Looking for a Really Good Toffee Recipe

You got it! This is a really good toffee recipe! Don't be scared of a candy thermometer, you can't make good toffee without one (unless you use the glass of water method which is much less precise!) This is actually very easy to make.

Toffee

2 c butter (1 lb)
1/2 c water
1/4 c light corn syrup
2 1/2 c sugar

Butter a 12x18" baking sheet.
In a heavy 3qt saucepan combine butter, water, corn syrup & sugar. Place over high heat and stir with a wooden spoon until mixture comes to a boil. Continue stirring until it begins to thicken. Reduce heat to low and stop stirring. Clip on candy thermometer and cook syrup to 300 degrees (no matter how it looks). Don't let the thermometer touch the bottom of pan. Remove from heat and pour into baking sheet. Let cool 1 hour.
At that point, if desired, melt 1 lb milk chocolate and spread over top of toffee then sprinkle warm chocolate with 4 c chopped nuts (sliced or slivered almonds, chopped pecans or walnuts). Press lightly so nuts adhere. Allow to stand room temp for 24 hours. Break into irregular pieces and store in an airtight container. Makes 4-5 lbs (about 150 pieces).
If you run into the problem of separation during cooking, add about 1/2 c hot water and stir well. This will save your batch of toffee. Your neighbors are going to LOVE you!

This is our favorite recipe for toffee. It is fabulous and everyone loves it! Plus it is pretty easy.

English Toffee

3 Tbsp vegetable oil (or unsalted butter, melted)
1 ¼ Cup Unsalted Butter
1 Cup Sugar
¼ Cup Water
½ tsp Salt
2 ½ Cups Sliced Almonds, finely chopped
12 oz Bittersweet Chocolate, finely chopped
Coat rolling pin, pizza wheel and marble slab with vegetable oil. Cut the butter into a few pieces and melt in a 3 quart saucepan over low heat. Add the sugar, water and the salt; increase the heat to medium and cook the mixture until it registers 254˚F, stirring constantly. Add ½ cup of the almonds and continue cooking until the mixture becomes golden brown and registers 299˚F, stirring constantly.
Remove the pan from the heat and carefully pour the mixture onto the oiled board. With the oiled rolling pin quickly spread out the mixture very thin. It is necessary to work fast because the mixture sets up rapidly and becomes too brittle to cut. While still warm, with the pizza wheel, score the candy into desired sizes; let cool until room temperature (about 30 minutes).
Melt and temper the chocolate. Either dip the toffee in the chocolate immediately or store it in a tightly covered container at room temperature. If left exposed to the air the toffee with absorb moisture and become soft.
Line 3 baking sheets with waxed paper. Sprinkle the remaining 2 cups of almonds on one of the baking sheets. Dip a toffee piece into the chocolate, coating it completely and shaking off the excess, and then coat with the chopped almonds. Leave at room temperature to set or place in the fridge for 15 minutes to set up.
Store toffee in an air-tight container between pieces of tin-foil at room temperature.

#1) Toffe does take a lot of butter. Its that nature of the candy. #2) Don't dis the recipes that require saltines until you're tried them. I promise you'll never ever taste the crackers. My favorite crhistmas candy recipe is called Cracker Toffee...

1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
Chocolate chips
nuts (options)

cover a jelly roll pan with saltine crackers. Melt butter in sauce pan. add sugar. boil together until is begins to look frothy. Continue to boil for 3 minutes after it starts looking frothy. When 3 minutes are up pour over the crackers and spread. Bake for 5 minutes in a preheated 375* oven. WHen out of the oven sprinkle with chocolate chips and allow them to soften. When soft, spread the chocolate into an even layer. Sprinkle with nuts, if desired.

It looks like you've gotten 4 good recipes so far but since I started experimenting with candy making I thought I would throw this recipe out there. Its from the "New Betty Crocker Cookbook".

1 cup pecans (chopped)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup stick butter
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Grease 9x9x2 pan.
Spread nuts in the pan. Heat brown sugar and butter to boiling in a 1 1/2 quart saucepan over medium heat stirring constantly. Boil for 7 minutes, stirring constantly.

Immediately spread over pecans. Sprinkly with chocolate chips and cover with a plate or pan to help the steam melt the chocolate. After about a minute, spread melted chocolate over the toffee. Break into pieces when cooled.

I like this recipe because you don't have to use a thermometor, you just go by time. Its really good and really easy.

Best of luck,
M.

You've got some decent recipies so far. The one with corn syrup is the same recipie that I use. Since you live at high-altitude you will want to use that one -- toffee won't work at high altitude unless you have the corn syrup in it (I know -- I live even higher than you and had to experiment with recipies until I found the corn syrup one).
Good luck!

You're cheating yourself if you don't at least try the saltine toffee-it's really very good! I've never tried it w/Ritz. We had a customer bring us a pile of the saltine stuff one year-the next time we saw her, we asked for the recipe. Even if you don't give it out, try it-I bet it'll surprise you.
My toffee recipe is amazing! It came from my sister-in-law's cookbook (she's got 30, not sure which one, sorry) & the only part I don't like is that it takes a long time for me to cook it. I burned a batch once though & I've always gone w/a lower temp for a longer time to cook so that's probably part of it.
2 c sugar
1/2 lb (2 sticks) UNSALTED butter
3 Tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c pecans (optional)
1-2 c chocolate chips (optional)
Mix well & cook on med heat to 300 deg (til brown), about 10-15 minutes. Stir continually. Pour into buttered pan. Top with chocolate chips & spread.

I don't do nuts in it & I only put chocolate on half of the pan (I just shake some chips out of the bag, spread them & add more if need be). We just moved to GA & my toffee is now soft-I think it's because I cooled it on the back porch like I used to in CO (never had a problem w/softness there). Store in an airtight container.
I've never used corn syrup when making toffee either in Denver or Colorado Springs, I've use this recipe both places.

I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com, my go to site for anything I want to make.I have never been disappointed with any recipes I have tried from this site.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Best-Toffee-Ever---Super-Eas...

This is the recipe I always make and have never heard a complaint about it. I also will sometimes use hazelnuts instead of the almonds or pecans.

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/candy/toffee-butter-crunch/