the best homemade toffee recipe

Chocolate Currently Craving Seasonal Sweets

The Best Homemade Toffee

December 20, 2024

Christmas is just days away and there’s no time like the present to embrace the most wonderful time of the […]

Christmas is just days away and there’s no time like the present to embrace the most wonderful time of the year. Now before you go all bah-humbug on me, tell me…what are your favorite holiday traditions? Maybe it’s making a gingerbread house? Or trimming the tree in your favorite ugly sweater? Decorating cookies by the fire or warm, frosted cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning. We all have those one or two special things that make us fall in love with the holidays all over again, year after year.  For me, it’s making homemade toffee. Nothing says the holidays quite like a fresh batch of english toffee.

With its toasted, nutty aroma and rich, caramel flavor, toffee satisfies all my sweet and salty cravings in one fell swoop. Not to mention it’s breeze to make with just a handful of simple ingredients. It’s wildly addicting and makes the most perfect holiday treat for all the chocolate and nut lover’s in your life. Trust me when I say you can’t have just one piece of this crunchy, buttery, chocolatey crack. It’s simply the best thing EVER!

I’m always surprised to hear that people think making toffee is too tricky, too messy or just too much trouble. I’m here to tell you it’s none of those things and it’s absolutely worth every minute you spend standing by the stovetop. Throw on your softest, fuzziest slippers bakers {hey, might as well be comfy} and let’s make some toffee!

How to make the best homemade toffee

For best results, prep all of your ingredients ahead of time and measure everything in advance. The cooking process moves quickly and you’ll want to be prepared with all of your ingredients within arms reach. Follow this step-by-step guide and check the recipe card below for ingredients and detailed instructions.

Step 1: Melt the butter, sugar, vanilla and salt in a large, heavy bottom pot over medium heat. Continue stirring until the mixture reaches 260 degrees.

Step 2: Add the sliced almonds and stir often until the mixture reaches 295-300 degrees. As the toffee cooks, keep the heat steady. Sudden spikes in temperature can cause the butter to separate.

Step 3: Remove from the heat and quickly stir in the baking soda.

Step 4: Carefully transfer the toffee to two medium baking sheets, using a spatula to spread it evenly.

Step 5: Sprinkle the toffee with chocolate chips. Once the chips have started to melt, use an offset spatula or the back of a spoon to spread the chocolate evenly over the toffee.

Step 6: Sprinkle the melted chocolate with chopped nuts. Chill until fully set and then break into pieces.

Tips for the best almond toffee

  • Use high quality ingredients. When making toffee I always recommend using the highest quality ingredients you can find. With just six ingredients in the entire recipe, now is not the time to skimp on the good stuff.
  • Don’t walk away from the stovetop. Toffee can go from perfectly done to badly burnt in a matter of seconds. Stay close to the stovetop and be ready to do lots of stirring.
  • Temperature is everything. Come armed with a candy thermometer. Using a candy thermometer makes candy making fun AND foolproof! The toffee is done once the temperature reaches 295 degrees. Remove the pot from the heat and immediately stir in the baking soda. You’ll need to act fast here so that the toffee doesn’t harden right in the pan before you have a chance to spread it onto the baking sheet.

How to store

The hardest part about making this almond toffee is waiting for it to cool. For best results, cool the toffee for several hours {you can speed this up by placing it in the fridge} before breaking it into pieces. To break the toffee, simply snap the slab into random pieces by hand. Break the toffee into bite size or jumbo pieces as you wish. I like to eat my toffee straight from the fridge for extra crunch, but you can also keep it at room temperature. Store it tightly wrapped and it will stay fresh for days, if not weeks. That is of course if you can manage not to eat it all in one sitting!

Can you freeze toffee?

Absolutely! To freeze toffee, place it flat on a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze for at least 3 hours. Then transfer the toffee to a large freezer bag or container and freeze up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight.

Homemade almond toffee is a tradition that’s meant to be shared and I truly hope this recipe will become a part of your holiday celebrations for years to come. Make it, pin it, share it, ship it. It’s a little piece of holiday cheer with every bite.

Happy toffee making!

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the best homemade toffee recipe

The Best Homemade Toffee

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 7 reviews
  • Author: Heather Mubarak
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Category: Sweets
  • Method: Cooking
  • Cuisine: American

Description

This best ever homemade toffee is the perfect holiday gift! A rich, buttery toffee topped with swirls of melted chocolate and sprinkled with chopped nuts.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 3/4 cups (350 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 3/4 cups (3 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 cups slivered almonds
  • 2 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts, pecans or almonds, chopped

Instructions

  1. Grease the bottom and sides of a baking sheet with butter. Set aside.
  2. In a large pot, melt together butter, sugar, salt and vanilla over medium-low heat. Stirring frequently.
  3. Simmer the mixture until it begins to thicken, continuing to stir often.
  4. Cook until the temperature on the candy thermometer reads 260 degrees.
  5. Add the slivered almonds and stir to combine well.
  6. Continue cooking over medium-low heat stirring constantly as the mixture continues to thicken and take on a deeper, caramel color. This will take some time, about 15-18 minutes.
  7. The mixture will begin to bubble and the color will deepen. At this point you want to stir consistenly to avoid the toffee burning on the bottom of the pot.
  8. Once the toffee reaches 295 degrees on the candy thermometer, carefully remove the pot from heat and immediately stir in the baking soda.
  9. Stir vigorously. The toffee will “puff” up a bit as the baking soda aerates the mixture.
  10. Quickly pour the toffee onto the prepared baking sheet, being careful not to touch the toffee as it is VERY hot.
  11. Smooth the top of the toffee to make it level using an offset spatula.
  12. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly on top of the toffee. Let the chocolate melt and then spread in an even layer using an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
  13. Dust the top with chopped nuts.
  14. Cool completely at room temperature until toffee and chocolate are fully set. Or place in refrigerator to speed up the cooling process.
  15. Break toffee into pieces using your hands and serve chilled or at room temperature.

  • Reply
    Nanajee Travels
    December 23, 2024 at 12:36 am

    This toffee sounds absolutely irresistible! ✨ With its toasted, nutty aroma and rich caramel flavor, it’s the ultimate holiday treat. Sweet, salty, crunchy, and chocolatey—what more could you ask for? Definitely making this for the chocolate and nut lovers in my life!






  • Reply
    Anonymous
    January 4, 2022 at 10:08 pm

    EXCELLENT RECIPE!!! I have made many (too many) Toffee recipes and they are never right. This one was the PERFECT texture. I was worried because the recipe did not specify salted/unsalted butter or pan size (though I found answers in the comments section, however not all of us are professional bakers and I had to look up the dimensions of a ‘standard baking sheet’). I used 2 sticks European butter and a stick and a half traditional butter. I also had sliced, not slivered almonds on hand. when I poured the mixture into the pan, I thought the texture looked weird and when I smoothed the top with an offset spatula, I thought it looked a bit more greasy than I expected it should but I foraged ahead and put coating chocolate directly on top (did not melt first) and after 5 minutes, I spread it and then added toasted almonds. The end result was PERFECT!!!! A marvel of food science at it’s finest. I will be making again and again!!!!






  • Reply
    T, Garrison
    November 29, 2021 at 12:50 am

    I made this today and was so happy it turned out, because I dumped the baking soda in and kind of jumped away, expecting it to foam up. After I poured it all out and got the chocolate ready, I saw that the heat/steam caused about at least half a teaspoon of soda to stick to the small prep bowl! It still has a wonderful taste and texture—and of course, it’s delicious!

    Since you are a recipe developer, I am wondering, because the recipe is similar to brittle, if raw peanuts could be substituted? Then, it could be topped with chopped salted peanuts….I think it would be scrumptious! Or do you think peanuts would be too oily or brown too quickly?

    Anyway, many thanks for the recipe! You’re a (toffee) rock star!






  • Reply
    simona
    December 25, 2020 at 7:54 am

    loved your recipe, made it the 2nd time yesterday!!!






    • Reply
      Heather Mubarak
      December 25, 2020 at 8:05 am

      Soooo happy to hear it! Toffee is such a delicious holiday tradition.Thanks for trying my recipe!

  • Reply
    Shannon
    December 20, 2020 at 5:44 pm

    what is the size of the baking pan that you recommend?

    • Reply
      Heather Mubarak
      December 29, 2020 at 7:36 am

      I use the backside of a standard baking sheet to spread the toffee. You can also use a marble slab if you have one.

    • Reply
      Debbie
      September 1, 2021 at 10:03 pm

      Do you toast the almonds for the top yourself and, if so, how? I don’t have a toaster oven—can I use my regular oven? Also, should the almonds ion top b me whole or sliced like the ones inside the toffee?

      • Heather Mubarak
        September 3, 2021 at 6:33 pm

        I use regular almonds that are chopped in a food processor before sprinkling on top of the melted chocolate. You can toast them slightly on the stovetop if you’d like but I think the flavor is great without the extra step. Enjoy!

  • Reply
    Kala
    December 19, 2020 at 5:41 pm

    Do you recommend making separate batches if we want lots or do you think easy to manage making a large quantity at once – I’m thinking 3 x your proportions






    • Reply
      Heather Mubarak
      December 20, 2020 at 2:17 am

      Hi Kala – I always make this toffee one batch at a time for best results! Enjoy!!

  • Reply
    Melinda
    December 9, 2020 at 3:43 am

    Hi Heather! I made the recipe last night (always as written the first time) and it was very easy to follow and I had great results. Thank you so much for sharing. I was wondering if you’ve made it with other nuts. I’ve got a lot of hazelnuts, pecans, cashews and walnuts (I’ve been making smoked nuts on my Traeger) and was wondering if you knew if those would work too.






    • Reply
      Heather Mubarak
      December 9, 2020 at 10:25 am

      Absolutely! You can use any nut you like on top of the chocolate covered toffee. I have only made this toffee using almonds “inside” the toffee matrix but technically any nut should work. Some nuts contain more oil than others so that could effect the texture of the toffee a bit. Let me know how it goes!

      • Melinda
        December 10, 2020 at 7:29 pm

        Oh my gosh! The hazelnut toffee turned out great!

      • Heather Mubarak
        December 11, 2020 at 8:33 am

        I’m so glad to hear that!! Sounds delicious!

  • Reply
    Jack
    October 28, 2020 at 1:50 am

    Can you use cane sugar?

    • Reply
      Heather Mubarak
      October 29, 2020 at 5:12 am

      Yes, that will work! Enjoy!!

      • Anonymous
        December 10, 2020 at 12:28 am

        It was so delicious
        Honestly I haven’t done a recipe of yours that isn’t!
        Thanks so much for sharing!!

      • Heather Mubarak
        December 11, 2020 at 8:34 am

        That makes my day! Thanks so much for trying my recipes!!

  • Reply
    Anonymous
    October 9, 2020 at 1:59 am

    How do you melt the chocolate?

    • Reply
      Heather Mubarak
      December 3, 2020 at 9:23 am

      You can simply sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the hot toffee and let them sit for about 5 minutes before spreading with an offset spatula. Then sprinkle the nuts on top.

  • Reply
    Kristin Freitas
    May 22, 2020 at 11:52 pm

    Do you have to let the toffee set/harden before adding the chocolate on top or do you recommend having the chocolate ready to go right after you pour the toffee?

    • Reply
      Heather Mubarak
      May 23, 2020 at 12:24 am

      Add the chocolate just after pouring the toffee and spreading it out. Enjoy!

  • Reply
    Kristi G
    November 22, 2019 at 4:11 pm

    Looks amazing! Excited to try it! One question: salted or unsalted butter?






    • Reply
      Heather Mubarak
      November 24, 2019 at 8:43 am

      I used unsalted butter! Enjoy!!

  • Reply
    Christina
    November 21, 2019 at 11:20 pm

    What size pan are you using?

    • Reply
      Heather Mubarak
      November 24, 2019 at 8:44 am

      I use a standard cookie sheet, a half sheet pan. Enjoy the toffee!!

      • Jocelyn
        December 3, 2020 at 1:47 am

        That was my question, too. Looks like a quarter sheet? What are the dimensions?

      • Heather Mubarak
        December 3, 2020 at 9:24 am

        Spread the toffee onto the backside of any standard sheet pan. If the pans are on the smaller side, you’ll need two. Enjoy!

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