Chocolate Toffee Bark
Homemade toffee and chocolate come together in a bark that you can have plain/as-is, or sprinkle in toppings to make it new and special every time. This is a naturally gluten free treat, and in the notes, I explain how to make it vegan.
Equipment
- stove top, saucepan, spatula, candy thermometer, slotted spatula, cookie sheet, parchment paper or silpat mat
Ingredients
in a saucepan
- 1/2 cup salted butter, cut into pats (one stick or 8 tablespoons) If you'd like a vegan dessert, substitute the butter for vegan butter
- 2 tablespoons filtered water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
set aside
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips I used 1/2 dark and 1/2 semi sweet Guittard brand chocolate chips. If you want this to be vegan, use vegan chocolate chips.
optional additions
- coarse salt
- chopped pretzels
- cacao nibs
- dried cherries, cranberries
- if you use nuts: chopped almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios
Instructions
prepare a cookie sheet
- Lay down parchment paper or a silpat mat and sprinkle down anything you want to add to the toffee. You'll be pouring the finished toffee here. For this recipe example, I laid down half with cacao nibs and the other half with chopped pretzels. I sprinkled coarse, Kosher salt over all of it.
make toffee
- in a saucepan, place butter, water and sugars
- set aside the baking soda and pure vanilla extract
- At medium heat, start to melt these ingredients in your pan.
- Place a candy thermometer into the mixture. You'll keep close and watch as the mixture comes to 300 degrees Fahrenheit or 150 degrees Celsius.
- As soon as it hits temperature, remove from heat.
- Stir in baking soda and vanilla
- The end result will be smooth and with a lot of air in it.
- Pour over ingredients.
- If plain, pour down directly onto the parchment paper in one pool of toffee.
- Cover the poured toffee with one cup of chocolate chips.
- Let the chocolate chips sit for two-five minutes.
- Use a slotted spatula spread-in the chocolate.
- Cover the toffee with the chocolate chips.
- Let the chocolate cool and set completely. It will be dry and crisp. This could take up to an hour or more, depending on the humidity in the room.
- Use your hands to break up the slab into pieces of bark. You are set! The chocolate is re-tempered and will not smudge. This dessert is basically candy, so it can be stored at room temperature, in a sealed container, for up to two weeks.
