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 .
How do you keep toffee from getting chewy? ›
Low and slow. Simmering the syrup for English toffee to the requisite 300°F temperature can (and should) be a slow process — up to 20 minutes or so. 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.
How long can you store English toffee? ›
In most refrigerators toffee will last 3-6 months. You might find that the cool temperature brings out the flavor even more.
Why does the butter separate when making English toffee? ›
If the butterfat separates out then usually this is due to the mixture being either heated or cooled too quickly, which "shocks" the mixture and causes the fat to separate out. It can also be caused by the mixture being heated unevenly (if the pan has a thin base and has hot spots).
Do you refrigerate English toffee? ›
+ What is the shelf life? 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.
Do you stir toffee constantly? ›
Stir the mixture once or twice as the mixture continues cooking, but note that you do not want to stir constantly. Stirring a caramel constantly once it has boiled may cause the mixture to separate or crystallize.
Why add baking soda to toffee? ›
You might wonder why the toffee recipe includes baking soda. It is added at the end of the boiling stage and creates lots and lots of bubbles. These bubbles help to lighten the texture of the finished toffee, resulting in an easier-to-bite candy.
How do you keep butter and sugar from separating when making toffee? ›
Rub the cube of butter around the sides of the pan before adding sugar. This will help keep sugar crystals from clinging to the sides. When adding the sugar, place it in the center of the pan to keep sugar crystals off the pan sides. During cooking, occasionally wash the sides of the pan with a brush dipped in water.
What kind of pan is best for making toffee? ›
You need a very sturdy pan which is KEY to even heat distribution. Thinner, cheaper pans can scorch the cooking candy and/or cook it unevenly. Here are some great choices: Anolon Nouvelle Copper and Cooks Standard. I own a couple pricier copper pots because of the amount of candy I make.
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 I know when my toffee is ready? ›
Here's how you know when the toffee is ready. Keep one of the almonds near the pan. It's your color cue. When the toffee is the color of the almond skin, it's done!
Can you cook toffee too long? ›
Toffee Making Tips + Troubleshooting
Undercooked toffee won't be anything more than a caramel sauce. But overcooked toffee will be just slightly crunchier (almost unrecognizably). So, always err on the side of over-cooking!
Does English toffee go bad? ›
Once opened, unrefrigerated toffee will retain maximum freshness for about a week. Refrigeration adds 3-6 months of shelf life, while freezing adds up to a year or more.
Can I use expired toffee? ›
In general, toffee has a relatively long shelf life because sugar acts as a natural preservative. When properly stored in a cool, dry place and kept in an airtight container or packaging, toffee can typically remain safe to eat for several months to a year or even longer.
What exactly is English toffee? ›
There are many types of candy, both here in the U.S. and across the pond in the British Isles, referred to as toffee. In America, English toffee usually refers to a candy made with slow-cooked sugar and butter, forming a brittle, which is then coated in chocolate and nuts.
What is the difference between English and American toffee? ›
In America we call most toffee, English Toffee. What's the difference between English and American toffee? The main difference is that traditional English toffee is created without nuts, while American toffee is created with a variety of nuts. The most common nuts being the almond.
Is English toffee 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.
Is English toffee the same as butterscotch? ›
Toffee vs Butterscotch
While butterscotch is cooked to a soft-crack stage, toffee is produced by allowing that same butter and brown sugar mixture to reach the hard-crack stage. Butterscotch tends to be chewy and pliable; toffee is brittle and more breakable.
