just toffee, and for brittle

Toffee is a candy building-block that is super easy to make. You can enjoy this just toffee as-is, make it into a Brittle, or use the finished product as an added ingredient to other desserts, like the Chocolate Toffee Crunch Cookies that I’ll be sharing next, in my handcrafted toffee recipe series. This is a naturally gluten free food, and can be made vegan.

Just Toffee

Mili Takashima

This simple, candy building-block is super easy to make. You can enjoy as-is, make it into a Brittle, or use the finished product as an added ingredient to other desserts. This is a naturally gluten free food, and I have notes here to make it vegan.

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Equipment

• cookie sheet, parchment paper or silpat mat, saucepan, spatula, candy thermometer

Ingredients

  

in a saucepan

• 1/2 cup salted butter, cut into pats (one stick or 8 tablespoons) To make this recipe vegan, simply switch the butter used to vegan butter. I typically use Earth Balance because it has very similar fat content to real butter.
• 2 tablespoons filtered water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar I tend to use dark, but any variety will work well.

set aside

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

optional additions to lay down before the toffee is poured

• coarse salt
• For brittle, try adding your favorites. My suggestions: sesame seeds, dried fruits, or if you can enjoy nuts, sprinkle cashews, slivered almonds or anything you wish.

Instructions

 

• Prepare a cookie sheet with a silpat mat or parchment paper. If you are adding any ingredients to the toffee, sprinkle them onto the mat so that it is ready to go when the toffee is ready to be poured.
• In a saucepan, place pats of butter, water, granulated sugar, brown sugar.
  
• Place at medium heat and stir to melt.
  
• When all ingredients are melted, place a candy thermometer into the batch. You are looking for the temperature to reach 300 degrees Fahrenheit or 150 degrees Celsius.
  
• It will be bubbly and you'll stir every now and then. Once it hits temperature remove from heat.
  
• Remove the thermometer. Stir in the baking soda and pure vanilla extract.
  
• Once these ingredients have been mixed well, the texture will change to smooth with lots of air developed inside from the baking soda.
  
• Pour it all onto the prepared cookie sheet.
  
• Smooth it out. If you prefer thick toffee, do not smooth. I do this so that it's easier to bite and better to handle on it's own and inside other desserts.
  
• Once you have smoothed out the batch, it should take up most of the cookie sheet. Allow it to cool completely before handling it. Once it has cooled/dried/set, you can break up the candy with your hands.
  

It doesn’t take long for the toffee to be handled. It is much easier to work with after 15-20 minutes, when it has completely set, hardened and cooled. Once that process is complete – whether you made brittle with additional ingredients that you have laid down before pouring the candy, or you are setting this aside to add into another dessert – you can break up the pieces by hand, or you can lift the piece from the cookie sheet and drop it so that it breaks up on it’s own.

If you’d like to bring chocolate into the picture, try my recipe for Chocolate-Toffee Bark. It’s the same general idea, with only one additional step.

If you’re interested in placing this into amazing treat into next level cookies, please see my post for Chocolate Toffee Crunch Cookies.

Whatever you decide to do with your finished product, you’re going to love it! Enjoy this precious time, and be on the look out for my final recipe within this series, where we’ll make the best chocolate chip cookies you’ll sink your mouth into!