Crisp and crunchy, English Toffee melts in your mouth. This buttery confection is coated in chocolate and sprinkled with pretzel bits for nut-free, extra crunch. Make plenty for holiday gifts and gatherings.
About this recipe
When deciding what homemade items would go into my Harry Potter care package, English Toffee was an obvious choice, and not because it has “English” in the name. It was Harry Potter’s first care package treat!
In the fourth book in the Harry Potter series, The Goblet of Fire, Mrs. Weasley sends Harry and Ron care packages filled with home-made English Toffee. Theirs arrived in containers “the size of dragon eggs”. With no dragon eggs available, I sent mine in plastic bags.
With only four ingredients, you might think that toffee is as foolproof as Peppermint Fudge or Nonpareil Chocolates. Unfortunately, that’s not so.
There are numerous potential pitfalls in the toffee making process, from candy that sticks to your teeth to chocolate that won’t stick to the candy.
Luckily, I’ve done the trial and error for you. Six batches with less than ideal results and a lot of research later, I gathered and applied the advice from professional confectioners which led to this delicious English Toffee recipe.
Why bother? Like most things, once you know how, toffee making really is easy. Toffee is a great holiday treat and can be made ahead for gifts and dessert trays. When kept in an airtight container, it stays fresh for about 2 weeks.
Toffee can easily be made nut free and gluten free. This recipe adds chopped pretzels on top instead of the traditional nuts. Gluten free pretzels can be substituted.
I strongly urge that you don’t skip straight to the recipe, but take the time to read through the common pitfalls and tips for avoiding them. Delicious, flakey, buttery, crunchy English Toffee is well worth a few extra minutes.
Ingredients
Directions
- In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, add the butter, sugar and salt. Stir continually until the butter is melted.
- Bring to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches 300° F on a candy thermometer and is a dark amber color.
- Stir in the baking soda. The mixture will foam up slightly.
- Pour the mixture into a parchment lined 8” x 8” baking pan. Allow to cool and harden at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
- When set, lift out of the pan onto a cutting board, using the parchment paper overhang. Use a paper towel to wipe any butter off the surface. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of cocoa over the toffee and use your fingers to rub it into the surface to absorb any remaining butter.
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- Temper half of the chocolate. Fill ⅓ of a medium sauce pan, with water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Place a heatproof bowl on top of the pan. Be sure it doesn’t touch the water. Reduce the heat to low and place ½ cup of the chopped chocolate into the bowl. Use a silicone spatula to stir as it melts. Use a candy thermometer to ensure that the temperature of the chocolate doesn’t go over 120° F.
- Remove the bowl from heat, but keep the simmering water on the burner. Wipe any moisture from the bottom of the bowl. Stir in ¼ cup of chopped chocolate, a little bit at a time. Allow the chocolate to melt before adding additional.
- Allow the chocolate to cool to 82°F, then, place it back over the simmering water and reheat to a temperature between 88°F and 91°F.
- Remove the bowl from heat, wipe moisture from the bottom of the bowl, and spread the chocolate evenly over the toffee. Sprinkle the ¼ cup of the crushed pretzels on top.
- Cool to room temperature for about 20 minutes, then place in the refrigerator to chill until set.
- Remove from the refrigerator and turn over the toffee, chocolate side down.
- To coat the second side, wipe with a paper towel and sprinkle 1 teaspoon of cocoa over the surface. Use your fingers to rub the cocoa into the surface.
- Repeat the tempering process with the remaining chopped chocolate.
- Spread the melted, tempered chocolate evenly over the toffee. Sprinkle the ¼ cup of chopped pretzel bits on top.
- Cool to room temperature for about 20 minutes, then place in the refrigerator to chill until set.
- Bring to room temperature before cutting or breaking into pieces.
Tips
- Avoid humidity when making English Toffee. Choose a dry day to make this recipe.
- Use a candy thermometer, to avoid candy that is soft and undercooked or burnt and overcooked.
- Be sure to use a heavy bottomed pot that distributes heat evenly.
- Don’t rush the process. Heat slowly and consistently at a low-medium heat.
- If the butter starts to separate while cooking, remove the pan from the heat and gently stir it continually until the mixture blends back together again. If the butter doesn’t blend back in when stirring, add one or two teaspoons of water and stir the water and butter into the toffee.
- To help the coating stick to the toffee, use a paper towel to remove any excess butter, then rub a small amount of cocoa powder into the surface of the toffee to get rid of the sheen.
- Don’t put warm toffee directly into the refrigerator to cool. This causes the chocolate to cool much faster than the toffee, which could make the chocolate to fall off. Bring the toffee and chocolate to room temperature before refrigerating.
- Pretzels (gluten-free pretzels, if preferred) provide nut-free crunch and just a touch of saltiness to this recipe. Other possible toppings include, sprinkles, nuts, or cereal.
- Crush the pretzel bits that are sprinkled on the bottom, for more thorough coverage. Place ¼ cup of the pretzels in a ziplock bag and crush with a rolling pin.
- Unless tempered, chocolate is likely to bloom with white spots after a few days. This is due to the cocoa butter separating from the chocolate. It effects only the looks, not the taste. Thoroughly covering the chocolate with toppings minimizes the amount of bloom that shows.
- Cutting or breaking the toffee into individual pieces will cause some bits to shatter and break off. Don’t throw those bits away! Sprinkle the crumbles on top of ice cream for a delicious treat.
FAQ's about making English toffee
This is the most common problem when toffee making. Separation occurs when the mixture is heated too quickly or from stirring the mixture too fast.
If the butter separates from the mixture, remove the pan from the heat and stir gently until the butter remixes. If this doesn’t work, try adding hot water, one tablespoon at a time , up to 2 tablespoons, while mixing gently.
An unpleasant grainy texture is caused by crystalizing sugar during heating. This can occur from uneven heating or heating that is too high. Crystalizing sugar can also occur on the sides of the pan and are stirred down into the toffee where they cause further crystalizing.
To prevent crystalizing, heat the mixture at medium-low, stirring slowly and gently. Try to avoid splashing the sides of the pan. If some of the sugar mixture does get on the sides, use a pastry brush dipped in water to wash the sugar back into the pan.
Adding a tablespoon of corn syrup to the sugar and butter, before heating, can also help prevent crystallization.
The chocolate won’t stick to the toffee if the surface is too oily when the chocolate is added. To remedy this, be sure to wipe the surface with paper towels and sprinkle with cocoa powder before spreading with melted chocolate.
Temperature can also cause the chocolate to come off. Be sure the toffee is at room temperature before adding the melted chocolate and before cutting or breaking into pieces. If refrigerating to set the chocolate, bring the chocolate to room temperature before placing in the fridge.
Related recipes
Peanut Chews Candy Pops are chocolate dipped, chewy, peanut candy on a stick. Easily decorate these treats for any occasion.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Candy is cut out in holiday shapes and dipped in chocolate.
No Bake Peanut Butter Cookies are a cross between cookies and candy. The crunchy peanut butter cereal puffs are coated in chocolate.
Chocolate Marshmallow Hearts are adorable marshmallow filled candy made in a mold.
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English Toffee
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cocoa
- 1 ½ cups chopped semisweet or dark chocolate
- ¼ cup crushed pretzels
- ¼ cup chopped pretzels
Instructions
Preparing the toffee
- Lightly coat an 8”x 8” baking pan with nonstick spray. Line the pan with a strip of parchment paper covering the bottom and two sides of the pan with overhang on both sides.
- In a heavy bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat, add the butter, sugar and salt. Stir continually until the butter is melted.
- Bring to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches 300° F on a candy thermometer and is a dark amber color. Remove from the heat. If the butter separates from the mixture see the tips below to fix this before continuing.
- Stir in the baking soda. The mixture will foam up slightly.
- Pour into the prepared baking pan. Cool and set at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
- When the toffee is cool, lift out of the pan onto a cutting board, using the parchment paper overhang.
- Use a paper towel to wipe any butter off the surface. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of cocoa over the surface and use your fingers to rub it into the surface to absorb any remaining butter.
Tempering chocolate
Note*** Unless tempered, chocolate is likely to bloom with white spots after a few days. This is due to the cocoa butter separating from the chocolate. It effects only the looks, not the taste. If you choose not to temper the chocolate, thoroughly covering the chocolate with toppings minimizes the bloom from showing.
- Fill ⅓ of a medium sauce pan, with water. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Place a heatproof bowl on top of the pan. Be sure it doesn’t touch the water. Reduce the heat to low and place ½ cup of the chopped chocolate into the bowl. Use a silicone spatula to stir as it melts. Use a candy thermometer to ensure that the temperature of the chocolate doesn’t go over 120° F.
- Remove the bowl from heat, but keep the simmering water on the burner. Wipe any moisture from the bottom of the bowl.
- Stir in ¼ cup of chopped chocolate, a little bit at a time. Allow the chocolate to melt before adding additional.
- Cool to 82°F, then, place it back over the simmering water and reheat to a temperature between 88°F and 91°F.
- Remove the bowl from heat, wipe moisture from the bottom of the bowl, and spread evenly over the toffee. Sprinkle the ¼ cup of crushed pretzels on top.
- Cool to room temperature for about 20 minutes, then place in the refrigerator to chill until set.
- Remove from the refrigerator and turn over the toffee, chocolate side down.
Coating the second side
- Wipe the toffee with a paper towel and sprinkle 1 teaspoon of cocoa over the surface. Use your fingers to rub the cocoa into the surface.
- Repeat the tempering process with the remaining chopped chocolate.
- Spread the melted, tempered chocolate evenly over the toffee. Sprinkle the ¼ cup of chopped pretzel bits on top.
- Cool to room temperature for about 20 minutes, then place in the refrigerator to chill until set.
- Remove from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before cutting or breaking into pieces.
- Store in an airtight container up to two weeks.
Notes
- Avoid humidity when making toffee.
- Use a candy thermometer, to avoid soft, undercooked toffee or burnt, overcooked toffee.
- Be sure to use a heavy bottomed pot that distributes heat evenly.
- Don’t rush the process. Heat slowly and consistently at a low-medium heat. If the butter starts to separate while cooking, remove the pan from the heat and gently stir it continually until the toffee blends back together again.
- If the butter doesn’t blend back in when stirring, add one or two teaspoons of water and stir the water and butter into the toffee.
- To help the chocolate coating stick to the toffee, use a paper towel to remove any excess butter, then rub a small amount of cocoa powder into the surface of the toffee to get rid of the sheen.
- Don’t put warm toffee directly into the refrigerator to cool. This causes the chocolate to cool much faster than the toffee, which could cause the chocolate to fall off. Bring the toffee and chocolate to room temperature before refrigerating.
- Pretzels (gluten-free pretzels, if preferred) provide nut-fee crunch and just a touch of saltiness to this recipe. Other possible toppings include, sprinkles, nuts, or cereal.
- Crush the pretzel bits that are sprinkled on the bottom, for more thorough coverage. Place ¼ cup of the pretzels in a ziplock bag and crush with a rolling pin.
- Unless tempered, chocolate is likely to bloom with white spots after a few days. This is due to the cocoa butter separating from the chocolate. It effects only the looks, not the taste. Thoroughly covering the chocolate with toppings minimizes the amount of bloom that shows.
- Cutting or breaking the toffee into individual pieces will cause some bits to shatter and break off. Don’t throw those bits away! Sprinkle the toffee crumbles on top of ice cream for a delicious treat.
Carlee
There really is something magical about a good buttery toffee. I have never tackled it myself, but now I'm tempted. Thank you for such a wealth of information!
Wendy Sondov
Hi, Carlee. I am excited to say that I have been able to repeat the great toffee results several times now! True, I had to make numerous flops before I got the details worked out but I'm really happy with this final recipe. I hope you give it a try and tell me what you think!
saltandserenity
Wendy, this is a fabulous comprehensive post. You have tackled all the pitfalls. I’m glad you persevered and achieved success. It’s so satisfying when you can do that, isn’t it? The toffee looks picture perfect. Taking the extra step
For tempering is admittedly a pain in the ass, but so worth the professional shiny results. Now I have a fierce craving for toffee.
I have a bowl of chocolate on the stove melting as I write this to dip my chocolate peppermint sandwich cookies!