My family loves my Traditional Toffee recipe. In fact they like it so much that when I make Christmas candies to share with our friends the first batch of this toffee doesn't make it out of the house.
Toffee makes a great gift. It has the wow factor because everyone thinks it is difficult to make, but it is actually easier to make than most other candies (just don’t tell my neighbors). The only special equipment that you need is a candy thermometer. You also have the option of making a frugal version, a decadent version, or something in between; matching the candy to your budget.
Traditional Toffee Recipe
There is a printable version of the traditional toffee recipe near the bottom of this post.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup butter
- 1½ cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- 1 cup chopped nuts (I use almonds or pecans)
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
- ½ cup finely chopped nuts (I use almonds or pecans)
Directions:
Line a 12 x 9 pan with foil. Grease the foil.
In a medium pot, melt butter over a medium heat.
Stir in sugar, water, and corn syrup. Increase heat to medium-high and attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan.
Cook mixture without stirring until it reaches 300 degrees.
After it has reached 300 degrees, you could pour it into the pan, but if you like nuts keep going. Stir in 1 cup of chopped nuts. Pour toffee mixture into prepared pan.
Let cool on a wired rack for 30 – 40 minutes. (You could skip to the last step, but if you like chocolate keep going.) Melt one cup of chocolate chips in a double boiler. Spread melted chocolate over the cooled toffee.
Let cool in the refrigerator until the chocolate is firm (You could skip to the last step, but if you really like chocolate and nuts, keep going.) Remove the toffee from the pan and flip it over onto a piece of waxed paper. Remove foil.
Melt one cup of chocolate chips in the double boiler and spread over toffee. Immediately top with finely chopped nuts.
Grab the ends of the wax paper and place the toffee back in the baking pan. Place the toffee back in the refrigerator and allow to cool until the chocolate is firm. Once the toffee is completely cool, break it into 2 –3 inch pieces.Store in an airtight container, place it in a pretty tin and give it to a neighbor, or bribe tech support for faster service. 🙂
Printable Recipe for Traditional Toffee
- 1 cup butter
- 1½ cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- 1 cup chopped nuts (I use almonds or pecans)
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
- ½ cup finely chopped nuts (I use almonds or pecans)
- Line a 12 x 9 pan with foil. Grease the foil.
- In a medium pot, melt butter over a medium heat.
- Stir in sugar, water, and corn syrup. Increase heat to medium-high and attach a candy thermometer to the side of the pan.
- Cook mixture without stirring until it reaches 300 degrees. Once it reaches 300 degrees, remove from heat and remove candy thermometer.
- Stir in 1 cup of chopped nuts. Pour toffee mixture into prepared pan.
- Let cool on a wired rack for 30 – 40 minutes.
- Melt one cup of chocolate chips in a double boiler. Spread over cooled toffee.
- Let cool in the refrigerator until the chocolate is firm.
- Remove the toffee from the pan and flip it over onto a piece of waxed paper. Remove foil.
- Melt one cup of chocolate chips in the double boiler and spread over toffee. Immediately top with finely chopped nuts.
- Grab the ends of the wax paper and place the toffee back in the baking pan. Place the toffee back in the refrigerator and allow to cool until the chocolate is firm. Once the toffee is completely cool, break it into 2 –3 inch pieces.
If you prefer a toffee made without refined sugar, I shared my Brown Rice Syrup Toffee at The Gluten-Free Homemaker.
Melynda says
December 7, 2010 at 12:10 pmWhat great timing you have! Toffee makes a great gift also, especially for those that you just don't know what to get!
tamilyn says
December 7, 2010 at 3:53 pmI love toffee almost as much as I love caramel! This looks great. I need a quick recipe for a holiday party this weekend. I am making a cake I found on "Framed" for our cousin party, but this would travel well to the Cities for a mini-reunion with some high school chums. Yea!!
Melinda says
December 7, 2010 at 5:36 pmI love how you flip it and put MORE chocolate on! Toffee is one of my all-time favorites! 🙂
cheryl@scrapaddict4sure says
December 7, 2010 at 6:26 pmMy love for Toffee is right up there with chocolate thanks for sharing this
Laura says
December 7, 2010 at 8:38 pmToffee is tops on my candy list – this is a great recipe. We are making candy this year for gifts, but will keep this one "just for us" this year! Thanks!
Rebecca says
December 7, 2010 at 10:20 pmWe're headed out the door to get a haircut. AND a candy thermometer! This I must make!
Christy says
December 7, 2010 at 11:45 pmAlea, I am afraid to make this. Afraid that I would eat the whole thing myself. I know I would have no sense of temperance or self control. I love toffee and the fact you flip it over for more chocolate and nuts just rocks my world! Thanks for sharing this with the Hearth and Soul Hop!
Elsa says
December 8, 2010 at 1:44 amOh my, I LOVE toffee. I must make this. I always thought it was difficult to make as well, but I have all of the ingredients below. I think I can tackle it. 🙂
21st Century Housewife© says
December 10, 2010 at 2:25 pmOh I love toffee! I always thought something that yummy would be difficult to make, but your recipe makes it sound really do-able! Thank you so much for sharing it!!
Debbi Does Dinner Healthy says
December 10, 2010 at 8:05 pmMy mother in law makes this every year! I never have though. It looks delicious!
Anonymous says
December 15, 2010 at 7:13 amTerrific work! This is the type of information that should be shared around the web. Shame on the search engines for not positioning this post higher!
Anonymous says
December 22, 2010 at 9:04 pmfound your site on del.icio.us today and really liked it.. i bookmarked it and will be back to check it out some more later
Anonymous says
January 2, 2011 at 3:59 pmThis is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I enjoy seeing websites that understand the value of providing a prime resource for free. I truly loved reading your post. Thanks!
tara says
October 13, 2011 at 12:43 pmwow. this is my toffee recipe, except i have never put nuts into the toffee part. besides that, this is the exact recipe my mom got from her childhood californian babysitter as a wedding present, years ago. I’ve never seen anyone else that did it this way. it makes me smile. and now i’m so trying the nuts thing.
Alea says
October 13, 2011 at 12:48 pmI love when I discover a recipe from my childhood, always brings back good memories. I’m glad I was able to take you on a trip down memory lane. 🙂
April says
October 17, 2011 at 9:20 pmStumbleupon recommended this page to me, and omg am I glad it did!! I’ve never made toffee, never even considered it enough to look up a recipe, but I am definitely making some soon!! Thanks for sharing!
Lynn says
October 18, 2011 at 8:10 amI’ve never made toffee before so fingers crossed it will turn out. What a perfect reason to finally go out and buy a candy thermometer.
Dorothy says
October 19, 2011 at 5:40 ammy favorite candy and everytime I’ve tried to make it at home it fails in some way. Will definitely try this one for the holidays.
Sharon says
October 19, 2011 at 9:25 pmOMG…I’ve been looking for just this recipe, w/ chocolate, nuts, top & bottom! Cant wait to make for Christmas gifts!!! Yay!!! Thanx SO much!!!!
Katy says
October 22, 2011 at 1:29 pmWow! I never new that is how you made toffee. I can’t wait to try it.
John says
December 5, 2011 at 6:13 amI’ve just tried making this to the letter twice now and both times toffee seems to burn before getting to 300 degrees. Second time I tried on very low heat in case first run was too much heat too quickly, still burnt. Are you using a cast iron pot to make this?
Alea says
December 5, 2011 at 12:03 pmI use a Circulon pot for all my candy making. I cook it over a medium-high flame and it takes `11 – 13 minutes to reach 300 degrees and it does not burn. Have you calibrated your candy thermometer? The only time I have had problems with candy making is when my thermometer was off.
Melissa says
December 19, 2011 at 12:13 amI cook mine to 260, actually, I don’t use a the thermometer…I can just eye it up. When it starts turning a pretty medium brown, before the butter sepearates from the suger it is done
Sue says
September 25, 2012 at 8:30 amWe have a recipe that is similar, but I’ve never flipped it over to add the chocolate to the other side. Will be doing that this holiday season! And, I’m not sure I’m feeling generous enough to share any of the first batch! 🙂
Ann says
September 26, 2013 at 7:51 pmI made this toffee recipe with the chocolate and nuts and everyone loved it. Thanks!
AnnMarie says
October 6, 2015 at 5:14 pmOh my, oh my! I love toffee and have been collecting recipes for what I call Barks. Thanks for a new one!
Alayna @AlaynasCreations says
October 11, 2015 at 5:41 amLooks fantastic! I love toffee but have yet to try making it myself. Thanks for sharing with us at the #HomeMattersParty link party.