The BEST English Toffee Recipe That Everyone Will Love (2024)

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.

The BEST English Toffee Recipe That Everyone Will Love (8)

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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.

The BEST English Toffee Recipe That Everyone Will Love (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between toffee and 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.

Why is my toffee chewy and not crunchy? ›

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.

Why add water when making toffee? ›

Adding water to sugar before caramelizing it helps it melt at a more even rate, and helps reduce the risk of crystalization. You only need to add enough water to turn the sugar into a slurry, and it all boils off as you heat the syrup.

What toffee doesn't stick to your teeth? ›

English toffee is the epitome of classic toffee. It's rich and buttery, with a firm snap and a crisp texture that doesn't stick to your teeth.

Which is the best toffee in the world? ›

Lotte Coffy Bite Toffee

This is the best toffee in the world that has a rich flavor of coffee.

What can go wrong when making toffee? ›

Stirring too quickly or too often can cause the toffee to separate. Moderate the heat as needed – turn it down if the toffee is boiling or cooking too fast so it doesn't burn. Cook until the toffee registers 285-290 degrees on an instant-read or candy thermometer and is deep amber brown in color, about 20-25 minutes.

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.

Why do you 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.

Should I stir while making toffee? ›

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. Immediately pour toffee into the prepared baking dish.

Why is vinegar added to toffee? ›

Made with just sugar and a little water, toffee is easy to make and is an easy introduction to the world of confectionary. This recipe includes a dash of vinegar which will help keep the colour of the toffee clear and bright and banish any cloudiness.

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.

Why cream of tartar in toffee? ›

This means that as boiling continues, a portion of the sugar separates into its constituent parts—glucose and fructose. Adding cream of tartar and a dash of vinegar to a toffee recipe helps bring about this change.

Should toffee be hard or soft? ›

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 .

Why does chocolate fall off 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.

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.

What is British vs American toffee? ›

As you might expect, it's a difference of ingredients. Buttercrunch, the Americanized version of toffee, uses granulated white sugar or high fructose corn syrup in its creation. Americanized toffee may include nuts, while a completely traditional British toffee will not.

Why is it called English toffee? ›

The name “English toffee” comes from the crunchy “toff” sound the candy makes when you bite into it. As the candy became popular, shops began selling it under the name “English toffee” or sometimes just “toffee.”

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