Making Homemade Toffee has to be one of my favorite treats; rich buttery toffee, all smothered in chocolate and as crunchy as can be!
Homemade candy might seem intimidating, but I’m here to tell you that toffee bark is no more difficult to make than cookies or muffins are. There are lots of different kinds to try, too, like pecan Christmas crack, peppermint bark, and now this crispy, crackly chocolate toffee!
What is Toffee?
Toffee is butterscotch or caramel that has been brought to what is known as the “hard crack stage” in candy making. Simply put, the temperature of the butter and sugar mixture must reach 295-310°F (149-154°C).
In this recipe, we are going raise the temperature to just 295°F and you are going to have to break out your candy thermometer, either that or run the risk of ruining a batch of toffee! Yikes!
How to Make Toffee
- Grease pan and sprinkle chopped nuts in the bottom. (If desired)
- Bring ingredients to a boil for about 12 minutes. Insert and read the candy thermometer. If it goes up to 295-310°F, you are good to go! Remove from heat!
- Stir in vanilla and pour into the prepared pan.
Prepare melted chocolate according to recipe notes and pour it over the toffee. Cool completely before breaking it up into bark…and sneaking a piece, or two!
How to Store It
You can store Toffee the same way you would store any other type of candy with chocolate. Just make sure it’s in a cool dry place, away from sunlight and well hidden from your husband, and it should be fine.
When I was a kid, I used to buy Heath bars and freeze them. You can freeze this chocolate toffee too…and even eat it that way (warning…it’s hard)! I like to pack it into wax paper-lined Christmas tins, and give it away as gifts or bring it to a party.
Christmas Toffee is a yearly tradition that’s as much fun to make as it is to eat! I hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!
Classic Dessert Recipe
- Pecan Christmas Crack – a ritz cracker toffee
- CopyCat PayDay Candy Bars – ready in under 15 mins!
- Easy Peanut Butter Fudge – easy, creamy homemade fudge
- Scotcheroos – just 6 simple ingredients!
- Homemade Peppermint Bark – better than store-bought!
- Saltine Toffee – ready in no time
Favorite Toffee Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup finely chopped pecans or almonds, plus additional for garnish
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 ⅓ cups brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips melted
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Instructions
- Grease a 9x9 pan. Sprinkle nuts into the bottom of the pan.
- Bring butter, brown sugar, water, and salt to a boil over medium heat. Let boil, stirring about 12 minutes or until the mixture reaches 295°F on a candy thermometer.
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour into prepared pan and cool 30 minutes.
- Prepare melted chocolate per notes below. Spread melted chocolate over toffee and sprinkle with additional nuts if desired.
- Let cool 1 hour at room temperature then break into bite sized pieces.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Candy, Dessert
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Oil?
Oil is called for to melt with chocolate in the microwave: Place chocolate in a microwaveable bowl with vegetable oil. Melt on 60% power stirring every 20-30 seconds. Remove when chips are almost, but not entirely melted, and stir until lumps disappear.
Would not waste your money putting chocolate on top. I did that and when I cut the candy, the chocolate just popped off. It did not stick to the toffee at all.
Hmm, I have never heard of that happening before. Sorry the chocolate didn’t work for you, Jo Ann!
Not sure what I am doing wrong my Toffee looks like fudge rather toffee. It is not as hard as toffee should be. I use a thermometer to 300. It seems to look golden and hardening but when I put it into fridge to harden the chocolate it turns a creamy colour and softens. Any suggestions.
Thanks.
Sorry the recipe didn’t work for you June, I would recommend leaving the toffee out at room temperature to harden. Hope this helped!
my guess is it would be a temperature issue. I’ve been making old fashioned fudge for years, the recipe is very similar to a caramel recipe,and you have to boil it to 240 degrees, and the times that it failed was always due to a broken or inaccurate thermometer or I reached 240 but I didn’t leave it there for a minute. I have a digital thermometer as I have had too many failures with candy thermometers. Try it again, bring it to 300 and then leave it there for a few minutes, I think if you go to 310, you’re still ok
Thank you for sharing Mary!
Hi Holly, In the Toffee recipe, unless I am missing it, I cannot find this section “Prepare melted chocolate according to recipe notes.” In other words, there are no notes as to how to prepare the chocolate / coconut mixture and when to spread it over the toffee.
Sorry for the confusion, the notes are just above the nutritional information. I’ve updated the recipe to clarify the time, please let me know if you have any other questions!
Looks good…just how I remember how to make it…lol now! Thank you.