This English Toffee Recipe is so SUPER, SUPER SIMPLE and it only requires 4 ingredients! This is my absolute favorite candy! If I could only eat one candy this would be it!
I see recipes all over for English toffee but those recipes include saltine crackers in them. Toffee is so super simple to make why would you waste a glorious candy like that by adding crackers? Here is our version of English Toffee From our Dining On A Dime Cookbook. Try it and you will wonder why you never made it from scratch before!
English Toffee Recipe
1 cup nuts, chopped (pecans or walnuts are best) *
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Butter an 8×8 inch pan. Spread the nuts in the bottom of the pan. On medium heat, bring the sugar and butter to a boil and boil 7 minutes. Spread into the pan. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Let it sit a few minutes. When melted, spread evenly. Let cool before cracking into pieces. Makes 24 pieces.
*Variations:
- White Chocolate with Macadamia Nuts (not cheap but to die for!)
- Dark Chocolate with Almonds
Click here to get the Dining On A Dime Cookbook, with tasty recipes and great tips to make your life easier and save you money!
Nikkikitty77 says
Is there a tip for how not to burn the sugar? I followed the directions, but mine burnt. Thankfully, I love burnt marshmallows & the flavor reminds me of when I make smores, but I’m not making this for me alone! LOL
Jill says
You need to turn the heat down much lower it sounds like and stir it continually. That may help. Some stoves cook really hot. You might try another pan too. I had family members who insisted that I use these very expensive pans (I think they were stainless steel) and I hated them because I burnt everything I made even when I used my lowest heat. The pans mixed with my stove cooked to hot so those are are couple of things you might try.
Bescal says
Stirring constantly until it reaches the soft crack stage on a candy thermometer. (270 to 290 degrees)
You will begin to smell a burt sugar oder if you let it get to hot. At the first whiff, remove from heat and pour in the prepared pan. I like to use buttered foil on a cookie sheet as it makes it easier to break into pieces.
CarolynM says
Maybe also try using a double boiler. If you don’t have one, you can rig up your own using a heat-resistant bowl (glass or metal) and a pan of simmering water. Firstly, make sure the bowl is large enough to not slip into the pan. Next, place the ingredients into the bowl and place the bowl over the simmering pan. Do not let the water touch the bottom of the bowl. This should melt the ingredients without burning them. (There are instructions online if mine aren’t clear enough).
Brenda says
I made this yesterday afternoon and my family loved it. Easy-peezy! I will definitely keep this recipe on hand for Christmas! Side note – I used a very heavy bottomed sauce pan to make this and stirred it several times to check for burning. Well back to my newsletter, cup of coffee and chunk of toffee. 🙂
Jill says
So glad you liked it Brenda. This is great to make to give as a quick gift. Most of us have all the ingredients on hand and I toss mine in a cellophane bag with a ribbon. Easy, fast and inexpensive.
Mary Sue Hopper says
Could you use a double boiler as I don’t believe I have a pan with a heavy enough bottom. Mine scorched both times I have attempted to make it.
Michael says
Yes, you can. If it’s scorching turn down the heat. Tawra (posting as Mike -)
kathy poulsen says
Can you double this recipe? If so do I need to add to the cooking time?
Jill says
Kathy I have not doubled this recipe before. Most cooked candy recipes are not safe to double it but that being said if I was going try doubling one this is the one I would try it on.I wouldn’t add any cooking time though. The thing is this is so easy to make that it is really not that much extra to make 2 batches.
Grizzly Bear Mom says
Kathy Poulson, most cooking is merely physical change. Stew+cut up meat and vegetables. If you tried hard enough you could seperate each individual component. Cake, souffle and candy making are chemical changes in that you can no longer seperate the ingredients. Doubling the ingredients and only cooking them the few minutes instructed in the recipe may result in slop or sauce rathern than candy. I would follow the directions exactly until I didn’t have to ask questions like this any more.
Kay says
Yet, why not ask? Chances are that another reader has doubled the recipe and knows the answer. I would definitely try doubling the recipe after having made one batch following the recipe so that I knew what it should look like. Chances are quite good that the time won’t need to be doubled when doubling the recipe. I have doubled many recipes and found that I do not need to double the cooking time. If I put a half stick of butter on the stove to melt, or a full stick, both take the same amount I’d time. The main key is going to be how much of the mixture will be touching the surface of the pan at one time. That week new the deciding factor of how long to cook a recipe. Even with one batch being made it could take longer depending on the stove to .and whether the stove is gas our electric. I prefer gas, I have better control over the amount of heat being used!
Jill says
You can easily double most recipes the only time I am a little hesitant about doubling a recipe is with some cooked candy that it does make a difference when you double them.
Karen DeKok says
I doubled mine and it got very sugary. when I spread the melted chocolate it looks gritty and did not set up hard. Flavor is good, but doesn’t look so great,
Jill says
It sounds like you cooked it maybe too long Karen and I usually don’t double cooked candy recipes because they don’t always do as well too.
Robin Rusk says
No it’s not a good idea to double a toffee recipe… Believe me I did and it didn’t come out the best… For one thing the toffee was very gritty from the sugar not dissolving and it didn’t set like it should’ve… Although the flavor of the toffee was totally amazing… My brother absolutely loved it..! He said the grittier the better… but it was good…
Julie Andrea says
Hello! I just made this recipe, doubled it, so I could make one with walnuts and one with almonds. It came out fine, still cooling down. I would warn people to be careful with the sugar / butter mixture, it’s REALLY hot. The right pot / pan is important, I used a wooden spoon and kept scraping down the sides too. For getting the chips to melt, I put a cover over the pan for a few minutes so that the heat was kept in and I didn’t have any un-melted chips. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe! Julie
Wendy Ventress says
I have two questions. Did you use light brown sugar or dark brown sugar….and did you use semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips? Thanks 🙂
Jill says
I used light brown sugar and you can use semi sweet or milk choc. chips that is just taste preference although I usually use semi sweet.
Penny S says
Do you toast the nuts or use them plain?
Tawra says
Either way but we use them plain.
Kay says
I would leave the nuts out, for my family it would be enjoyed a lot more if there were no nuts in it.
Mary Beth says
I just made this. I did exactly as you said, but i’m worried that it won’t harden. It still looks soft, cooling in the pan. If it doesn’t harden, is there anything that I can do at this point, or is this ruined?
Tawra says
If it doesn’t harden it will still be fine to eat it would just be more like chocolate covered caramels. Next time just cook it a minute or so more.
Dave M says
Cook to hard crack with a candy thermometer…
Theresa says
I love your recipes for candy!
Samantha says
I made this yesterday and it did not harden up. I’m very disappointed in it to say the least. I know I cooked it longer than the 7 minutes from the time it started a rolling boil. It’s way too soft and sugary tasting. What did I do wrong????
Jill says
It there is humidity it can sometimes make a difference also you need to make sure you used salted stick butter. Whipped butter or margarine will not work in this recipe.
Melissa says
I have made this recipe!! Super easy and taste so good!!
Janice Andreyka says
I have to say that the questions portion of this is very helpful… some of my questions were answered by your responses… My toffee is cooling as I write this. I KNOW for a fact, that even toffee that did not set up … is great eating !
Janice
Cindy says
I tripled this recipe today. Used chopped almonds. Mine didn’t harden completely either so I put it in the freezer for a few minutes before breaking it up. Why do you need to use salted butter? I guess I overlooked that part 😕. Is this supposed to harden up like peanut brittle or a heath bar? Maybe I’ll try individual batches next time.
Tawra says
You can’t cook candies by doubling or tripling the batches. It just doesn’t work. If you make each batch separate it should work just fine.
DonnaB says
I know this is the wrong thread for this comment, but could I just say that it’s ok if you need to scale back a bit on Christmas baking/candy? As much as we love doing it, my daughter and I are both sick this year with serious illnesses and it will have to be 2-ingredient fudge and doctored up cookie dough (I’m the queen of doctored up cookie dough, lol!). People really do understand and our family has been just great with helping us. so the little gifts are what matter this year.
Royal Cleaners says
Only 4 ingredients 🙂 and looks so tasty… I will try this recipe
Shirin says
Great recipe– just about foolproof! The only note I would like to share is that it’s probably best to pour the toffee mixture into the corners first– much easier than trying to tip the pan around to get the toffee over all those nooks and crannies created by the layer of nuts! Thanks, ladies! 🙂
Kathy says
Could you use a double boiler for sugar & butter?
Jill says
You really don’t need a double boiler for this. I just use a simple small saucepan and stir it for the 7 mins. Much easier then messing with a double boiler – not even sure if you should use a double boiler because I don’t know if the sugar and butter would caramelize as well in in one.