Toffee, Three Ways

A couple weeks ago, I received the call to be on Studio 5 again! I was really excited. I had so much fun the last time, and really enjoyed meeting so many wonderful people. My excitement immediately turned to dreaded fear when they told me they needed someone to make toffee during their candy week.

You see, I have never made toffee before.

I've eaten my fair share of Skor bars, but that was really my only experience with toffee.

So I immediately made my regretful confession to the producer. She still wanted me to take a whack at it. So here we are, the day before, and my fridge is full of beautiful different flavors of toffee! Even though my stomach is in knots, I can't wait for tomorrow.

I learned so much about toffee this weekend. I used one recipe, then created two different variations from it. I still can't get enough of the salty-dark chocolate flavor, and with the Holiday season in full-swing, I just had to use candy canes somehow. And the toasted almonds brought such depth of flavor to the rich chocolate and crunchy toffee. It was WAY easy to make, I tell you. Just make sure you have a candy thermometer on hand, and patience enough to not turn the heat up to speed up the process. I also learned a few handy tricks along the way - I plan to share them tomorrow. Here are the tried-and-true recipes below (as always), enjoy!

 

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Chocolate Covered Toffee with Toasted Almonds

Ingredients:
2 C butter
2 C white sugar
1/4 T salt
2 C semisweet chocolate chips
1 C finely chopped almonds, toasted
-shortening for cookie sheet
-candy thermometer
-aluminum foil

Method:
1. In a very large heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the butter, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring until butter is melted (with a wooden spoon). Attach candy thermometer to inside of pan, with the tip inside the bubbling mixture.
2. Allow to come to a boil, and cook until mixture becomes a dark amber color, or when temperature has reached about 285 degrees. Stir occasionally.
3. While toffee is cooking, cover a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil, and grease with a little shortening (this will make it super-easy to remove toffee from pan).
4. As soon as the toffee reaches the proper temperature, pour it onto the prepared cookie sheet. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top, and let sit for about a minute (when they begin to look glossy and melt). Spread the chocolate (with a spatula) into a thin and even layer. Immediately sprinkle with toasted almonds and slightly press into chocolate.
5. Place toffee, uncovered, into refrigerator to chill until set. Break into pieces, and store in an airtight container.

Recipe adapted from: allrecipes.com

  

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Dark Chocolate Covered Toffee with Sea Salt

Ingredients:
2 C butter
2 C white sugar
1/4 T salt
2 C dark chocolate chips
1/4 C sea salt
-shortening for cookie sheet
-candy thermometer
-aluminum foil

Method:
1. In a very large heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the butter, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring until butter is melted (with a wooden spoon). Attach candy thermometer to inside of pan, with the tip inside the bubbling mixture.
2. Allow to come to a boil, and cook until mixture becomes a dark amber color, or when temperature has reached about 285 degrees. Stir occasionally.
3. While toffee is cooking, cover a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil, and grease with a little shortening (this will make it super-easy to remove toffee from pan).
4. As soon as the toffee reaches the proper temperature, pour it onto the prepared cookie sheet. Sprinkle the dark chocolate chips over the top, and let sit for about a minute (when they begin to look glossy and melt). Spread the chocolate (with a spatula) into a thin and even layer. Immediately sprinkle with sea salt.
5. Place toffee, uncovered, into refrigerator to chill until set. Break into pieces, and store in an airtight container.

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White Chocolate Covered Toffee with Crushed Candy Canes

Ingredients:
2 C butter
2 C white sugar
1/4 T salt
2 C white chocolate chips
3/4 C candy canes, crushed into very small pieces
-shortening for cookie sheet
-candy thermometer
-aluminum foil

Method:
1. In a very large heavy bottomed saucepan, combine the butter, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring until butter is melted (with a wooden spoon). Attach candy thermometer to inside of pan, with the tip inside the bubbling mixture.
2. Allow to come to a boil, and cook until mixture becomes a dark amber color, or when temperature has reached about 285 degrees. Stir occasionally.
3. While toffee is cooking, cover a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil, and grease with a little shortening (this will make it super-easy to remove toffee from pan).
4. As soon as the toffee reaches the proper temperature, pour it onto the prepared cookie sheet. Sprinkle the white chocolate chips over the top, and let sit for about a minute (when they begin to look glossy and melt). Spread the chocolate (with a spatula) into a thin and even layer. Immediately sprinkle with crushed candy canes and slightly press into chocolate.
5. Place toffee, uncovered, into refrigerator to chill until set. Break into pieces, and store in an airtight container.