English Toffee Recipe

This English Toffee Recipe is a must-make every Christmas! It’s a beloved, irresistible holiday gift among my friends!

I shake up my holiday candy and baking list from time to time, but one sweet treat never changes. I’ve been making this same Recipe for Toffee for over a decade; it’s the absolute best! Check out all my tips and tricks on how to make this decadent Christmas Candy!

Toffee (or toffy) is a candy made by cooking sugar, water, or cream to a temperature within the hard ball to hard crack candy range, depending on the outcome you want. This toffee is cooked to 290º right in the middle of the span of temperatures, in the soft crack stage.

Both toffee and caramel are sweet, amber-colored candies, but caramel candy is soft and chewy whereas toffee is hard and crunchy. The ingredient list is similar, but they’re cooked to different temperatures, and caramel has cream added whereas typically, toffee does not. On a molecular level, the sugar crystallization is different for each candy.

Corn syrup prevents the recrystallization of the sugar when the toffee cools and hardens. If you’ve ever eaten gritty toffee, you know what recrystallized toffee is like. It’s caused when all the sugar is not melted. Even a couple of granules lingering on the sides of the pan can mess up a batch. So don’t skip this ingredient!

English Toffee

Make and share this English Toffee recipe from Food.com.

Prep: 5min

Total: 25min

Yield: 1 pound

Nutrition Facts: calories 3563.7, Fat 288.1, Saturated Fat 138.5, Cholesterol 488.1, Sodium 2796.7, Carbohydrate 269.6, Fiber 15.5, Sugar 250.5, Protein 15.5

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter (only real butter can be used in this recipe)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 semi-sweet chocolate baking squares or 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup coarsely broken pecans

Instruction:

1. In heavy saucepan, combine butter, sugar, water, and salt.
2. Cook to hard-crack stage (300°F) stirring with a WOODEN SPOON constantly and watching carefully. Do not try a plastic spoon, it will melt into your delicious candy!
3. Immediately pour into ungreased 13″x9″ pan.
4. Cool until hard.
5. Melt chocolate over hot, but not boiling water.
6. Spread over toffee; sprinkle with nuts, pressing them into chocolate.
7. Let stand 2-3 hours or chill 30 minutes.
8. Break into bite-size pieces.

Classic English Toffee Recipe

My English Toffee recipe is a quintessential holiday candy — delicious and crunchy! It’s also the perfect thing to have on-hand for a beautiful and simple gift!

Prep: 20min

Yield: 8

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ sticks (10oz/284g) butter
• 1 ¼ cups (10oz/284g) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup (4 ½ oz/128g) milk chocolate
• ⅓ cup (1 ½oz/43g) toasted chopped almonds
• ⅓ cup (1 ½oz/43g) toasted chopped pecans

Instruction:

1. Line a medium baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt.
3. Let the butter melt and sugar dissolve and then bring to a simmer, then cook, stirring constantly with a whisk, so the butter and sugar don’t separate, until mixture turns dark amber, 15 – 20 minutes or 285ºF on a candy thermometer. Note: if your toffee is still pale at this temperature then continue to simmer until you reach the color in the video.
4. Pour toffee mixture into the prepared baking sheet and set aside to harden for 20 minutes.
5. Gently melt the chocolate and using a spatula spread it thinly and evenly over the hard candy. Sprinkle the chopped almonds and pecans all over the wet chocolate.
6. Refrigerate to JUST set the chocolate, about 1 hour. Then remove from the fridge and break into pieces and enjoy. Store the toffee at room temperature in an airtight container. Note: Don’t store the toffee for too long in the fridge as it will make the toffee damp and not as crisp.

Easy English Toffee Recipe

This Easy English Toffee Recipe features crunchy almonds and a creamy chocolate outer layer. No candy thermometer needed, and you will still end up with perfectly snappy and delicious toffee!

Prep: 5min

Total: 25min

Yield: 8

Serving Size: 1 serving

Nutrition Facts: calories 243 kcal, Carbohydrate 31 g, Protein 5 g, Fat 12 g, Saturated Fat 1 g, Trans Fat 1 g, Cholesterol 3 mg, Sodium 105 mg, Fiber 3 g, Sugar 27 g, servingSize 1 serving

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole raw almonds
• 1 cup butter (cut into 1-inch cubes)
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups milk chocolate chips
• ¼ cup finely chopped pecans

Instruction:

1. Get all of your ingredients measured and set out before you start the recipe. Then place your almonds on a plate and microwave them for 2-3 minutes on high to toast them. Line a baking sheet (preferable a 9×13 pan) with foil and place the almonds in a single layer on the foil – space them out as best you can.
2. Add sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt to a large sauce pan (at least 2-quarts and it needs to have a thick bottom – not a thin metal one or your toffee will burn!) and melt over medium heat, stirring throughout.
3. When ingredients are completely melted, continuously stir and gradually increase heat to medium-high. Keep stirring, stirring, stirring for 9-15 minutes until the toffee is a golden brown color (similar to the color of the raw almonds). As soon as it reaches that color, quickly pour over almonds in your prepared pan.
4. Allow to cool for about 2-3 minutes, then sprinkle with chocolate chips. Allow to sit for another couple of minutes so the chocolate chips will melt, then spread over the toffee. Sprinkle with chopped pecans and allow to cool completely. (If you put the pan in the fridge it will speed up the process a bit).
5. After toffee and chocolate and completely cooled, use a butter knife to break apart the toffee. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Classic English Toffee Recipe

My favorite English Toffee recipe. Prepare to get lots of rave reviews!

Prep: 15min

Total: 35min

Serving Size: 1 ounce

Nutrition Facts: calories 377 calories, Carbohydrate 40 grams carbohydrates, Cholesterol 23 milligrams cholesterol, Fat 22 grams fat, Fiber 2 grams fiber, Protein 5 grams protein, Saturated Fat 13 grams saturated fat, servingSize 1 ounce, Sodium 77 milligrams sodium, Sugar 36 grams sugar, Trans Fat 0 grams trans fat, unSaturated Fat 7 grams unsaturated fat

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped pecans, toasted (5-8 minutes at 350º)
• 2 sticks butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 8-12 ounces milk chocolate, chopped

Instruction:

1. Cover a baking sheet with a Silpat or lightly grease with Pam.
2. Cut butter into pieces and mix with sugar, corn syrup, and water.
3. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Insert a candy thermometer and allow to boil, stirring occasionally, until the liquid turns amber and the temperature reaches 290º.
4. Remove from heat immediately and add vanilla. Stir to combine and pour onto prepared sheet.
5. Allow to cool for about a minute, then sprinkle with chocolate. Allow the heat to melt the chocolate, then smooth out with a spatula.
6. Sprinkle with nuts and gently pat down so nuts adhere to chocolate.
7. Chill for 2 hours, then break into small pieces. Store in refrigerator.

Old English Toffee – Oma’s Best Recipes – Easy Step-by-Step Instructions

FAQ

What is the difference between English toffee and regular toffee?

What is English toffee made of?

Why is my English toffee so hard?

What does baking soda do to toffee?