This is our favorite time of year. The weather is getting colder, and we’re happily preparing all of our favorite holiday treats. Our kids certainly didn’t complain because there was an endless supply of cookies, fudge, caramel and toffee. There aren’t enough words to adequately describe how much we love toffee. With or without nuts and chocolate chips, it doesn’t matter. We could eat this all day, every day for the rest of our lives. While it might not be the best idea for a number of reasons, you’d be hard-pressed to convince us to let down the taffy in the last few months of the year. We will savor every bite and share our love of toffee with everyone we know!
What is English Toffee?
Toffee has different names in different countries. In the United States, most taffy is known as English taffy. Confusingly, however, traditional English toffee does not contain any nuts, while American English toffee contains a variety of nuts. The moral of the story is to always check the toffee label to make sure you’re getting the toffee you want.
Nuts in Quick and Easy Toffee:
Nuts are completely optional in this recipe, but we highly recommend them. Whether you bake them in the oven or eat them raw, they are absolutely delicious and add an amazing crunch to your toffee. You can leave them whole or roughly chop them.
cooking stage:
There are set temperature stages in candy making that represent the texture of the finished product, depending on the type of candy you’re making. Generally speaking, the lower the temperature, the softer; the higher the temperature, the harder and more brittle. In this recipe, we’re looking for our finished product to reach the hard cracking stage of 290-300 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cooking Tips:
Make sure your pan is prepped and everything is ready before you start making the toffee. Once your toffee reaches the right temperature, you need to remove it from the heat immediately so it doesn’t continue to cook and go through that hard-cracking stage.
What size pan should I use:
When the toffee cooks on the stove, it bubbles and expands rapidly. If your pan seems like it might be large enough to hold the toffee you’re making, consider making it a size up! There’s nothing more stressful than realizing your pan is too small and it starts bubbling!
Caramel vs. Toffee vs. Butterscotch:
Caramel, toffee, and butterscotch are very similar, but they do have some key differences. Caramel and butterscotch have added cream or milk and require different amounts of sugar. Both are heated to a lower temperature, making them softer or more runny, depending on how you use the finished product. Toffee is inherently hard and brittle, so cook it at a higher temperature.