Best-Ever Almond Toffee (Small Batch)
Best-Ever Small Batch Almond Toffee
Servings 10
Ingredients
- ¾ cup sliced almonds divided use
- 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch chunks (114 grams)
- ¼ cup warm water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 4-6 ounces good quality dark or milk chocolate chopped
Instructions
- Toast ¼ cup of the sliced almonds and set aside. You can toast in a toaster oven, a regular oven at 350 for about 6 minutes or briefly in a skillet. Set aside.
- Set the remaining half cup of sliced almonds next to the stove. Also, set the ¼ teaspoon of baking soda next to the stove so it will be ready to go.
- Line a rimmed sheet pan or jelly roll pan with parchment paper and set next to stove.
- Place butter, water and salt in a heavy bottomed 2 to 2 ½ quart saucepan and melt gently over low heat so that it doesn't separate. Remove from heat and add sugar. Stir until uniform. The goal is for all of these ingredients to be blended and at the same temperature before you begin the boil. This helps prevent separation. Set a deep fry thermometer in pan, being careful that bulb is not touching bottom of pan.
- Begin cooking mixture at a slow and steady boil, stirring once or twice until it reaches 240 degrees F. The heat you use will depend on your stove, just keep it at a controlled oil and make sure the heat is slowly rising. Don't rush it. It should take at least 10 minutes to get to 240.
- At 240 degrees, add the remaining ½ cup sliced almonds to sugar mixture. After adding almonds, stir constantly with a wooden spoon, keeping heat steady and rising, until mixture reaches 290 degrees F. Going from 240 to 290 should not take any longer than 13 minutes.
- When mixture reaches 290 degrees F (better a little above than below), immediately remove from heat and stir in baking soda. It will bubble a bit and the candy will develop air bubbles.
- Pour onto lined pan. The mixture should be kind of a bubbly blob at this point and if you are on track, the saucepan will be relatively clean after you've dumped the blob of candy onto the parchment. Mixture should begin to firm and butter may pool and separate, Do not pour off any excess butter if this happens, and don't panic if the toffee doesn't set immediately. If you cooked the toffee to 290, your candy should set. Sometimes it just takes longer.
- Scatter chopped chocolate across top of hot almond mixture and let chocolate melt into and over the candy as candy firms. Using back of a spoon, spread melted chocolate evenly over candy.
- Crush your toasted almonds and sprinkle over melted chocolate. Let candy cool for ½ hour at room temperature. Transfer to refrigerator or freezer and chill for about 1 hour to set the chocolate.
- When chocolate is set is set, lift candy from pan by grasping parchment. Break candy into large chunks.
- Makes about 10 ounces