out spectacularly delicious 🙂
When I was a child my mother would make toffee, great memories! A shortcut to the chocolate topping is to pour the
toffee in the pan and immediately place enough unwrapped Hershey’s Chocolate bars on the hot toffee, they’ll melt REALLY fast so you can smooth with a knife and then add any nuts or crushed candies that you like. Make it your own!
Can you use regular butter i dont have unsalted
Yes.
I’ve been using a very similar recipe for many years. The wording in the old recipe was to cook it until it was the color of a brown paper bag. That may be a little bit less than the almond color mentioned in this one. The results are quite reliable. One time in more than 30 years I had the experience of the butter separating out, and I don’t know what caused it, but clearly, it wasn’t the recipe’s fault. You should not make candy on a rainy day because humidity may be a problem. I prefer to add nuts only on top and not in the toffee layer. That way people who don’t like nuts can scrape them off. If you like Heath bars, this is the homemade equivalent. I just have to add that although I’ve never had the problem, there’s not the slightest chance I’d throw out a batch that didn’t harden. It would be terrific on ice cream! In fact if you get a lot of crumbs when breaking up your toffee, they are great on ice cream, too – so great that you might want to chop some up for that purpose.
Well mine separated. Bummer! But I stuck it in the freezer and though it is oily, the hardened part tastes great.
You just can’t beat food on a stick! I didn’t know Star made rice vinegar…I’ll look for it in the store!
OK, I made this twice now. The first time it never turned “paper bag brown” but I poured it over the almonds anyway to see what would happen. I have zero experience making candy. Never hardened and I threw it out. After browsing a bit on other sites my second batch is awesome, tastes like a Heath bar! I used a wooden spoon instead of the bendy silicone whack I used before (I don’t see how that makes a big difference), I also added more salt after reading that many people use salted butter, mine was unsalted. Also, I noticed a bit of fat separation so I added a few tbsp of half and half. Lastly, I think I had the heat TOO low on first batch. I was worried about the warnings not to cook it too high! I let it reach a slow boil and kept stirring. It still took over 15 min of stirring but it finally turned brown and the substance started to “pull away” from the saucepan if that makes sense, like it was wanting to thicken to a sticky goo and I got the brown color. It has only been on the parchment paper for an hour but it is harder than that first batch ever got. Tried a piece that had dried on the pan, wow, it tastes good!
Question: Followed instructions, cooked entire time over medium heat, did not have any trouble making a nice caramely substance. But after 15-20 minutes of constant whisking I never got the peanut butter color. I finally poured it over the almonds and finished the recipe and it is cooling. Will it affect the solidity of it? Anyone else not getting that toasty brown color in the toffee mix?
I’m not sure what I did wrong. I followed the directions to a T. I stood there for about a hour with my carmel mix and it still didn’t turn the right color and its still grainy. I did try ths recipe twice too. Can you tell me what I did wrong, or if you have any advice please?
Oh no – what a bummer! Please refer to the FAQ located below the recipe.
My mom made toffee growing up and I have been trying for YEARS to make it just right!! Well ,your recipe was perfect!!!! My hand is a little sore from all of the whisking, but oh so perfect. I truly love the simplicity of the recipe with no thermometer. I will be making this in the years to come!
Thank you!!!
Thank you posting this! Your directions are very clear! My first attempt went perfectly! The next two batches didn’t harden but there are enough suggestions now to try again. It is amazing! But I like it crunchy not chewy! Lol.
Thanks for this amazing recipe!
Note to self — kill everyone!
I kept re-reading the recipe, and looking at the lovely photo, and saying, “Those are clearly almonds on the bottom of the toffee, but on top…those sure don’t LOOK like almonds… and in spite of the admonition in the recipe, they DEFINITELY don’t look whole!” I re-read the recipe a dozen times, but no mention of chopped nuts…
J’accuse!
The reason those don’t look like almonds on the top is because those AREN’T almonds (on the top) and they AREN’T whole!
That photo is from a DIFFERENT RECIPES — the one that was used as the inspiration for this one. You can see the original here
http://www.theyummylife.com/Toffee
and even THAT one is deceiving! The author shows us the original recipe, cut from an old magazine (cool!) and then ONLY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE do we find the ACTUAL recipe, that was used for the photo, which features (ta da!) FINELY CHOPPED PECANS! Oh the humanity!
No harm; no fowl. As Portnoy’s psychiatrist said, “And NOW we can begin….”
Glen, whole almonds are used on the bottom layer and chopped pecans are on the top layer – this is all specified in the recipe. The whole almonds can actually break apart when the toffee is broken into pieces.
There’s no deception here – it’s simply a delicious, additive toffee recipe for everyone to enjoy 🙂
EGADS! First time I have EVER tried making anything remotely like toffee… Other than cussing up a string of really bad words when I stupidly decided to touch the hot toffee with my finger (the choc chips seemed to be sinking into the toffee? so I thought I needed to wait a minute for it to harden/cool a bit?) CRAP! OUCH! But seriously AFTER just now tasting the finished product.. hmm I would even say the damn burn was worth it! OH MAN it’s yummy. I need to box it and seal them before I am tempted to NOT gift. Thanks so much!
The toffee part has hardened but the chocolate on top is still a bit gooey. How l long does it need to sit for the chocolate to harden back up so I can break it all up?