Every year around the holidays, my mom makes these giant batches of toffee and
gifts it out to friends. The recipe below is scaled-down, with hazelnuts instead of
the slivered almonds that my mom always uses.
This is one recipe where it is really helpful to have a candy thermometer, as you
want the caramel to reach 300˚F (known as the “hard crack” stage) before you
begin to cool it down.
Homemade Toffee with Chocolate and Hazelnuts
Every year around the holidays, my mom makes these giant batches of toffee andgifts it out to friends. The recipe below is scaled-down, with hazelnuts instead ofthe slivered almonds that my mom always uses.This is one recipe where it is really helpful to have a candy thermometer, as youwant the caramel to reach 300˚F (known as the “hard crack” stage) before youbegin to cool it down.
Ingredients
- ½ cup Hazelnuts (lightly toasted and roughly chopped)
- 8 Tbsp 1 stick salted butter, cut into small cubes
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp almond extract
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- A pinch or two of Maldon Sea Salt
Instructions
- Prepare a small 9-inch x 6-inch casserole dish by layering the inside with
- parchment paper, leaving enough parchment paper hanging over the sides of the
- dish so you can remove the toffee once it eventually cools.
- Set the prepared casserole dish aside for later.
- Lightly toast the hazelnuts in a dry sauté pan until they are aromatic but haven’t
- taken on much color.
- Remove the nuts from the heat, and roughly chop them up.
- Set the chopped hazelnuts aside for later.
- In a small sauce pot, add the cubed salted butter, along with the white granulated
- sugar.
- Increase the heat to medium, and cook while stirring until the sugar has fully
- melted.
- Insert a candy thermometer into the mixture, and continue to cook while stirring
- and scraping down the sides of the pot until the mixture reaches a temperature of
- 300˚F.
- *The caramel should be lightly golden in color at this point.
- Remove the caramel from the heat, and carefully pour in the vanilla and almond
- extract.
- *Note that your toffee mixture will make a loud noise when you add the liquid
- extracts—don’t be alarmed!
- Carefully pour the very hot caramel into your prepared casserole dish that is lined
- with parchment paper.
- Use an offset spatula to even out the caramel as best you can.
- Evenly sprinkle the chocolate chips across the surface of the hot caramel, and wait
- for two minutes for the chocolate chips to melt.
- Use a clean offset spatula to gently spread the melted chocolate chips over the
- surface of the caramel.
- *Don’t worry if you don’t get this perfect, it tastes great even if you have some
- sections with a bit more or less chocolate.
- Sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts on top of the melted chocolate, and gently press the
- nuts down into the chocolate so they stick to the surface.
- Sprinkle a dainty pinch of Maldon Sea Salt on top.
- Allow your Homemade Toffee with Chocolate and Hazelnuts to cool down in the
- fridge for at least three hours before removing from the casserole dish and breaking
- into pieces.
- Serve whenever you like, and store the remainder in an airtight container.
Notes
You can store this toffee for a few weeks and it will still taste great—just make
sure it’s in a covered container. It’s a nice quick dessert to have on hand that can
be made a week in advance of serving. I’ll often store leftovers in a plastic bag or Tupperware container in the freezer.
sure it’s in a covered container. It’s a nice quick dessert to have on hand that can
be made a week in advance of serving. I’ll often store leftovers in a plastic bag or Tupperware container in the freezer.