Christmas Gift Toffee

Submitted by:  June Shockley
My friend, Laurel, gave me this wonderful recipe.

Christmas Gift Toffee

Read the entire recipe before attempting to make this toffee. (I mean it!)

NOTE:  Use extreme caution with the hot sugar mixture.  Safety first.

Measure all of your ingredients and prepare your dish ahead so you can just add the ingredients as required in the directions.  Prepare the platter, you are going to pour the toffee onto, with Pam, do not use butter, it will stick. This toffee goes quickly and you have to be ready for each step.  OK here we go.

In a cast iron or heavy frying pan,

ü     on medium heat

ü     stirring constantly in the center of the frying pan

ü     with a wooden spoon

ü     slowly bring to a foamy boil the following:  

1 stick butter

½ cup white sugar

2 T. water

Boil until a scant amount forms a thread when slowly drizzled into a glass of cold water.

To the frying pan add

1 t. vanilla

1/2 cup chopped pecans (or any nut you prefer)

Quickly pour on to a “pam sprayed” prepared pan.  I use a 13” pizza pan, but you could use any pan with sides.  NOTE:  This makes an irregular puddle about 9” in diameter, DO NOT STIR.

Quickly sprinkle with ½ cup chocolate chips.  The chips will start to melt on top.  Gently use the back of a spoon to spread the melted chips.  At this point you could add a few more chopped pecans on top.   (or any nut you prefer)

I put the toffee in the freezer to help set it up quickly because my students only had 50 minutes to get this done. But, if your freezer does not accommodate a large pan, place in the refrigerator for a bit to help set the chocolate.  .  Gently lift up cool toffee and break into irregular piece like you would with peanut brittle.  This toffee is very rich so smallish pieces, paced in a wide mouth pint jar or in a little gift box makes this a lovely hostess gift.

Enjoy,

Laurel

Beginner’s note from June:

I made this recipe this morning and it went like clockwork and turned out perfectly. 

ü     I did not have a heavy iron skillet so I used my heavy copper bottomed Revereware frying pan.  Worked great.  After the toffee was out of the frying pan I just filled the frying pan with water and set it back on the hot burner until the water softened all of the residue.  That made clean up easy.

ü     I also do not own a pizza pan so I just used a jellyroll pan.  The hot toffee is not very runny so I think I could have used a cookie sheet.

ü     When you pour it onto the pan it comes out in about an 8” irregular shaped blob. 

ü     Toward the end of boiling you will have a noticeable thickening.  Laurel says it burns quickly, but have no worries if it is slightly burned it just appears darker and you can call it English toffee.  (Good save Laurel!)

ü     This is a great recipe since it uses very common ingredients that almost everyone has on hand.

ü     There is one draw back.  When I broke the toffee into small candy sized bites I found a couple of the pieces were too small to give away, so I had to eat them myself.  Oops, did I say draw back?  I really mean bonus!