Hazelnut Toffee
Toffee is one of my favorite candy treats. I love it in cookies and blondies and cupcakes. I also happen to love the flavor of it in my lattes. I posted a plain version several years ago, and that one is great for breaking up into tiny pieces for mixing into desserts. This version, studded with toasted hazelnuts, is best eaten on its own or broken up into larger pieces and mixed into ice cream (if you follow me on Instagram, you know where I’m going with this).
If you can make caramel, then you can make toffee. The process is similar – sugar is caramelized with butter and cooked until the mixture reaches the hard crack stage. Mix in some chopped nuts and cool for an hour. Boom. Homemade toffee. Wrap it up and give it to a friend, eat it on its own or mix it into your favorite ice cream. Whatever you do with it, you won’t be disappointed. Well, unless you give it all away.
- YIELD: about 4 cups chopped toffee
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup corn syrup
3 tablespoons water
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup skinned, toasted hazelnuts (or other nut)
- 1
Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with a nonstick baking mat, parchment or wax paper. If using parchment or wax paper, lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- 2
Combine the butter, sugar, corn syrup, water and salt in the medium saucepan and attach a candy thermometer. Place the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring frequently with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is dark amber and reaches 300ºF (the hard crack stage), 20-25 minutes.
- 3
As soon as the mixture reaches 300ºF, remove the pan from the heat and remove the thermometer. Stir in the hazelnuts and pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Use the spatula to spread it out to an even thickness (about ¼-inch).
Allow the mixture to cool at room temperature for about an hour. Break up the toffee into large chunks and store in an airtight container at room temperature. It will keep a couple weeks, but you won’t need it to last that long. Trust me.
OMG – that looks like it would melt in my mouth.
I accept postal deliveries of toffee, by the way.
Just sayin’
I can only make caramel about half the time, so I wonder what my success rate will be with this. I love finding new toppings for ice cream! Can’t wait to see what you paired it with!