My husband’s aunt makes the BESTcandy each Christmas- English toffee, peanut brittle, and homemade caramel are always abundant around this time of year. This year I am making lotsof homemade candy to pass out too, and this English toffee is always tops on my favorite Christmas candy list!
Today I’m sharing my favorite English toffee recipe that tastes amazingly delicious and is so addicting! Everyone I’ve shared this easy English toffee recipe with absolutely loves it.
How to Make English Toffee
Homemade toffee is really quite easy to make, it just takes a little patience. I’ll walk you throughthe whole process.
You don’t HAVE to have a candy thermometer to make this recipe, but it definitely will help if you do have one.
There are other ways to test if your candy is cooked to the right point, but I always find the most accurate results when I use my candy thermometer.
English Toffee Ingredients
- butter
- sugar
- salt
- semi-sweet chocolate chips
- almonds or pecans, finely chopped
I used amix of nuts for the nuts on top of my toffee, because I like the combination of flavors.
Any nuts will work, as long as they are finely chopped.
Steps to Making English Toffee
First the butter, sugar, and salt will all go in a large heavy saucepan. Candy making requires a nice heavy pot, so use the best quality pot you have.
You’ll cook over medium heat let the mixture to come to a steady boil, stirring constantly. It’s important that you keep stirring constantly for the English toffee to turn out.
I always use a candy thermometer because I like to know for sure when my toffee is done. With candy making, you can go from done to burnt very quickly, so you want to make sure you’re at the right temperature.
Next you’ll pour the mixture into a foil-lined baking sheet. Let it sit for a minute or two, and then sprinkle on the chocolate chips.
Let them melt on top, then spread the chocolate out with a knife.
Sprinkle on the nuts. Now comes the hardest part… waiting!
Let the English toffee candy cool and harden, and then break into pieces.
How do I know when the English toffee is done?
When the temperature reaches 290-295 degrees it is ready to remove from the heat.
How can I tell if the toffee is done without a candy thermometer?
- When the mixture turns a dark amber color it’s done.
- Drop a small bit of the mixture into ice cold water. If the drip turns hard and brittle, it is done.
Doesn’t this homemade Enligh toffee look amazing?! This decadent Christmas candy is rich and has a nice crunch to it.
The smooth chocolate top balances the crunchy, buttery toffee and the chopped nuts on top.
You can break up this English toffee in as big or as small of pieces as you like.
This English toffee candy ais a wonderful treat to share with others, especially during Christmas and the holidays.
If I share mine with someone, then they KNOW I love them because this homemade toffee recipe is one of my absolute all time favorites!
Other Favorite Holiday Treats-
- Chocolate no bake cookies
- Andes mint cookies
- Special K bars
- Easy candy sleighs
These are my traditional go to favorite Christmas treats I make every single year without fail!
My mom made them every Christmas for us a child, then I learned to make them as a teenager, and now I’m passing on these same traditions to my children.
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The BEST English Toffee Recipe
Quick and easy English toffee recipe that makes rich, buttery English toffee in minutes. This easy candy recipe is perfect for Christmas or any other time of the year!
Prep Time10 minutes mins
Cook Time15 minutes mins
Total Time25 minutes mins
Course: Dessert
Keyword: candy, chocolate, Christmas, Christmas candy
Servings: 24 servings
Ingredients
- 2 cups butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup almonds or pecans, finely chopped
Instructions
Combine the butter, sugar, and salt in a large heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat and allow the mixture to come to a steady boil, stirring constantly. When it turns a dark amber color or reaches 290 degrees with a candy thermometer, it is done. You can also drop a small bit of the mixture into ice cold water, and if the drop turns hard and brittle it is done.
Carefully pour the mixture into a foil-lined baking sheet. Let harden for a minute or two, then sprinkle on the chocolate chips. Let them melt on top for a minute, then spread the chocolate evenly with a knife.
Sprinkle on the chopped nuts and press down slightly on the nuts. Let the English tofee candy cool and harden, then break into pieces. Store in an airtight container.
Originally posted in December 2014, updated in December 2018.
FAQs
Americanized toffee may include nuts, while a completely traditional British toffee will not. On the other hand, English toffee uses pure cane sugar, brown sugar, or molasses as its sweet base and always involves chocolate.
Why is my English toffee so hard? ›
Toffee is a hard candy made by cooking a sugar syrup with butter to the hard crack stage, 300–310°F (149–154°C), and then pouring it out to cool. It can have inclusions or not, and it can be made either very dense and hard or can be lightened by adding baking soda when the candy is almost done cooking .
Should you stir toffee while cooking? ›
Once the butter has melted, stop stirring and bring mixture to a boil. Once boiling, cook, stirring only 2 to 3 times, until it turns a dark amber color and the temperature reaches 285 degrees F (137 degrees C) on a candy thermometer, 20 to 30 minutes.
How do you keep English toffee from separating? ›
How to prevent toffee from separating
- Don't change the heat suddenly, hot or cold. Try to keep the temperature even during the whole cooking process.
- Make sure to follow the instructions and stir as often as indicated to keep the mixture together.
- Try to use a heavy bottomed pan that will distribute the heat evenly.
Diving into the Sugar Overload Rankings, Pixy Stix leads the pack as the world's sweetest candy, boasting a whopping 94% sugar content.
What is English toffee called in England? ›
Although named English toffee, it bears little resemblance to the wide range of confectionery known as toffee currently available in the United Kingdom. However, one can still find this product in the UK under the name "butter crunch".
Why add baking soda to toffee? ›
Brittles and toffees accumulate small amounts of acid from the browning reactions that occur during cooking. This is one reason why the baking soda is added at the end of cooking. The soda reacts with the acid to make bubbles, and the syrup foams.
Is light or dark brown sugar better for toffee? ›
Generally, dark varieties contain about 6.5% molasses versus the 3.5% found in lighter ones, which gives dark brown sugar both a deeper color and a stronger flavor with more potent caramel and toffee notes.
Why cream of tartar in toffee? ›
It can help stabilize and maintain the structure of whipped cream and meringue so they don't fall flat once you're done whipping them. Preventing sugar crystallization. Cream of tartar can prevent your homemade hard candy, caramel, and toffee from forming a gritty texture due to sugar crystallization.
Why do you add vinegar to toffee? ›
This recipe includes a dash of vinegar which will help keep the colour of the toffee clear and bright and banish any cloudiness.
Don't hurry this gradual transformation; syrup that doesn't reach 300°F, or close to it, will make candy with timid flavor and chewy (not crunchy) texture. Think you can save time by bringing the syrup to a full rolling, popping boil in order for it to darken more quickly? Think again.
What kind of pan is best for making toffee? ›
1) Use a heavy-bottom saucepan. This is important as the thicker base means more even heat distribution which means less chance of burning. Thin-bottom, cheaply made pots should stay far away from toffee making. I always use a stainless pot – I wouldn't recommend pots with nonstick coating.
Should English toffee be refrigerated? ›
Three months unopened, if stored in a cool dry place. + Can it be refrigerated? Yes, but it needs to be set out of the refrigerator to bring to room temperature before serving.
Why is my English toffee grainy? ›
As the toffee cools and the molten sugar crystals become solid again, they are attracted to the 'seed' forming new lumps of tiny crystals – hence the grainy texture. This can also happen if the toffee is stirred, or agitated, after it has begun to boil or on cooling (as happened with this pink-tinted toffee).
How to get chocolate to stick to English toffee? ›
Sometimes some of the butter separates out of the toffee and concentrates on the surface. If it does, the chocolate isn't going to adhere to the toffee. Try blotting up the butter with paper towels - the surface should be matte, rather than shiny. Then you can spread the layer of chocolate on top.
Are English toffee and toffee nut the same? ›
Toffee nut is much more, well, nutty! Whereas, English toffee has a more buttery and smooth flavor.
What is the difference between toffee UK and US? ›
English toffee is made with brown sugar, while American-style toffee, known as buttercrunch is made with white table sugar (granulated sugar). Buttercrunch is typically dusted with crushed almonds or other nuts. Some are enrobed in chocolate. And sometimes, the candy is flavored with espresso, lavender, spices, etc.
What is toffee called in America? ›
The English toffee eaten with regularity in America is also called buttercrunch. What's the difference? Primarily, the difference rests in the ingredients. Toffee in Britain is made with brown sugar, whereas buttercrunch is made with white granulated sugar.
Does English toffee taste like butterscotch? ›
Toffee is butterscotch that has been cooked for a longer period of time. Toffee begins as a base of butter and brown sugar that is gradually cooked to the hard-crack sugar stage between 295 and 309 degrees Fahrenheit.
