Traditional Almond English Toffee is easy to make & perfect for the holidays. If you need the perfect holiday food gift, make this English Toffee Recipe.
When you think of holiday classics, what comes to mind? When I was growing up things like fudge, sugar cookies & of course this Traditional Almond English Toffee were holiday staples.
My mom & grandmother were always in the kitchen making goodies to give to friends & neighbors this time of year & English toffee was a must. There’s something about it that just epitomizes the holiday season & I look forward to making it year after year.
Now, this looks harder than it is. The key is to stay focused & not get distracted.
I’m not kidding- set your phone across the room, don’t watch TV while you make this. Just stay focused for the 5 minutes while this cooks because you need to be stirring & watching for the color changes.
English Toffee Recipes
Now- things to watch out for… don’t cook too quickly. If you get impatient & turn up the heat it will cause the moisture in your butter to evaporate too quickly.
What’s wrong with that you might ask? Well, when the moisture evaporates too fast it causes separation & then you will have candy & then a layer of oily butter, instead of a nice beautiful layer of delicious toffee.
It still tastes sort of the same if you sop up all that butter, but it isn’t pretty & it makes your toffee crumbly instead of smooth.
Also – while it is important to keep the toffee moving while you cook it (always using a wooden spoon) don’t stir too vigorously.
Just lightly stir to keep it from burning to the bottom of the pan is good. Too much movement will also cause that dreaded separation.
Traditional English Toffee
Here are some commonly asked questions
Should I use salted or unsalted butter?
This is really a personal preference. If you are happy with just a little salt to cut the sweetness, then use salted butter.
I usually use whatever I have on hand & I really don’t pay too close attention to what butter I have. But I typically keep salted butter on hand & I love that little bit of extra salt with the sweet in this recipe.
These days with groceries being more difficult to find – I basically get whatever the store has available at the time and make it work.
english toffee candy
Can I use a sugar substitute?
I have not personally tried it, so I can’t say how that would turn out. But if you would like to try it, I suggest a product that offers a 1:1 swap. Please let me know how it turns out.
Can this toffee be frozen?
You bet – just make sure it has cooled before you break and place it in an airtight container. Freeze for up to 6 months.
HOW DO YOU MAKE Traditional Toffee?
- Line a baking sheet with foil. Spread out the almonds on the foil – set aside.
- Heat the butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until butter is melted.
- Increase the temp to med-high & stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil.
- Set the timer for 5 minutes & DO NOT let ANYTHING disturb you while you stir. You must keep stirring your butter/sugar mixture so that it does not burn. (*Note- you must also use a WOODEN spoon.)
- After about 2 minutes it should look yellow & after 4 minutes it should look mostly brown & frothy- keep going until it is the color of a brown paper bag & you have cooked it the full 5 minutes.
- Immediately pour the mixture onto your foil-lined baking sheet on top of the almonds. (You can lightly scrape the sides of the pan, but do not scrape the gunk on the bottom.)
- Move & tilt the baking sheet back & forth to even out the toffee over the almonds.
- I like to soak the saucepan with hot water & soap & set aside for easy cleaning later.
- Let the almonds/toffee cool. It should harden within a couple of minutes.
- Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring inbetween until smooth.
- Spread across the toffee with a small spatula.
- Sprinkle with slivered almonds if desired.
- After it has set up, break into pieces.
english toffee
To make Almond Toffee you will need…
- almonds
- butter – DO NOT use margarine
- brown sugar
- vanilla
- pinch of salt
Chocolate Topping
- milk chocolate chips
- slivered almonds opt
What is the best way to store leftover almond toffee?
Once the toffee has cooled and you have broken it into pieces you can transfer it to an airtight container. Keep at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
I don’t need a candy thermometer for this recipe?
Nope – just follow the instructions for watching the color and consistency and you should be fine – no thermometer required.
english toffee recipe
What is the difference between English toffee and butter toffee?
Traditional English toffee is actually made with brown sugar. Americanized toffee recipes (often called buttercrunch) are made with granulated sugar.
Should I use light or dark brown sugar?
Since I make my own brown sugar, I use light brown sugar for almost all of my recipes. But light or dark brown sugar will work in this recipe.
Want to know how to make your own brown sugar – visit my Homemade Brown Sugar post here.
Products I love when making toffee…
This toffee recipe is SUPER delicious – and if you’re like me this time of year, then you maybe already have some of these items on hand OR maybe you have never made homemade toffee before, & you might be a bit nervous – but you’re going to love it. I have made a list below of the things I absolutely can’t live without when it comes to making this toffee recipe.
- almonds
- brown sugar
- vanilla
- salt
- milk chocolate chips
- slivered almonds
- saucepan
- baking sheet
- foil
- wooden spoon
If you love this Traditional Toffee recipe, you’re going to love these other treats too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!
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Classic English Toffee
Ingredients
Toffee
- 4 cups almonds
- 1 cup butter DO NOT use margarine
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- pinch of salt
Chocolate Topping
- 3 cups milk chocolate chips
- ¼ cup slivered almonds opt
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with foil. Spread out the almonds on the foil – set aside.
- Heat the butter, sugar, vanilla and salt in a heavy sauce pan over medium heat until butter is melted.
- Increase the temp to med-high & stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil.
- Set the timer for 5 minutes & DO NOT let ANYTHING disturb you while you stir. You must keep stirring your butter/sugar mixture so that it does not burn. (*Note- you must also use a WOODEN spoon.)
- After about 2 minutes it should look yellow & after 4 minutes it should look mostly brown & frothy- keep going until it is the color of a brown paper bag & you have cooked it the full 5 minutes.
- Immediately pour the mixture onto your foil-lined baking sheet on top of the almonds. (You can lightly scrape the sides of the pan, but do not scrape the gunk on the bottom.)
- Move & tilt the baking sheet back & forth to even out the toffee over the almonds.
- I like to soak the saucepan with hot water & soap & set aside for easy cleaning later.
- Let the almonds/toffee cool. It should harden within a couple of minutes.
- Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring inbetween until smooth.
- Spread across the toffee with a small spatula.
- Sprinkle with slivered almonds if desired.
- After it has set up, break into pieces.
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate. Please double-check with your own dietary calculator for the best accuracy. We at Yummi Haus cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Tamar Strauss-Benjamin says
mm that sounds and looks perfect for the holiday season!
Marie Close says
The picture looks like the skin is left on the almonds. Sliced almonds in the instructions sounds like the skinned ones you buy already sliced. What is meant for this recipe?
Gina Kleinworth says
Regular almonds as you see in the pic & then slivered (cut) ones sprinkled on top (as shown) if desired. The slivered ones are not listed in the ingredients because they are optional.