Butter Toffee - Kitchen Joy (2024)

By Mandy Leave a Comment

I originally tested this toffee recipe when I was writing my cookbook since I love adding crumbled toffee bits into my homemade Mackinac Island fudge. The toffee recipe never made it into the book, but I've been making it frequently this season and figured it was the perfect time to finally share it on the blog. Let's make some butter toffee, shall we?

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You can absolutely make just the toffee and break it into bits to use in fudge, cookies, bars, etc. It's a better version of the hard-to-find bags of Heath Bits-O-Brickle. For the holidays, I like to layer it with toasted pecans and a combination of semisweet and white chocolate chips. It's also fun to arrange pretzels and melted chocolate on top for a chocolate-covered pretzel toffee. The add-ons and toppings are very easy to change up.

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You might wonder why the toffee recipe includes baking soda. It is added at the end of the boiling stage and creates lots and lots of bubbles. These bubbles help to lighten the texture of the finished toffee, resulting in an easier-to-bite candy. This step is optional, but in my experience I greatly prefer the toffee with the baking soda step included.

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Another small ingredient that you may be tempted to skip is the light corn syrup. Please don't skip it. For lack of a too-scientific explanation, the light corn syrup helps smooth the sharp edges of the sugar crystals during the sugar crystallization process, resulting in a much smoother toffee. Without it, the toffee has a more matte appearance and a drier, more crumbly texture.

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As far as the layering of the toppings, you can either arrange the toppings in the bottom of the pan before pouring the toffee mixture, or you can add the toppings last. I actually prefer layering the toppings in first. I find that the layers bind together a bit better and it breaks more clean by doing it this way. Either way works fine though.

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Butter Toffee

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Butter toffee only takes a few simple ingredients and a short time to make, but keeps well and is absolutely worth the effort. Change up the toppings and you've got a great variety of treats to share!

  • Author: Mandy
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 9x13 1x

Ingredients

Scale

2 sticks (227g) unsalted butter

1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

½ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups chopped toasted pecans, optional

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

1 cup white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate

Instructions

Prepare the pan by lining a 9x13-inch pan with parchment paper. Arrange toasted pecans in the bottom of the pan. Top with chocolate chips or chopped chocolate chunks.

Spray a large saucepans with nonstick spray (this helps prevent boiling over). Melt butter over medium heat, then stir in sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt. Stir to combine, then bring to a boil without stirring. Continue heating until an instant-read or candy thermometer registers 295°F, about 10-12 minutes. The target temperature is 300°F or the “hard crack” stage. The temperature will continue to rise a bit from the residual heat of the pan, so for best results remove the pan at 295°. (You’ll notice the color beginning to take on a hint of an amber appearance just before it reaches temperature.)

Immediately remove from heat and stir in the baking soda, using caution as mixture will bubble up significantly. Pour toffee mixture on top of the chocolate in the prepared pan. Smooth gently as needed to form an even layer. Let cool completely at room temperature before lifting from pan and breaking into pieces.

Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks, or freeze.

Keywords: english toffee, butter toffee

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Butter Toffee - Kitchen Joy (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between toffee and butter toffee? ›

The English toffee eaten with regularity in America is also called buttercrunch. What's the difference? Primarily, the difference rests in the ingredients. Toffee in Britain is made with brown sugar, whereas buttercrunch is made with white granulated sugar.

What is butter toffee made of? ›

The ingredients that make up butter toffee include unsalted butter, granulated sugar, light corn syrup, water, vanilla, almonds, and dark chocolate. You can choose a different type of chocolate, but when I was working on this recipe, I found semi-sweet chocolate too sweet.

Is butter crunch the same as toffee? ›

Butter crunch is typically toffee that's got crushed nuts on its chocolate coating. Our version turns that idea on its head. Instead of packing chocolate with crushed nuts, we let the nuts cook into our buttery-sweet toffee recipe until they're nice and toasty, bringing their mojo and nuance into the candy blend.

Does butter toffee need to be refrigerated? ›

We recommend serving the toffee at room temperature, although many of our customers tell us they love it cold. Conservatively, our toffee will keep well in the refrigerator for three weeks (take care to guard against moisture getting to it), and three months in the freezer.

Is butter toffee same as butterscotch? ›

Yes, butterscotch and toffee are made up of the exact same ingredients: Butter and sugar. However, butter toffee contains the addition of cream (Yes, this is confusing). The only remarkable difference between butterscotch and toffee is their texture and sugar content.

Is butter toffee the same as caramel? ›

The difference between caramel and toffee is greater, as caramel has a more liquid consistency and is usually pure sugar (it doesn't contain butter or flour). Still, the taste of caramel, fudge, and toffee is relatively similar, as they are all made from mostly sugar (as well as butter in the case of fudge and toffee).

Why is my butter toffee chewy? ›

Low and slow. Simmering the syrup for English toffee to the requisite 300°F temperature can (and should) be a slow process — up to 20 minutes or so. Don't hurry this gradual transformation; syrup that doesn't reach 300°F, or close to it, will make candy with timid flavor and chewy (not crunchy) texture.

What does baking soda do to toffee? ›

Brittles and toffees accumulate small amounts of acid from the browning reactions that occur during cooking. This is one reason why the baking soda is added at the end of cooking. The soda reacts with the acid to make bubbles, and the syrup foams.

How long does butter toffee last? ›

Store homemade toffee in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week or in the fridge for up to two weeks.

What is the difference between English and butter toffee? ›

English toffee and American toffee diverged with the preferred use of sugar type. English toffee is made with brown sugar, while American-style toffee, known as buttercrunch is made with white table sugar (granulated sugar).

What flavor is brown butter toffee? ›

Toffee pairs wonderfully with the caramel and butterscotch undertones in the brown butter. I added it all to the cookie dough and the result is an amazingly chewy, caramel-y, chocolate-y, buttery cookie with an incredible toffee crunch. A regular chocolate chip cookie, but elevated.

What is the difference between English toffee and American toffee? ›

Americanized toffee may include nuts, while a completely traditional British toffee will not. On the other hand, English toffee uses pure cane sugar, brown sugar, or molasses as its sweet base and always involves chocolate.

Why is my butter toffee grainy? ›

Separating (and/or crystallizing where the toffee turns sugary and grainy) can happen with sudden drops or spikes in the temperature or with constant, vigorous stirring.

Does toffee candy go bad? ›

For maximum taste and texture, we do recommend that you either enjoy your toffee immediately, or store it in a refrigerator or freezer. Once opened, unrefrigerated product will retain maximum freshness for about a week. Refrigeration adds 3-6 months of shelf life, while freezing adds up to a year or more.

What's the difference between caramel and toffee? ›

Toffee vs Caramel

The difference between toffee and caramel is that caramel is made with white granulated sugar and cooked to 340 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas toffee is made with butter and brown sugar and cooked to 295 - 309 degrees Fahrenheit.

What is the meaning of butter toffee? ›

a brittle or chewy brown candy made of sugar or molasses boiled down with butter, often mixed with nuts.

What makes butter separate from toffee? ›

If the heat is too high, but butter might melt too quickly and can separate from the sugar.

Why did butter separate when making toffee? ›

If the butterfat separates out then usually this is due to the mixture being either heated or cooled too quickly, which "shocks" the mixture and causes the fat to separate out. It can also be caused by the mixture being heated unevenly (if the pan has a thin base and has hot spots).

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