Homemade toffee only takes five ingredients and one pot! Learn the exact temperature and timing to get that perfect crack every time. Turn it into pecan chocolate toffee bark for the easiest homemade gifts.
Rich, buttery, crunchy, and oh so satisfying. Toffee is the perfect sweet treat! Instead of purchasing store-bought packaged toffee bits, why not make it from scratch?!
Toffee is one of the most forgiving candies you can make at. home. If you can boil sugar, butter, and water while resisting the rub to stir the pot… you can make toffee! That’s really the whole trick: hands off the spoon, eyes on the thermometer.
Recipe Highlights
- Just 5 ingredients: sugar, water, butter, salt, and vanilla.
- Customizable toffee bark: add layer of chocolate and garnish with nuts or assorted toppings
- Makes great DIY gifts: I made this often for hostess gifts, cookie tins, teacher treats.
- Versatile uses: eat plain, mix into cookie dough (pecan toffee chocolate chunk cookies), use as topping for champorado or rice pudding
Equipment & Ingredient Notes
Candy making can seem intimating, but it’s quite simple given the correct tools. Three pieces of equipment I highly suggest: candy thermometer, reusable silicone baking mat, and a heavy bottomed sauce pot.
Candy Thermometer
A candy thermometer is the best way ensure consistent results. Over time, once you’ve made toffee several times, you can certainly cook the toffee by eye. However, during the early stages, I recommend using a candy thermometer.
I use this candy thermometer). It’s great for candy making.I also use it when frying doughnuts (and I make a lot of donuts: brown butter old fashioned donuts, glazed letter donuts with sprinkles, chia berry jelly donuts).
Silicone Baking Mat
Reusable silicone baking mats are a great alternative to disposable parchment paper sheets. Silicone baking mats are oven safe and freezer safe. If you bake several times a month (or plan to become a serious candy maker), I suggest getting yourself a silicone mat.
Heavy Bottomed Sauce Pot
Heavy bottomed sauce pots are thicker at the base. The thicker bottom helps to distribute heat more evenly. This means these pots are less prone to having “hot spots” which can cause your food to overcook and burn more easily.
How to Make Stovetop Toffee
STEP 1. Set up your station. Candy making moves fast once the sugar hits temperature. Line your baking sheet with silicone mat before you start cooking.
STEP 4: Watch the color, not just the clock. Mixture will shift from pale yellow to a golden caramel brown as it approaches the right temperature.
STEP 6: Enjoy hardened toffee as is, or layer to make pecan chocolate toffee bark!
Chocolate Toffee Bark Assembly
- Immediately, pour the hot toffee mixture into a silicone mat lined rimmed baking sheet. Allow to cool at room temperature until toffee has hardened.
- Spread melted chocolate over hardened toffee.
- Sprinkle toasted chopped pecans over chocolate. Garnish with a sprinkling of Maldon sea salt flakes.
- Let assembled toffee bark rest at room temperature until chocolate has set. This will range anywhere from 10 minutes to 1 hour depending on several factors.
Notes for Success
- A candy thermometer is worth it. Eyeballing sugar temperature takes practice. A thermometer takes the guesswork out while you’re learning the process.
- Don’t rush the melt stage. Letting the sugar, water, and butter melt undisturbed prevents crystallization, which is the #1 cause of grainy toffee.
- Keep your chocolate in temper. Melt it gently and slowly. Overheated chocolate can fall out of temper, leaving it dull or streaky instead of glossy and shiny.
- Humidity affects cook time. Don’t be surprised if your toffee takes a few extra minutes to hit 300°F on a humid day (that’s normal, not a sign anything’s wrong!).
Recipe Variations & Storage
If you’re an Almond Roca fan, substitute in almonds for pecans. You can also mix up the topping choices. Some alternative toppings to consider are:
- other toasted nuts: macadamia nuts, cashews, pistachios, peanuts
- seeds: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds
- chopped cookies: Oreos, shortbread cookies, wafer cookies
- different chocolates: milk chocolate, white chocolate, marbled chocolate
Once the chocolate is set, transfer toffee bark to a cutting board. Break the toffee by hand, or use a sharp knife to cut the toffee bark into desired portions. Store toffee bark in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
Homemade Toffee
Ingredients
Toffee:
- 2 cups granulated sugar, (400 grams)
- ½ cup water, (113 grams)
- 1 ½ cup unsalted butter, (340 grams) sliced into tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Bark Toppings:
- 1 cup chopped dark chocolate, (170 grams) melted
- 1 cup toasted pecans, (120 g) roughly chopped
- Maldon sea salt flakes, , as needed for sprinkling
Instructions
Toffee:
- Line rimmed half sized baking sheet (18×13-inch) with silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- In a heavy bottomed sauce pot, add sugar, water, and butter. Set over medium heat and bring to a boil without stirring. Continue to boil for about 2 minutes until butter and sugar has completely melted.
- Attach candy thermometer to sauce pot. Continue to boil until mixture reaches 300°F. This will take anywhere from 8-15 minutes depending on size of pot, ambient temperature, and humidity of room. At this point, you may whisk the mixture as needed to distribute heat and prevent mixture from burning along the edges of the pot. Mixture will change colors from pale yellow to caramel brown as it reaches 300°F.
- Remove from heat. Whisk in salt. Whisk in vanilla. Immediately pour hot mixture into prepared baking sheet. Let sit at room temperature. Toffee mixture will harden and solidify as it cools. This will take anywhere from 15 minutes to 35 minutes.NOTE: mixture will bubble and steam when you add in vanilla extract.
Bark Toppings:
- Gently melt chopped chocolate over bain-maire, or double boiler until smooth. Spread melted chocolate over hardened toffee. Sprinkle chopped toasted pecans on top. Garnish with Maldon sea salt.
- Let rest at room temperature until chocolate has set. This will range anywhere from 10 minutes to 1 hour depending on temperature of room and if melted chocolate is still in temper.
- Once chocolate is set, transfer assembled toffee bark to cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut toffee bark into desired portions.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
Video
Notes
- Bark topping alternative options: your choice of different toasted nuts (almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts, etc), different chocolates (milk, white, or marbled), dried fruits, seeds (sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds), or chopped cookies (Oreos, shortbread cookies, etc).
- To keep melted chocolate in temper melt the chocolate slowly and gently. Overheated chocolate will be taken out of temper. Out of temper chocolate will dry dull or contain unattractive white streaks called “bloom.”
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!Interested in other no bake treats that make great gifts? This chocolate tiffin is simple to make and can be customized with dried fruits and chopped nuts. And, obviously you can’t go wrong with a chocolate strawberry bouquet!
Hi
How did you get your toffee pieces so small.Also, can you use parchment paper instead of a mat.
Yes, you can use parchment paper or foil instead of a silicone mat. I simply used a sharp knife to chop up the toffee pieces.