Best Homemade Toffee Recipe (2024)

This is the BEST Homemade Toffee and such an easy recipe to make! With only four simple ingredients, this delicious buttery toffee is a much-loved candy to make often!

Best Homemade Toffee Recipe (1)

The holidays and making this easy, delicious Toffee recipe go hand-in-hand for me. Candy making in general is always something I do around the holidays – especially for Christmas! My Christmas candies always include so many delicious confections such as my Peppermint Bark, Divinity and this. But I don’t save this Toffee to make only during the holidays! It is perfect year-round and can be made with just a few ingredients. While it does have to set to harden, it only involves a few minutes of hands-on mixing time, so it’s no wonder that I make it often.

Toffee is really so easy to make once you figure out a couple of basics, that you can easily make a few batches within an hour or so! It makes delicious gifts to share with friends and family or to serve throughout the holiday season or anytime you wish!

Easy Toffee Recipe

Believe me when I say this though, this toffee is so scrumptious and tempting, you want to make this and then invite some friends over to enjoy. Or immediately wrap it into gift packages. Otherwise, you just may be tempted to eat it all yourself. Promise.

You’ll be shocked at how easy this toffee recipe is to make! With four simple ingredients that you probably have on hand right now, you could really have a batch made soon for sampling.

Here’s how I make it.

How to Make Toffee

You’ll need:

  • Roasted Pecans (optional)
  • Brown Sugar
  • Butter
  • Chocolate Chips

Step by Step Instructions

  1. Prep. To make this Easy Toffee Recipe, first line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, such as a Silpat. If you are using nuts, sprinkle 1/2 cup roasted pecans on top and spread evenly.
  2. Heat. Then melt brown sugar and butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil until a candy thermometer reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Then immediately remove from heat and pour over roasted nuts.
  3. Spread. Top with chocolate chips and allow chips to begin melting. Spread chocolate evenly over top of toffee with a silicone spatula.
  4. Cool. Allow to cool for about five minutes before addingremaining roasted pecans. If omitting the roasted pecans from your recipe, consider sprinkling the top of the chocolate with sea salt. Allow toffee to cool completely to harden – overnight onthe counter or for about 20 minutes in the freezer.
  5. Serve. Lift hardened toffee off of the parchment paper or Silpat baking mat and break into candy pieces.

For Thicker Toffee Pieces

If you want the thicker toffee pieces like I have shared in my pictures, you will line a 7 x 11 inch casserole dish with parchment paper rather than using a baking sheet. The freezing time increases to 30 minutes if you use that method to harden the toffee.

Do You Have to Use Nuts in the Toffee?

You don’t have to use nuts if you don’t want. But…

I use roasted pecans in my toffee recipe, but you could easily substitute another roasted nut or just completely omit the nuts if you prefer. If you do omit the nuts though, do me a favor and add a heavy sprinkle of sea salt on top of the melted chocolate as it begins to firm up. You really do need that little bit of salty-sweet combination that comes from this toffee. I promise you’ll be glad you did.

Toffee Makes Great Gifts!

And since I’m full of promises today, here is my third one…If you give this toffee as presents during the holidays, you will absolutely without a doubt be asked for the recipe and have folks singing your praises. Promise.

How to Make Ahead, Store and Freeze Toffee

This toffee makes the perfect make ahead recipe!

Make Ahead

Prepare as directed and store in an airtight container.

Store

Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Freeze

You can also easily freeze toffee. Freeze in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.

More Favorite Candy Recipes

Some of these candies are traditional holiday favorites, but all are so delicious and can be enjoyed anytime!

Fudge

Peanut Brittle

Oreo Truffles

Homemade Marshmallows

Chocolate Truffles

Saltine Cracker Toffee

Here’s my favorite toffee recipe of all time. I hope you make it soon!

Best Homemade Toffee Recipe (2)

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Toffee Recipe

Robyn Stone

4.86 from 14 votes

This is the BEST Homemade Toffee and such an easy recipe to make! With only four simple ingredients, this delicious buttery toffee is a much-loved candy to make often!

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Freezing Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 24

Ingredients

  • 1 cup roasted pecans, divided (optional)
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat, such as a Silpat. If using nuts, sprinkle 1/2 cup roasted pecans on top and spread evenly.

  • Using a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, melt brown sugar and butter, stirring constantly. Boil until a candy thermometer reaches 300º F. Immediately remove from heat and pour over roasted nuts. Top with chocolate chips and allow chips to begin melting. Spread chocolate evenly over top of toffee with a silicon spatula. Allow to cool for about five minutes before adding remaining roasted pecans.

  • If omitting the roasted pecans from your recipe, consider sprinkling top of chocolate with sea salt.

  • Allow to cool completely to harden – overnight on counter or about 20 minutes in the freezer. Lift hardened toffee off parchment paper or silpat and break into candy pieces.

  • Optional: for thicker toffee pieces (as pictured), I line a 7×11 casserole dish with parchment paper rather than using a baking sheet. Freezing time increases to 30 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 168kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 75mg | Potassium: 31mg | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 255IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 0.3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Enjoy!
Robyn xo

From the Add a Pinch recipe archives. Originally published 2012.

Categorized as:30 Minutes or Less Recipes, All Recipes, Bars, By Cooking Style, Candy, Christmas Recipes, Cooking, Dessert Recipes, Holiday and Occasion Recipes, No Bake, Recipes, Simple Recipes, Southern Favorites, Thanksgiving Recipes

Welcome to Add A Pinch

About Robyn

Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

Read more about Robyn

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Best Homemade Toffee Recipe (2024)

FAQs

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

English Toffee is a nationwide favorite that is easily made with only a few ingredients. The difference between regular toffee and English Toffee is one important ingredient – butter! I make English Toffee throughout the year for special occasions and it's always a big hit.

Is light or dark brown sugar better for toffee? ›

Taste is obvious: sweets made with dark brown sugar will have a slightly deeper flavor with those notes of caramel and toffee I mentioned.

How long does homemade 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.

Should you stir toffee while cooking? ›

It's important while the toffee cooks to only stir it occasionally. Constant stirring can cause the toffee to crystallize and separate. For those of you that need to know exactly how often you should stir, I would suggest erring on the side of not stirring more than stirring.

Why add baking soda to toffee? ›

For better crunch, add baking soda

Those bubbles remain trapped in the syrup as it cools in the pan, yielding toffee whose consistency is lightly crunchy rather than hard: think light-textured American-style biscotti vs.

Why does the butter separate when making English 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).

Is toffee just hard caramel? ›

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.

Should toffee be hard or soft? ›

Toffee is a hard candy made by cooking a sugar syrup with butter to the hard crack stage, 300–310°F (149–154°C), and then pouring it out to cool. It can have inclusions or not, and it can be made either very dense and hard or can be lightened by adding baking soda when the candy is almost done cooking .

What's the difference between hard candy and toffee? ›

Candy and toffee are different because candy is made from boiled sugar syrup, while toffee is made from caramelized sugar with butter and sometimes nuts. Both have been enjoyed for centuries and have various cultural histories.

What can go wrong when making toffee? ›

Common toffee making mistakes:
  • I started with way too high of a heat. (At least, I think this was an issue.) I set my portable cooktop at 260 degrees F.
  • I stirred too quickly. I didn't realize this could be an issue.
  • I didn't add a dash of salt. They say you can save a ruined batch of toffee by adding a dash of salt.
Dec 13, 2017

Do you stir toffee constantly? ›

Stir the mixture once or twice as the mixture continues cooking, but note that you do not want to stir constantly. Stirring a caramel constantly once it has boiled may cause the mixture to separate or crystallize.

Is there a difference between taffy and toffee? ›

Is toffee the same as taffy? Taffy is in no way, shape, or form toffee. Taffy describes chewy fruit candies, whereas toffee is closer to caramel.

Why cream of tartar in toffee? ›

This means that as boiling continues, a portion of the sugar separates into its constituent parts—glucose and fructose. Adding cream of tartar and a dash of vinegar to a toffee recipe helps bring about this change.

Can I use parchment paper when making toffee? ›

I really like to use a baking sheet for making toffee, especially the first time. If your silicone mat fits tightly, it makes for really easy clean up. (You can also use parchment paper, but I like the silicone mat.)

How to keep butter from separating when making toffee? ›

Let it melt slowly over low heat! The butter and sugar will separate once it has completely melted. Don't worry about the separation at this point, it will come back together once the heat is turned up. Once the butter has completely melted, turn the heat up to med high.

What exactly is English toffee? ›

There are many types of candy, both here in the U.S. and across the pond in the British Isles, referred to as toffee. In America, English toffee usually refers to a candy made with slow-cooked sugar and butter, forming a brittle, which is then coated in chocolate and nuts.

Is English toffee hard or soft? ›

Toffee is a hard candy made by cooking a sugar syrup with butter to the hard crack stage, 300–310°F (149–154°C), and then pouring it out to cool. It can have inclusions or not, and it can be made either very dense and hard or can be lightened by adding baking soda when the candy is almost done cooking .

Is English toffee like butterscotch? ›

Toffee is butterscotch that has been cooked for a longer period of time. Toffee begins as a base of butter and brown sugar that is gradually cooked to the hard-crack sugar stage between 295 and 309 degrees Fahrenheit.

Is English toffee the same as butterscotch? ›

Toffee vs Butterscotch

While butterscotch is cooked to a soft-crack stage, toffee is produced by allowing that same butter and brown sugar mixture to reach the hard-crack stage. Butterscotch tends to be chewy and pliable; toffee is brittle and more breakable.

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