Best Homemade Toffee Recipe (2024)

This is the BEST Homemade Toffee and such an easy recipe to make! With only four simple ingredients, this delicious buttery toffee is a much-loved candy to make often!

Best Homemade Toffee Recipe (1)

The holidays and making this easy, delicious Toffee recipe go hand-in-hand for me. Candy making in general is always something I do around the holidays – especially for Christmas! My Christmas candies always include so many delicious confections such as my Peppermint Bark, Divinity and this. But I don’t save this Toffee to make only during the holidays! It is perfect year-round and can be made with just a few ingredients. While it does have to set to harden, it only involves a few minutes of hands-on mixing time, so it’s no wonder that I make it often.

Toffee is really so easy to make once you figure out a couple of basics, that you can easily make a few batches within an hour or so! It makes delicious gifts to share with friends and family or to serve throughout the holiday season or anytime you wish!

Easy Toffee Recipe

Believe me when I say this though, this toffee is so scrumptious and tempting, you want to make this and then invite some friends over to enjoy. Or immediately wrap it into gift packages. Otherwise, you just may be tempted to eat it all yourself. Promise.

You’ll be shocked at how easy this toffee recipe is to make! With four simple ingredients that you probably have on hand right now, you could really have a batch made soon for sampling.

Here’s how I make it.

How to Make Toffee

You’ll need:

  • Roasted Pecans (optional)
  • Brown Sugar
  • Butter
  • Chocolate Chips

Step by Step Instructions

  1. Prep. To make this Easy Toffee Recipe, first line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, such as a Silpat. If you are using nuts, sprinkle 1/2 cup roasted pecans on top and spread evenly.
  2. Heat. Then melt brown sugar and butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil until a candy thermometer reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Then immediately remove from heat and pour over roasted nuts.
  3. Spread. Top with chocolate chips and allow chips to begin melting. Spread chocolate evenly over top of toffee with a silicone spatula.
  4. Cool. Allow to cool for about five minutes before addingremaining roasted pecans. If omitting the roasted pecans from your recipe, consider sprinkling the top of the chocolate with sea salt. Allow toffee to cool completely to harden – overnight onthe counter or for about 20 minutes in the freezer.
  5. Serve. Lift hardened toffee off of the parchment paper or Silpat baking mat and break into candy pieces.

For Thicker Toffee Pieces

If you want the thicker toffee pieces like I have shared in my pictures, you will line a 7 x 11 inch casserole dish with parchment paper rather than using a baking sheet. The freezing time increases to 30 minutes if you use that method to harden the toffee.

Do You Have to Use Nuts in the Toffee?

You don’t have to use nuts if you don’t want. But…

I use roasted pecans in my toffee recipe, but you could easily substitute another roasted nut or just completely omit the nuts if you prefer. If you do omit the nuts though, do me a favor and add a heavy sprinkle of sea salt on top of the melted chocolate as it begins to firm up. You really do need that little bit of salty-sweet combination that comes from this toffee. I promise you’ll be glad you did.

Toffee Makes Great Gifts!

And since I’m full of promises today, here is my third one…If you give this toffee as presents during the holidays, you will absolutely without a doubt be asked for the recipe and have folks singing your praises. Promise.

How to Make Ahead, Store and Freeze Toffee

This toffee makes the perfect make ahead recipe!

Make Ahead

Prepare as directed and store in an airtight container.

Store

Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Freeze

You can also easily freeze toffee. Freeze in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.

More Favorite Candy Recipes

Some of these candies are traditional holiday favorites, but all are so delicious and can be enjoyed anytime!

Fudge

Peanut Brittle

Oreo Truffles

Homemade Marshmallows

Chocolate Truffles

Saltine Cracker Toffee

Here’s my favorite toffee recipe of all time. I hope you make it soon!

Best Homemade Toffee Recipe (2)

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Toffee Recipe

Robyn Stone

4.86 from 14 votes

This is the BEST Homemade Toffee and such an easy recipe to make! With only four simple ingredients, this delicious buttery toffee is a much-loved candy to make often!

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Freezing Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 24

Ingredients

  • 1 cup roasted pecans, divided (optional)
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat, such as a Silpat. If using nuts, sprinkle 1/2 cup roasted pecans on top and spread evenly.

  • Using a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, melt brown sugar and butter, stirring constantly. Boil until a candy thermometer reaches 300º F. Immediately remove from heat and pour over roasted nuts. Top with chocolate chips and allow chips to begin melting. Spread chocolate evenly over top of toffee with a silicon spatula. Allow to cool for about five minutes before adding remaining roasted pecans.

  • If omitting the roasted pecans from your recipe, consider sprinkling top of chocolate with sea salt.

  • Allow to cool completely to harden – overnight on counter or about 20 minutes in the freezer. Lift hardened toffee off parchment paper or silpat and break into candy pieces.

  • Optional: for thicker toffee pieces (as pictured), I line a 7×11 casserole dish with parchment paper rather than using a baking sheet. Freezing time increases to 30 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 168kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 21mg | Sodium: 75mg | Potassium: 31mg | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 255IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 0.3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Enjoy!
Robyn xo

From the Add a Pinch recipe archives. Originally published 2012.

Categorized as:30 Minutes or Less Recipes, All Recipes, Bars, By Cooking Style, Candy, Christmas Recipes, Cooking, Dessert Recipes, Holiday and Occasion Recipes, No Bake, Recipes, Simple Recipes, Southern Favorites, Thanksgiving Recipes

Welcome to Add A Pinch

About Robyn

Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

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Best Homemade Toffee Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between English toffee and regular toffee? ›

English Toffee is a nationwide favorite that is easily made with only a few ingredients. The difference between regular toffee and English Toffee is one important ingredient – butter! I make English Toffee throughout the year for special occasions and it's always a big hit.

Is light or dark brown sugar better for toffee? ›

Taste is obvious: sweets made with dark brown sugar will have a slightly deeper flavor with those notes of caramel and toffee I mentioned.

Which is the best toffee in the world? ›

Lotte Coffy Bite Toffee

This is the best toffee in the world that has a rich flavor of coffee.

Should you stir toffee while cooking? ›

You can stir the mixture while the sugar is dissolving – but once it has started to boil, stop stirring. Instead, tilt and swirl the pan. Make sure your tin is prepared and sitting on a board or damp cloth before you start. Once you pour the hot toffee into the tin, it will heat up quickly.

Why does the butter separate when making English toffee? ›

If the butterfat separates out then usually this is due to the mixture being either heated or cooled too quickly, which "shocks" the mixture and causes the fat to separate out. It can also be caused by the mixture being heated unevenly (if the pan has a thin base and has hot spots).

Are taffy and toffee the same thing? ›

Historically, taffy has been considered an American term while toffee is the term used by the British. Those studying the history of the two believe that both gained popularity during the 19th century.

Why is my toffee chewy and not crunchy? ›

Low and slow

Simmering the syrup for English toffee to the requisite 300°F temperature can (and should) be a slow process — up to 20 minutes or so. Don't hurry this gradual transformation; syrup that doesn't reach 300°F, or close to it, will make candy with timid flavor and chewy (not crunchy) texture.

Why do you put baking soda in toffee? ›

Brittles and toffees accumulate small amounts of acid from the browning reactions that occur during cooking. This is one reason why the baking soda is added at the end of cooking. The soda reacts with the acid to make bubbles, and the syrup foams.

What is the best pan for making toffee? ›

I always use a stainless pot – I wouldn't recommend pots with nonstick coating. Basically, a heavy-bottom is a very admirable quality here. 2) Don't stir constantly. Unlike other homemade candy and many caramel recipes that require constant stirring, toffee is different.

Who is the king of toffee? ›

By 1896, Mackintosh was calling himself the "Toffee King" and his product "The King of All the Toffees".

What is toffee called in America? ›

The English toffee eaten with regularity in America is also called buttercrunch. What's the difference? Primarily, the difference rests in the ingredients. Toffee in Britain is made with brown sugar, whereas buttercrunch is made with white granulated sugar.

What country makes the best toffee? ›

From humble beginnings in 1894, Walker's Nonsuch is one of England's finest and oldest makers of traditional toffee. At the heart of the family company lies quality and passion for just good ingredients like whole milk and butter.

What exactly is English toffee? ›

There are many types of candy, both here in the U.S. and across the pond in the British Isles, referred to as toffee. In America, English toffee usually refers to a candy made with slow-cooked sugar and butter, forming a brittle, which is then coated in chocolate and nuts.

Is English toffee same as butterscotch? ›

Toffee vs Butterscotch

While butterscotch is cooked to a soft-crack stage, toffee is produced by allowing that same butter and brown sugar mixture to reach the hard-crack stage. Butterscotch tends to be chewy and pliable; toffee is brittle and more breakable.

Is English toffee like butterscotch? ›

Yes, butterscotch and toffee are made up of the exact same ingredients: Butter and sugar. However, butter toffee contains the addition of cream (Yes, this is confusing). The only remarkable difference between butterscotch and toffee is their texture and sugar content.

Why is it called English toffee? ›

The name “English toffee” comes from the crunchy “toff” sound the candy makes when you bite into it. As the candy became popular, shops began selling it under the name “English toffee” or sometimes just “toffee.”

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