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English Toffee

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Easy to make and perfect for gifting, Old Fashioned English Toffee dusted with grated almonds - a family favorite for generations! www.savingdessert.com #savingroomfordessert #toffee #christmas #candy #englishtoffee

Easy to make and perfect for gifting, Old Fashioned English Toffee dusted with grated almonds – a family favorite for generations!

English Toffee is a favorite treat of all our friends and family. It will become one of your family favorites too!  Don’t be afraid to make it because it’s pretty easy and even if it’s not perfect, it still tastes great.  If you haven’t ever tried making homemade candy, this may be a good recipe to start with.

 

Easy to make and perfect for gifting, Old Fashioned English Toffee dusted with grated almonds - a family favorite for generations! www.savingdessert.com #savingroomfordessert #toffee #christmas #candy #englishtoffee

Enjoy this heirloom recipe for English Toffee.

I received this recipe years ago from my friend Gretchen who also was my hairdresser.  We moved 600 miles away so I had to finally break down and find a new hairdresser friend, but when I was still able to visit Gretchen for a haircut, she shared a piece of this English Toffee with me.  Gretchen had received it as a gift from another client.  I begged her to get the recipe for me and she finally agreed, if I would make it and bring her a small tin each Christmas.  She got the recipe and I made it, again and again.  Don’t you love a great partnership?! That was more than 20 years ago and I’m still making this same recipe today.  I’ve seen many similar recipes over the years but I think I’ll stick with this English Toffee since I’ve always had great success.

 

Easy to make and perfect for gifting, Old Fashioned English Toffee dusted with grated almonds - a family favorite for generations! www.savingdessert.com #savingroomfordessert #toffee #christmas #candy #englishtoffee

This is the actual recipe I received with hand written notes all over the place. My favorite kind of recipe!
Easy to make and perfect for gifting, Old Fashioned English Toffee dusted with grated almonds - a family favorite for generations! www.savingdessert.com #savingroomfordessert #toffee #christmas #candy #englishtoffee

Using good quality butter and margarine is key to a successful batch of toffee.

I speak from experience when I say not all butters and margarines are created equal.  You can make the toffee with all butter if you prefer, but I like it best with the combination of margarine and butter. Also, feel free to use whatever brands you normally use, but I recommend  Land-O-Lakes Butter and Parkay Margarine.  All you need is a few good ingredients: granulated sugar, light corn syrup, margarine, butter, milk chocolate chips, water, and ground almonds or pecans.
Easy to make and perfect for gifting, Old Fashioned English Toffee dusted with grated almonds - a family favorite for generations! www.savingdessert.com #savingroomfordessert #toffee #christmas #candy #englishtoffee

For a successful batch of toffee, prep all your ingredients before you start.

Have all your ingredients read to go as this recipe moves pretty fast. I also recommend using a candy or instant read thermometer for perfect results every time.

Thanks for PINNING!

A tray of old fashioned English style Toffee topped with grated nuts

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PRINT THE RECIPE!

3 from 1 vote

English Toffee

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 30 mins
Course: Candy
Author: Tricia
PRINT RECIPE
A family favorite for generations

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 cup margarine
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 6 tablespoons water
  • 1 (12 ounce) package milk chocolate chips
  • 1 cup ground almonds

Instructions

  • Melt butter and margarine in a heavy saucepan. Add the sugar, corn syrup and water.
  • Cook on medium heat (turn down as the mixture starts to darken) stirring constantly until the mixture reaches 310 degrees (hard crack stage).
  • Once the mixture starts to turn a light caramel color, start turning down the heat to prevent it from scorching or turning dark too fast.
  • Pour into a lightly buttered pan approximately 10" x 15". Once slightly set but still very hot, sprinkle milk chocolate chips over the toffee. When the chocolate chips are soft, spread evenly on top of the candy.
  • Sprinkle with ground almonds. Cool and break into bite size pieces.
  • Store in an airtight container

Recipe Notes

Substitute pecans or walnuts for the almonds if you prefer.
 
Dark chocolate or semisweet chocolate chips are also great for this recipe.

Here’s a few more candy recipes you might also enjoy:

A plate of homemade almond Roca candy

Homemade Almond Roca Recipe

 

 

Buckeye peanut butter candies in a Christmas bowl

Buckeye Candy Recipe

A stack of peanut butter fudge

Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe

Originally published December 2010, updated November 2018
Enjoy!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Tricia

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48 Comments

  1. Kim says

    3 stars
    The toffee portion of this recipe is spot on – especially if you use salted butter. I made the recipe using all butter and poured mine at 308 degrees, as hard crack is between 300 to 310, and there’s always residual heat. It came out perfect!

    However, I’m giving it only 3 stars because the chocolate chips for the topping simply didn’t work. Even though my toffee was still very hot (in fact the chips dente the soft, hot toffee), the chocolate chips didn’t melt enough to spread fully. Instead of the lovely chocolate topping shown in the photos, I ended up with clumps of partially melted chips.

    I made a quick ganache with some additional chips and spread it over the top. I knew this wouldn’t harden fully, but at least it no longer looked like a miniature cow had walked over my toffee. 😉

    Next time, I’d use an easier melting chocolate – maybe even simple Hershey bars. Chocolate chips are designed to hold their shape in the heat when baking, so I think this was the issue.

    Also, I toasted the almonds. This is a personal preference, but really added a nice flavor.

    I’ll definitely be adding the toffee recipe to my Christmas candy collection — but will have to experiment on the next batch to see what chocolate topping actually works.

    Thank you for sharing.

    reply to this comment >

    • Tricia Buice says

      Hi Jane. I’m not sure what you are asking. The toffee slides out of the saucepan easily, usually leaving nothing behind. The pan the toffee is poured into is usually the same. You must have had some sort of problem if this is an issue. Either way, very hot, soapy water will clean sugar off pans.

      reply to this comment >

      • Alma says

        Hi, I made this today.
        My liquid products didn’t turn Carmel color like your picture. Also when I went to break them into but size pieces the chocolate separated from the toffee. My husband still ate them lol, just want to improve so u can make them for Christmas.

        reply to this comment >

    • Tricia Buice says

      Hi Lori. Using both margarine and butter is the way the original recipe was given to me and that’s the way I started out making the toffee. I’ve used all butter but for some reason prefer half margarine and half butter better. All butter turns out fine so feel free to give it a go. I never buy margarine anymore for the day to day stuff, only when I’m making this toffee or fudge. Also, I always use Parkay margarine – it just works better for me. Thanks for the great question!

      reply to this comment >

    • Tricia Buice says

      Hi Laura. I have not tried doubling it but you are welcome to put it in any pan you want. I don’t have anything bigger than a cookie sheet. If you double it you can probably still use the same size pan, and the toffee will be thicker. You may also want to check out our recipe for Almond Roca. It’s thicker and works well because of the almonds in the mix. The toffee part is not too hard and breaks up easily in your mouth because of the almonds. I usually just make single batches instead of doubling it. Good luck and I’m so thrilled your family has enjoyed this delicious candy! https://www.savingdessert.com/homemade-almond-roca-recipe/

      reply to this comment >

  6. Susan says

    Yum – this toffee is delicious! I’ve made it a couple of times and learned to take the instruction “stir constantly” seriously. I can’t multitask with this recipe but if I stir constantly and regulate the heat, it turns out perfectly every time. Thanks so much for sharing it with us –

    reply to this comment >

  7. Lisa says

    I don’t have a candy thermometer so I am relying on color. How dark is dark? I feel like I’ve been stirring forever and it still seems yellowish to me. Yes, I am writing this as I stir lol…

    reply to this comment >

    • Tricia Buice says

      Hi Lisa. I was already asleep last night when you wrote this. I hope it turned out okay for you. If relying on color only, you will be able to tell as the mixture gets super thick and starts to smell like it’s about to burn. You can also drizzle a little in a bowl of cold water. If it turns brittle, it’s ready. Good luck and thanks for giving it a try!

      reply to this comment >

    • Tricia Buice says

      Hi Robert. Make sure you put the chocolate on while the toffee is still pretty hot and on the “not yet set” side of things. The chocolate doesn’t stick as well when spread on cool toffee. Sorry about that – it usually isn’t a problem! Thanks for giving it a try.

      reply to this comment >

  14. Susan says

    What a wonderful story, Tricia, and your toffee looks perfectly delicious! I have been making English Toffee ever since my MIL served some that her neighbor made for her shortly after we were married. I begged her to ask the neighbor for the recipe which she did and I’ve used that same recipe for years. Very similar to yours but without any corn syrup or water added. I have to say it’s my all time favorite candy to make and very dangerous to have in the house 😉

    reply to this comment >

    • Tricia Buice says

      Happy holidays to you too Pat – and thanks so much. You’re going to love this toffee. Everybody does and it is one of my most requested treats I make. Hope you’ll sign up for our newsletter and get the free e-cookbook with plenty of cookie recipes to try! Thanks again.

      reply to this comment >

  17. Pam says

    Woo hoo! I love English Toffee but never considered making it until now. And how lucky you are with a great hairdresser back when, who knew how to make this great treat. Glad she shared the recipe with you, Tricia! Take care

    reply to this comment >

  20. Carol says

    Hi

    Why have you called the recipe English Toffee when the recipe is clearly American.

    No true British recipe would ask for Corn Syrup simply because it is not easily available here.

    This is a true English Toffee Recipe:
    275g dark brown soft sugar
    325g caster sugar
    225g butter
    350g golden syrup
    300ml double cream
    175ml full fat milk
    2 teaspoons vanilla extract

    Ta

    reply to this comment >

    • Tricia Buice says

      Hey Nancy – I recently transitioned to WordPress from Blogger and have to manually update all my recipes – 4 years of recipes! It’s going to take a while – but I did go ahead and add this one now! Thanks – I really hope you love as much as we do. I’ve already been asked if I was making this again for the holidays. Everybody loves it!

      reply to this comment >

  22. Anonymous says

    Really detailed post! Thanks for all the images, it makes it all the easier to follow the recipe as it goes on. I used all butter instead of butter and margarine and substituted maple syrup for the corn syrup.

    reply to this comment >

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