English Toffee

Name: English Toffee
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: about 2 pounds.
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon plus 2 cups butter, softened, divided; 2 cups sugar; 1 tablespoon light corn syrup; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 cup milk chocolate chips; 1 cup chopped pecans

Each Christmas I make several pounds of candy and cookies for friends, neighbors and business associates. This tasty toffee is covered in chocolate and sprinkled with nuts...and it won't stick to your teeth! -Don McVay, Wilsonville, Oregon

Ingredients

1 tablespoon plus 2 cups butter, softened, divided
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Grease a 15x10x1-in. pan with 1 tablespoon butter; set aside. In a large heavy saucepan, melt the remaining butter. Add the sugar, corn syrup and salt; cook and stir over medium heat until a candy thermometer reads 295° (hard-crack stage). Quickly pour into prepared pan. Let stand at room temperature until cool, about 1 hour.
In a microwave, melt chocolate chips;stir until smooth. Spread over toffee. Sprinkle with pecans. Let stand for 1 hour Break into bite-size pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Editor's Note

We recommend that you test your candy thermometer before each use by bringing water to a boil; the thermometer should read 212°. Adjust your recipe temperature up or down based on your test.

Nutrition Facts

1 ounce-weight: 206 calories, 16g fat (8g saturated fat), 33mg cholesterol, 143mg sodium, 17g carbohydrate (15g sugars, 1g fiber), 1g protein.

Originally published as English Toffee in Taste of Home December/January 2003

Reviews

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Average Rating:

robbrd

Dec 26, 2018

I wanted to make toffee cookies for our Christmas platter for friends and neighbors but the store was out of toffee bits and I couldn't find Heath bars. After visiting several stores, I decided to make the toffee myself and this is the recipe that I used. I've never made toffee before but this was divine! I had a challenge toward the end of the cooking process where some butter was separating. If I stopped stirring it all seemed to go together again. A quick search online and I learned I needed to stir slowly and gently toward the end of the cooking process. Since it was so good, I wanted to include it on my cookie trays and I made another batch. I stirred my usual way initially but toward the end I slowed it down it it was perfect!! So good!
Brenda

Dec 29, 2017

The toffee turned out delicious on the first try and on a very rainy day in Oregon....yumm
Don

Dec 24, 2017

Troy (commented on Oct 24) figured out what I had not - you have to use salted butter. I started using unsalted butter exclusively some years ago, and the old family recipe similar to this I had become expert at over decades was no longer working - I could not dissolve the sugar in the butter completely. As a result the candy came out with liquid on top. Thank you Troy - excellent tip! I'm making toffee tonight and will add salt (my recipe doesn't have any).
Troy

Oct 24, 2017

I didn't prepare this specific toffee recipe but I offer these two suggestions you may find helpful.1. Be sure you are using real butter and not the unsalted variety. Otherwise the butter may separate from thesugar during the cooking process rendering your candy inedible. (I also found you could add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. salt with the unsalted butter to correct the deficiency.)2. With respect to the chocolate coating, try uniformly scattering chocolate baking chips around the face of the toffee just after it hardens but before it cools completely. I use the back of a dinner fork to evenly spread the gradually melting chocolate over the surface of the toffee.
Troy

Oct 24, 2017

I didn't prepare this specific toffee recipe but I offer these two suggestions you may find helpful.1. Be sure you are using real butter and not the unsalted variety. Otherwise the butter may separate from thesugar during the cooking process rendering your candy inedible. (I also found you could add 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. salt with the unsalted butter to correct the deficiency2. With respect to the chocolate coating, try uniformly scattering chocolate baking chips around the face of the toffee just after it hardens but before it cools completely. I use the back of a dinner fork to evenly spread the gradually melting chocolate over the surface of the toffee.
Troy

Oct 24, 2017

I didn't prepare this specific toffee recipe but I offer these two suggestions you may find helpful.1. Be sure you are using real butter and not the unsalted variety. Otherwise the butter may separate from thesugar during the cooking process rendering your candy inedible.2. With respect to the chocolate coating, try uniformly placing chocolate baking chips around the face of the toffee just after it hardens but before it cools completely. I use the back of a dinner fork to evenly spread the gradually melting chocolate over the surface of the toffee.
crappie1

Dec 12, 2016

Best toffee ever! I've made this since the issue came out years back and it's everyone's favorite. I have found out that you can't cheap out on ingredients. Use good butter and chocolate... Never margerine!
Cjordan1946

Oct 20, 2016

Worst recipe ever! The cooked sugar separated with the butter. Hard rock toffee on the bottom with gooey cold butter on top. I was so dissapointed!
forcoco

Apr 1, 2016

this is a holiday favorite at home and in the office.
wild_violet1964

Mar 24, 2016

This turned out great. I have had some of the trouble others have mentioned, but I have found that if I stick to the "low and slow" method (lower heat, longer time) works better for me. I use my thermometer and cold water test.