How to Make Toffee

Buttery, crunchy, delicious toffee is a popular candy that requires only a few ingredients to make.http://candy.about.com/od/candyglossary/g/def_toffee.htm Learning how to make toffee is not overly challenging, but it does require about thirty minutes to complete. Patience and a good candy thermometer are essential for best results.

Toffee is similar to hard caramel in texture and production, but the addition of butter to the ingredients changes the taste of the final product. The butter does increase the cooking time of the toffee, but the extra time creates a delicious product that makes a great snack or a fun gift at the holidays. Try creating a batch of toffee the next time you want to show your appreciation to someone. Since toffee is so rich, a few pieces are more than enough, so you can get quite a number of servings out of just one batch.

Preparing toffee can be completed in a few easy steps. Simply heat butter and sugar until a smooth and gooey consistency forms, then carefully pour the mixture into a greased dish. Allow the candy to cool, then break into pieces and enjoy. The process does not have to end there as there are numerous variations to the recipe to dress up the already sweet and popular candy. A number of secondary flavors can be added to the hot toffee mixture, such as chocolate chips. Similarly, after the toffee cools, melted chocolate and nuts can be added on top.http://www.cookingforengineers.com/recipe/159/English-Toffee

• A six-quart stockpot with a heavy bottom is the optimal pot to use when making toffee.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzCLQSUX3ho A heavy-bottom pot helps to ensure even heating across the pot, avoiding hot spots that could burn the toffee. You'll also need a candy thermometer which can be found in many grocery stores or food specialty stores.

Ingredients

1. 2 cups salted butter
2. 2 cups sugar

Equipment

1. 1 large stockpan with a heavy bottom
2. 1 wooden spoon or heat-proof plastic spatual
3. 1 candy thermometerhttp://www.wisdomthermometer.com/UpImgnews/Candy%20Thermometer.JPG
4. 1 cookie sheet or jellyroll pan with a lip around the edge
5. 1 heavy metal spoon or butter knife
6. 1 flat-bottomed drinking glass

This step will take about twenty minutes, mainly because butter has a high water content which needs to be boiled away.http://www.cookingforengineers.com/recipe/159/English-Toffee Patience and time are needed to make a proper batch of toffee candy.http://www.baking911.com/candy/toffee.htm It is vital that you stir the toffee constantly as it is cooking. Be careful not to hit the candy thermometer as it may shatter.

1. Put butter and sugar into the stockpot.
2. Mix together over medium to medium-low heat until the butter has melted and combined with the sugar.
3. Clip the candy thermometer onto the pot. The tip of the thermometer must touch the toffee; however, it must not touch the bottom of the pan.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzCLQSUX3ho Doing so will not let you accurately judge the candy's temperature.
4. Stir the toffee over medium or medium-low heat and let it cook. As the toffee heats up, it will bubble, foam, and eventually turn brown.
5. The toffee will eventually reach the hard crack stage.http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/sugar-stages.html It needs to be heated to just under 300 degrees Fahrenheit.http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Best-Toffee-Ever---Super-Easy/Detail.aspx
6. When the toffee reaches just under 300 F and has turned light brown, it is done cooking.

At this stage, the toffee is extremely hot and glutinous. Be particularly careful when handling it because it can burn your skin

1. Pour the toffee into a well-greased cookie sheet.
2. With the back of the spoon or spatula, gently spread it around the cookie sheet until it is even across the pan. A greased flat-bottom drinking glass can also be used to smooth and level the candy.
3. Let the toffee cool in the pan for an hour.

Toffee is a hard candy, so it is broken up into pieces instead of cut or sliced. Use the end of a heavy spoon or butter knife to break it up.

1. Cover toffee with a clean dish towel.
2. Stretch the dish towel tightly over the cookie sheet.
3. Hold ends of towel with both hands, one on each end of the sheet.
4. Flip the cookie sheet over and lay toffee on the counter.
5. If the toffee is still attached to the pan, hit the pan on the counter until the toffee comes loose.
6. Break the toffee into pieces, starting at the center and working outwards.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzCLQSUX3ho
7. For best results, store toffee in the fridge.http://www.cookingforengineers.com/recipe/159/English-Toffee