Homemade Toffee Recipe

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My Homemade Toffee Recipe with almonds is my version of English Toffee. It’s crunchy and sweet and the caramel toffee flavor is so good! Whenever I make this no one can stop eating it – if you like a Heath bar this is the recipe for you!

A stack of toffee pieces topped with chocolate and crushed nuts is placed on a gray surface. More toffee pieces are blurred in the background, giving a delicious and homemade dessert vibe.

This is seriously the BEST Toffee Recipe EVER! My husband doesn’t eat much dessert but toffee is his love language – he can’t ever get enough. While making candy can seem daunting, starting with homemade toffee is a great way to start because it’s so easy. This is my go-to butter toffee recipe perfect for holidays or just because you’re craving it!

Ingredients Needed

Butter: I always use unsalted butter but you can use salted butter, just reduce the added salt to a pinch.
Sugar: Granulated sugar is traditional in English toffee
Water and Light corn syrup are required for the chemistry of the toffee to work
Chocolate chips: to coat the toffee in chocolate at the end – you can use semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips.
Chopped almonds: optional for topping. You can also use chopped pecans or walnuts.

A pot with green liquid is on an induction cooktop, displaying P03 on the control panel, indicating a low-temperature setting. The cooktop is black with red digital numbers.

A baking tray lined with aluminum foil is filled with a smooth layer of caramel. The caramel has a glossy finish and is cooling on a white countertop.

How to make Homemade English Toffee

Line a 9×13” pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. You can also use parchment paper, if you prefer. It’s important to have all your ingredients and tools ready when you start making candy because it’s fast work.

Melt butter in a 2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat. Use a pastry brush to brush some of the butter up the sides of the pan to prevent crystallization. Stir in sugar, water, and corn syrup. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Once sugar is dissolved, place a candy thermometer in your pan and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the candy thermometer reaches 290°F (this is soft-crack stage). This will take from 10-14 minutes, depending on your stove. Watch the heat and adjust it as necessary to keep the boiling uniform throughout cooking. Don’t walk away from the stove. Once the temperature is reached stir in the salt and vanilla extract and pour mixture into prepared baking dish.
Sprinkle with a layer of chocolate chips. Let them sit for about 2 minutes then use a knife or offset spatula to spread the chocolate evenly. Sprinkle nuts on top of the melted chocolate.
Let sit at room temperature about 3 hours or until set. Remove toffee from baking sheet using foil, remove the foil and then break into pieces.

A white lace-edged plate piled with pieces of chocolate toffee, topped with chopped nuts. Additional pieces of toffee are scattered around the plate on a gray surface.

Expert Tips

Yes, you need a candy thermometer! Candy making requires precision with temperature, and a candy thermometer takes all of the guess work out.
Change up the nuts – I love it topped with almonds or use chopped toasted pecans, walnuts, peanuts, or skip the nuts!
Have everything prepped and ready to go – the recipe moves fast, and having everything ready will make it much more manageable.
Add a drizzle of melted white chocolate or almond bark over the top if you’re feeling fancy. Just melt the chocolate in the microwave and then use a spoon to drizzle it over the top of the toffee. You can even drizzle it with peanut butter!

FAQs

What’s the difference between English Toffee and this toffee recipe?

Honestly it’s basically the same except that I don’t completely dip the candy in chocolate. To make life easier, I just spread the chocolate on top.