Irresistible English Toffee Food

ENGLISH TOFFEE

Steps:

• In heavy saucepan, combine butter, sugar, water, and salt.
• Cook to hard-crack stage (300°F) stirring with a WOODEN SPOON constantly and watching carefully. Do not try a plastic spoon, it will melt into your delicious candy!
• Immediately pour into ungreased 13"x9" pan.
• Cool until hard.
• Melt chocolate over hot, but not boiling water.
• Spread over toffee; sprinkle with nuts, pressing them into chocolate.
• Let stand 2-3 hours or chill 30 minutes.
• Break into bite-size pieces.

EASY, EASY ENGLISH TOFFEE

Steps:

• In a large skillet, melt SALTED butter on medium heat. Do not burn butter. It needs to stay yellow. (NOTE: I had many batches fail and separate until I figured out, upon investigation, that you MUST use SALTED butter. I think it has to do with a chemical reaction.).
• **Tip** Bring out a jar of peanut butter and turn it upside down near the skillet to use ONLY as a color guide to know when the mixture is done.
• Add sugar and stir until incorporated (sugar does not need to be "melted" into the butter, just no longer dry) Edited to add on 12/25/16, the temperature MUST STAY CONSTANT or the butter and sugar MAY separate during the final stages. Too high and your butter will burn, too low and you'll be stirring forever!
• **At no time can you walk away at this point, you must keep stirring so that the butter will not burn. It's very crucial.
• Add water, pouring it all over the pan. The butter/sugar will get bubbly and frothy -- keep constantly stirring -- stirring low and slow -- I use a rubber spatula. As you stir, angle your spatula down as low (level to the pan) as you can to have few air bubbles.
• I timed it, as you are stirring the yellow, sugary, melted, bubbly butter, at the 4 minute mark add the slivered almonds. Keep stirring.
• Stir continuously and slowly in a small circular motion bringing the outside mixture edges to the center as the sides will tend to cook faster than the middle. It will slowly begin to caramelize and toast up -- about 6 minutes more.
• Cook this mixture until it is the color of the inverted peanut butter jar.
• **Important** It will brown fast in the end, so don't let it get too dark or let the almonds get really burned).
• Pour into a 9 X 13 pan. (you could use disposable aluminum pans also). with your rubber spatula, spread the mixture quickly to the edges before it starts to harden on you.
• Let cool completely, remove from pan and pat off any extra butter from both sides with paper towels.
• Place on wax or parchment paper.
• Topping:.
• Microwave chocolate for 1 minute on high. (be mindful that every microwave is different and you must watch your chocolate closely so that it won't overcook). If a few seconds more are needed to melt completely, do so in small increments. You can also use a double boiler to melt chocolate -- I do prefer to do it this way.
• Coat toffee with chocolate (like frosting) and top with slivered almonds. I only cover one side but you can do both if desired.
• Lightly press down almonds to make sure they stick to the chocolate.
• Cool on the counter for at least 30 minutes, then put the pan into the refrigerator for 2 hours (You can stack multiple batches on top of each other as long as the chocolate is pretty solid).
• Break into pieces after it has hardened and store in a covered container.
• Variations: Use different kinds of chips. (mint, white, dark, milk chocolate).

TRADITIONAL ENGLISH TOFFEE

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients. Preheat oven to 325 F.
• Toast the nuts by spreading them on a cookie sheet and placing them in the preheated oven for approximately 10 minutes. Stir them every 3 to 4 minutes, and remove them once they darken and become fragrant. Let the nuts cool to room temperature.
• Chop the toasted nuts finely with a knife or food processor .
• Prepare a 12x16 inch cookie sheet by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying it with nonstick cooking spray.
• Combine the butter, sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly to dissolve the sugar and melt the butter. Insert a candy thermometer and bring the candy to a boil, periodically brushing down the sides with a wet pastry brush to prevent crystallization.
• Continue to cook the candy, stirring frequently, until it reaches 300 F, and begins to caramelize-about 20 to 30 minutes. If the candy appears to separate (with a layer of melted butter on top) stir vigorously to make it come back together again. Watch the candy as it approaches 300 F since it cooks quickly and can scorch at high temperatures.
• Once the candy reaches 300 F, remove from heat and pour it onto the prepared baking sheet. Use a spatula or spoon to spread the candy to an even thickness. Allow the toffee to begin to set, then spray a knife with nonstick cooking spray and score the toffee into small squares or rectangles. Allow the toffee to cool completely.
• Once the toffee is cool, break it apart on the scored lines into small squares. The toffee can be left plain, or dipped in chocolate.
• To dip the toffee in chocolate, begin by melting the chocolate . Place it in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave it in one-minute increments, stirring after every minute to prevent overheating.
• Dip each piece of toffee in the chocolate, either submerging it completely or dipping it halfway in, according to your preference. Place dipped toffee pieces on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle the top generously with chopped nuts. Repeat with remaining toffee, chocolate, and nuts.
• Place the toffee in the refrigerator to set the chocolate, about 20 minutes. Once set, toffee can be served immediately.

ENGLISH TOFFEE

Steps:

• Spread half the ground nuts in a thin, even layer over 3/4 of an ungreased half-sheet baking pan. Spread half the chocolate over the nuts.
• Combine sugar, butter, corn syrup, chopped walnuts and water in a heavy saucepan; place over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until a candy thermometer reads 280 degrees. Remove from heat, allow to stand a few minutes longer until thermometer reads 285 degrees. Pour the hot mixture over the nut and chocolate layers, use an offset spatula to evenly spread the toffee over the chocolate. Allow to cool for 1-2 minutes.
• Sprinkle remaining chocolate evenly over the cooling syrup, and carefully spread the chocolate over the surface of the toffee. Then sprinkle on the remaining ground nuts. Let stand in a cool place (preferably not the kitchen) for at least five hours. Break or cut into bite-size pieces. If the chocolate has not hardened thoroughly, place the candies in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes. Store in a covered container or in glass jars or decorated tins.

ENGLISH TOFFEE

Steps:

• Combined butter, sugar and water in a heavy sauce pan.
• Cook stirring constantly to the hard crack stage or 300 degrees.
• Immedieately pur into a buttered 9x13 cake pan, spreading quickly.
• Cool When cooled break into pieces and dip into the dipping chocolate.
• Place on waxed paper to set up.
• Sprinkle with ground nuts.
• When set place in an air tight container.

CHEWY TOFFEES

Steps:

• Neatly line the base and sides of a 20x30cm baking tin with baking parchment. Tip the sugars, cream and butter into a large heavy-based deep saucepan and heat gently, stirring occasionally until all the ingredients have come together and the sugars and butter have melted. Place a sugar thermometer or digital cooking thermometer in the pan, turn up the heat and boil everything together vigorously without stirring until the temperature reaches 125C. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Leave for a moment for any bubbles to settle, then carefully pour the molten toffee into the prepared tin, swirling the tin until the toffee covers the base. Leave the toffee for at least 2hrs to set - overnight is ideal.
• Use the parchment to lift the set toffee out of the tin and cut into squares or fingers. If the toffee is sticking to the knife, lightly oil the blade. Wrap the toffees in waxed paper and store in a jar for up to two weeks at room temperature or a month in the fridge.

ENGLISH TOFFEE

Steps:

• Place a piece of foil that is big enough to cover a 9 X 13 jelly roll pan (like a cookie sheet with sides).
• Spray the foil with cooking spray.
• Sprinkle pecan pieces evenly on foil.
• Melt butter, sugar (both the two cups and 1 tablespoon of sugar), Karo syrup, and water in pan on stovetop.
• Bring the mixture to a boil.
• Turn to medium heat and stir continuously until a candy thermometer says between 290 and 300 degrees or caramel in color.
• Pour mixture over the pecans.
• Spread evenly over the pecans.
• Evenly distribute chocolate chips over toffee.
• Let the chocolate chips melt on toffee for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Use fork or spoon to spread melted chocolate chips over toffee.
• Sprinkle 1 cup chopped walnuts on top of chocolate mixture.
• Refrigerate until chocolate is firm.
• Break toffee into pieces.
• Store in an airtight container.
• 30 minutes preparation and cooking time does not include the time it takes to cool and the chocolate to harden on top.