Happy English Toffee Day: Salty & Sweet Chocolate Butter Toffee

Tomorrow, January 8th, is National English Toffee Toffee Day. To me, there’s no better way to honor it than with this recipe for Salty & Sweet Chocolate Butter Toffee. This recipe is based on our Easy Toffee Candy that Nestlé Kitchens created close to 15 years ago. I will go on the record and say this new toffee candy is my favorite SWEET Nestlé recipe to date.

So, how can I improve on it? I wanted to simplify the process (I eliminated the need for an oven). As well, I wanted the toffee center to be more firm to the bite (so I am using butter and granulated sugar in place of sweetened condensed milk and brown sugar). I also wanted to incorporate toasted almonds since almonds and toffee are a match made in heaven. Why the saltine crackers? It adds a touch saltiness, but mostly it’s about that extra layer of texture.

We created the recipe video above to illustrate just how easy this recipe is – we know the word “toffee” can be intimidating.

For this recipe, you will need:

• Parchment paper or aluminum foil
• 30 saltine crackers
• 1 cup butter (use high quality butter since this is a main flavoring ingredient – I like Land O Lakes)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups (9 ounces) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1/2 cup finely chopped toasted almonds

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil; place crackers on baking sheet 5 across and 6 down to form a 10 x 12-inch rectangle.

Place the crackers close together like the image above.

Combine the butter, sugar and salt in a 2-quart, heavy-duty saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until candy thermometer reaches 300° F which is hard crack stage (this should take about 20 minutes from the time you turn on the burner). If you are in high altitude, cook it to about 298° F since liquid boils at a lower temperature in higher altitudes.

It should be a rich, golden amber color (see image above). If you don’t have a candy thermometer, you can do a cold water test. Drop a spoonful of toffee into cold water. It should separate into hard, brittle threads.

Remove from heat; immediately pour mixture over crackers.

Sprinkle evenly with morsels. Let it stand for 5 minutes or until morsels are nice and shiny (image above).

Spread morsels over toffee with metal spatula or back of spoon (image above).

Sprinkle with almonds (image above). Cool for 2 hours before breaking into 30 pieces. If you are impatient like me, you can speed the cooling process by chilling in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. These will hold in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

So, in the end, I would rate this toffee recipe as highly as I do the Easy Toffee Candy recipe. It’s just easier to make. And that says a lot coming from me.

Links:

• Salty & Sweet Chocolate Butter Toffee
• Get Toll House coupons & promotions

Related toffee recipes:

Easy Toffee Candy

Swirlicious Chocolate-Peanut Toffee