This Easy English Toffee Candy is made from simple ingredients that are easy to obtain. Most cooks will have butter and sugar on hand but might have to shop for semi-sweet chips and almond slivers. You can also use other bits and pieces for the topping which we will include other suggestions after the recipe.
I had to borrow a candy thermometer since it has been a while since I’ve made this sugary treat. Next time, I will have these notes to refer to and won’t have to use one. I will tell you a good trick to tell when it’s ready below.
It’s hard to clip the thermometer on the inside of the pan to get a constant reading and be able to stir the butter and sugar off the sides to keep it all moving. So having a digital instant read thermometer might be a better choice when making this easy English toffee candy recipe. The mixture has to heat to over 285 degrees but not get over 300 degrees to be perfect. I like it right at 290 degrees. It seems to melt in your mouth when heated to that temperature. It makes it hard to hold your hand over the pan for very long to get an accurate reading.
Easy English Toffee Candy Recipe
Ingredients for Easy English Toffee:
- 1 pound of butter (4 sticks or 2 cups)
- 1 pound of sugar (16 ounces or 2 cups)
That’s it, just 2 ingredients to make the base of the toffee.
Ingredients for the Easy English Toffee Candy topping:
- 2 cups chocolate chips (semi-sweet or whatever flavor you like)
- 1 cup of slivered almonds, slightly chopped.
The almonds in the topping can be swapped out for just about anything you have on hand. We have used:
- chopped pretzels
- mini m&ms
- chopped m&m candy pieces
- Himalayan Salt
- crushed peppermint candies
- other nuts chopped fine
- coconut flakes
- the possibilities are endless
Alternatively, you can enjoy the Easy English Toffee Candy with no toppings at all or just simply the layer of chocolate melted on top. It is our of this world good! Once you see how easy it is to make this candy, you will wonder why you didn’t try it sooner.
How to Cook the Easy English Toffee Candy
- Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan that can take a high heat. I used my 8 quart stainless stockpot with the heavy bottom and a large spoonula type utensil. See how long these are? If you used a smaller pan, you could use a normal sized one. I had to use my large pan because it was the only one with a heavy enough bottom.
- Line your baking trays with parchment paper. This will make two large pans (cookie sheet sized) of toffee.
If you like your toffee thinner, just spread it out into a bigger area. If you like a thicker toffee bar type candy, use smaller pans.
- Add the sugar and cook over medium high heat until it comes to a boil, stirring often.
- Once boiling, stir constantly being sure to scrape down the sides and keep the bottom moving so it cooks evenly.
- Heat to at least 285 degrees and no more than 300 degrees. (See tricks below)
- Pour into your lined pans and spread quickly.
- Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the hot toffee.
- Wait 1 minute and then spread the chocolate into an even layer
- Add almonds (or any toppings) and use a clean spoon or spatula to press them into the chocolate a bit.
- Cool slightly before chilling in fridge.
- Once completely cooled in the refrigerator, take it out of the pan and break the English Toffee Candy into the sized pieces you want. The parchment paper helps to keep it off your hands while you break it up.
Mary’s Notes on Cooking without a Thermometer
I will always use a candy thermometer if I have one available but with these tips, I think anyone can make this Easy English Toffee candy without one.
- When you first start cooking the butter and sugar, it is just the color of butter. It really won’t change at all until the mixture hits about 265 degrees. You will still see patches of the yellow butter color that you started with until it hits 285 degrees. The mixture changes as well. It starts to chase your spoon around the pan. You’ll know it when you see it.
- Once your mixture has no butter colored spots left and the spoon clears a spot in the pan when stirring, it’s ready to pour in the lined baking sheets.
Let us know in the comments if you have tried our Easy English Toffee Candy Recipe, we would love to hear from you!