A professional pastry chef shows you how to make homemade toffee which is thin, crunchy and flavorful! This delicious toffee has layers of toasted almonds, crunchy toffee, and bittersweet chocolate. It makes the perfect gift or addition to a Holiday table!
Preheat oven to 350°F. Toast almonds, stirring occasionally, until a light golden brown. Cool completely.
Chop almonds by hand or pulse in a food processor until they are chopped fine but not a powder.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or waxed paper. Sprinkle half of the almonds on the cookie sheet. Try to confine to a 7 inch by 10-inch rectangle. Set aside.
Be sure to have all ingredients measured and ready near the stovetop.
In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepot, combine brown sugar, water, butter, and salt. Stir to combine, then turn the heat on medium and bring to a boil while stirring constantly.
Continue to boil, stir occasionally, until the mixture reaches 285°F (soft crack stage). Immediately remove the saucepot from the heat, carefully remove the thermometer, and add the vanilla extract and baking soda.
Pour the hot candy over the almonds on the baking sheet. Immediately scatter the chocolate over the hot toffee. Wait about 5 minutes until the chocolate has melted and spread with an offset metal spatula evenly over the toffee. Sprinkle the remaining half of chopped almonds over the chocolate and allow to cool completely.
Break into pieces.
Notes
Let’s get into it like a PROFESSIONAL CHEF:Presentation - To get delightful uneven bits of almond in your toffee be sure to not grind your toasted almonds too small, and also try to keep them relegated to the size your toffee will be when you spread out half of your almonds on a baking sheet.Flavor Tips - I love bittersweet chocolate in this homemade toffee, butsemi-sweet chocolate would make an even sweeter treat. I did not love unsweetened chocolate because it was too bitter even when paired with the sweet toffee.Technique - Candy-making is a science, and sugar needs to be taken to the soft crack stage to get that perfect crunch. The baking soda in chocolate buttercrunch toffee reacts with the acid in the brown sugar to make a lighter, less sticky toffee. You can’t forget that sugar is hygroscopic and will absorb moisture from the air. Even if you do everything right, making toffee on a humid day will always result in sticky toffee.Helpful Tools - A candy thermometer is mission-critical here! I prefer one that clips on the side of the pot for constant temperature regulation. Test your thermometer calibration before you begin by placing it in a pot of boiling water. The temperature should read 212°F. Variations - You can use any nut that you choose in place of the almonds. Hazelnuts would be a phenomenal flavor pairing as would toastedwalnuts. Dried fruits would also be a delightful combination. If you're considering how to make homemade toffee with dried fruits, sprinkle ½ -1 cup dried fruit with the almonds on the baking sheet before pouring the toffee mixture over the top. This will soften and incorporate the fruit into the candy better than sprinkling on top.Storage - Store in an airtight container at room temperature for about a month. After that time, it will begin to crystallize. You could freeze toffee but I would advise against it. When thawed it will absorb moisture and will lose its crunchy texture.Recipe from Rose’s Christmas Cookies, by Rose Levy Beranbaum. 1990 Edition.Yield: About 1 pound of toffee