This Easy English Toffee Recipe features crunchy almonds and a creamy chocolate outer layer. No candy thermometer needed, and you will still end up with perfectly snappy and delicious toffee!
You’ve come to the right place for easy, delicious holiday treats! Try my Microwave Peanut Brittle, Disneyland Copycat Churro Toffee, and Christmas Crack (Cracker Candy) recipes.
Why This Recipe Works
So Simple to Make: Toffee may seem like a complicated thing to make, but trust me, it is actually quite simple and so impressive when you can share this recipe with loved ones! You don’t need a candy thermometer for this easy english toffee recipe, unlike most other toffee recipes. I will detail exactly how to get perfectly crunchy, snappy toffee in this easy english toffee recipe.
Smooth & Snappy: This homemade english toffee will taste buttery and smooth, while still having that perfectly crunchy snap. Plus, the added nuts on top offer the perfect balance of flavor and texture. If you have ever had a heath bar, you will eat this toffee and never think about store bought toffee again.
Perfect for the Holidays: You might just find that this toffee candy recipe will help you create delicious, affordable holiday gifts! Toffee is perfectly shareable, and everyone will be wondering how you made it. Tie it up in little bags and share it with family and friends this holiday season.
Ingredients for the Easy English Toffee Recipe
- Whole, Raw Almonds- The whole almonds will be toasted for maximum flavor and then placed in the toffee to have crunchy almonds bites throughout.
- Butter– Butter is needed for the texture and flavor of the toffee. Do not substitute butter with margarine.
- Sugar– The key to cooking candy like this toffee is heating up sugar until it has caramelized.
- Salt & Vanilla– Salt and Vanilla are both needed for flavor. If you like a more salty toffee, add extra salt. Go for sea salt if you like chunkier bites of salt!
- Milk Chocolate Chips– I added milk chocolate chips on top of the warm toffee and spread the chocolate on top. You can also use dark chocolate if you prefer!
- Chopped Pecans– A sprinkle of chopped pecans over the top of the toffee adds flavor, texture, and makes the toffee look amazing!
Here’s How to Make It
Step by Step Instructions
- First, gather all of your ingredients and get them measured out so you are prepared for each step in the recipe. Then, place your almonds on a plate and microwave them for 2-3 minutes on high to toast them. Line a baking sheet (9×13 if possible) with parchment or foil and place the almonds in a single layer on the foil. Space them out as best as you can. (photos 1-2)
- Add sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt to a large sauce pan. The pan needs to be at least 2 quarts and it needs to have a thick bottom, otherwise the toffee can burn! Melt these ingredients together over medium heat. (photo 3)
- When the ingredients are completely melted, continuously stir and gradually increase the heat to medium-high. Keep stirring and stirring for about 9-15 minutes until the toffee is a golden brown color, about the same color as raw almonds. (photos 4-6)
- As soon as it reaches that color, quickly pour the mixture over the almonds in your prepared pan. (photo 7)
- Allow to cool for about 2-3 minutes, then sprinkle on the chocolate chips. Allow to sit for another couple of minutes while the chocolate chips melt. (photo 8)
- Spread the melted chips over the toffee. (photo 9)
- Sprinkle with chopped pecans and allow to cool completely. Feel free to put the pan in the fridge to speed up the process if preferred. (photo 10)
- After the toffee and chocolate have completely cooled, use a butter knife to break apart the english toffee. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Expert Tips
- Make sure you keep an eye on your toffee as it is cooking and keep stirring it. If you take your eye off of it, it can burn very quickly!
- Anytime you are cooking with sugar, be very careful to not get it on your skin. Hot sugar can burn your skin easily, so take care when pouring the toffee mixture into the baking pan.
- If you don’t like almonds or pecans, you can skip the nuts! Or, add in whatever type of nut you prefer. Peanuts, cashews, walnuts, and macadamia nuts would all be delicious in this easy english toffee recipe!
- Sprinkle crushed up candy canes onto the top of the melted chocolate for peppermint english toffee. Yum! Or, for a more sweet and salty vibe, add broken pretzels to the top of the melted chocolate.
- For color and added flavors, add little candies to the top of the cooling chocolate (it should be soft but not hot) like mini M&Ms, Reese’s cups, white chocolate chips, or other little candies you enjoy.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can tell that your toffee has separated when the candy looks really oily on top. This means that the butter did not fully mix with the sugar and emulsify like it should. This can happen when the temperature changes from too cold or too hot, too fast. To make sure this doesn’t happen to you, slowly melt your toffee ingredients and continuously stir while it is cooking. Don’t turn up the heat to medium-high until everything is melted and mixed together, and don’t turn it all the way up in the process ever.
If your toffee does separate, you can try to fix it by adding very, very hot water to it by the tablespoon until it comes back together. Make sure to only add one spoonful of water at a time. However, if your toffee has already cooled and you notice that it separated, it is sadly too late to save it. It is still edible and you can try crunching it up and using it as an ice cream topping or in cookies instead!
They are very similar since they are both candy and made in a similar way. Toffee is usually hard and crunchy whereas caramel is smooth and chewy. Caramel is made with milk or cream to keep it soft, and is cooked at a lower temperature than toffee.
More Easy Dessert Recipes to Try
- Easy Microwave Peanut Brittle Recipe
- No Bake Churro Krispie Bars
- Chocolate Caramel Shortbread Bars
- 3 Ingredient Peppermint Bark
- Chocolate Almond Clusters
Easy English Toffee Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole raw almonds
- 1 cup butter - cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups milk chocolate chips
- ¼ cup finely chopped pecans
Instructions
- Get all of your ingredients measured and set out before you start the recipe. Then place your almonds on a plate and microwave them for 2-3 minutes on high to toast them. Line a baking sheet (preferable a 9×13 pan) with foil and place the almonds in a single layer on the foil – space them out as best you can.
- Add sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt to a large sauce pan (at least 2-quarts and it needs to have a thick bottom – not a thin metal one or your toffee will burn!) and melt over medium heat, stirring throughout.
- When ingredients are completely melted, continuously stir and gradually increase heat to medium-high. Keep stirring, stirring, stirring for 9-15 minutes until the toffee is a golden brown color (similar to the color of the raw almonds). As soon as it reaches that color, quickly pour over almonds in your prepared pan.
- Allow to cool for about 2-3 minutes, then sprinkle with chocolate chips. Allow to sit for another couple of minutes so the chocolate chips will melt, then spread over the toffee. Sprinkle with chopped pecans and allow to cool completely. (If you put the pan in the fridge it will speed up the process a bit).
- After toffee and chocolate and completely cooled, use a butter knife to break apart the toffee. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Thank you. GreAt directions and yummy rEcipe
Food LOOKS Delicious
This stuff is wonderful and so easy! I was always afraid to try make toffee because of using a candy thermometer . I cooked this 9 minutes and it was perfect! Thank you for the recipe and the 10 pounds i will gain eating it. lol
Hi Tiffany so i’ve trIed making It and it never turned an almond color for me. I did 15 minutes and even after cooling in the fridge it was soft once left out for a few mintues. Can you tell me what went wrong?
Hi Angie- I wonder if you didn’t have it at a high enough temp? I have a video of the recipe- I suggest that you watch that to help make sure that you are stirring the toffee over medium-high heat, it’s very hot and should be bubbling. Are you using a gas burner or electric? If you are using electric, it tends to shut off for periods of time and cool down before turning back on. You may need to turn up the heat every time it shuts off to keep the heat on-going. I hope that some of this helps for you!
I followed your advice and cooked the toffee until it was the color of a caramel and it is perfect! Thank you for your reply. I used semi sweet chocolate chips, about 1/2 cut more almonds and double the pecans on top. Our family enjoys the nuts and dark chocolate. You can feel safe with this recipe! I may make some to give as gifts at christmas. I could not type without all caps for some reason. 😀