Sweetness

Butter Crunch Toffee

I am not sure what has come over me, but lately I have had the urge to start trying some new things in the kitchen. I should have started with something a little less "involved" than candy making. After about an hour and 1/2 of work, and around 14 hours of waiting...here is the result!

For my first attempt....I am quite proud! It actually tastes good too!

The Recipe:

2 cups (8 ounces) toasted almonds or hazelnuts, chopped between 'fine' and 'coarse'
2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted or unsalted butter, cut into pieces (use real butter)
a nice, big pinch of salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar 
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped, or 1 cup chocolate chips

optional: Ground cocoa nibs and fleur de seln (did not know what this was, so I did not use it)

1. Lightly oil a baking sheet with an unflavored vegetable oil.
2. Sprinkle half the nuts into a rectangle about 8' x 10" on the baking sheet.
3. In a medium heavy-duty saucepan fitted with a candy thermometer, heat the water, butter, salt, and both sugars. Cook, stirring as little as possible, until the thermometer reads 300 F degrees. Have the vanilla and baking soda handy. Keep an eye on it especially after it reaches about 280 degrees. You don't want the mixture to scorch. 
4. Immediately remove from heat and stir in the baking soda and vanilla.
5. Quickly pour the mixture over the nuts on the baking sheet. Try to pour the mixture so it forms a relatively even layer. (If necessary, gently but quickly spread with a spatula, but don't overwork it.)
5. Strew the chocolate pieces over the top and let stand 2 minutes, then spread in an even layer. Let it sit ( I just put in the oven overnight) for up to 24 hours, until the candy/chocolate hardens. Enjoy!

A few tips....It doesn't always work out the way you plan, candy can be quite fickle (from what I read.) Use a heavy duty sauce pan, and use a wooden spoon when you stir it. The mixture sticks too much to a metal spoon. If you don't have a candy thermometer I bought one from Walmart for like $3. Just make sure to test the accuracy of it before you use it for candy. To test, bring water to a steady boil,  it should read 212 degrees. It not, note the difference and make sure to add that into your temperature for the candy. 

Just for fun!