Tuesday, December 20, 2011

How to Make Butter Almond Toffee

by Tam Linsey

My family Christmas tradition is to make candy. All kinds of candy. We make fudge, dip buttercream fillings into dark chocolate, and boil toffee. We give these as gifts to friends and family, but all the mess-ups are ours to devour. The kids tend to get a little "clumsy" toward the end if there doesn't appear to be enough in the pile for us to keep.

Oops! That's our bunny, Toffee. 
One of the family favorites I have to make a tray of just for us is Butter Almond Toffee. If you like Almond Roca, you will love this recipe, and it is super easy to make. The only "fancy" equipment necessary is a candy thermometer, available at most grocery stores for less than $5. Don't skimp on quality ingredients. Make sure everything is top-notch, and you will feel like you've gone to heaven. Even better, this recipe is gluten free!


Butter Almond Toffee

Ingredients (makes about 1 1/2 pounds of candy)
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped almonds
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons water
  • 1 Tablespoon corn syrup (light or dark)
  • 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate pieces (chocolate chips work fine)

Line a 13x9x2 inch pan with aluminum foil (this makes cleanup easier) and butter the bottom. Sprinkle the coarsely chopped almonds over the bottom.

In a heavy saucepan, melt the 1 cup of butter, then add the sugar, water, and corn syrup. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until it reaches 290 degrees F. Watch it VERY closely at 280 because the temperature goes up fast. Immediately pour the toffee into the pan with the almonds.

Wait 2 to 3 minutes and then sprinkle the chocolate pieces on top of the hardening candy.

After another 2 to 3 minutes, spread out the now melted chocolate in an even layer and then sprinkle the finely chopped almonds over the top.

Chill until firm, and break into bite-sized pieces.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. Happy Holidays!

© Tam Linsey, 2011. All rights reserved.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow! This sounds delicious and actually pretty easy to make. Thank you for sharing about your family's holiday traditions and particularly this delicious recipe. I'm going to give it a try.

Diana McCollum said...

Butter Almond Toffee sounds really yummy! And fairly easy to make. :)) It is fun doing things as a family, like making cookies and candy for the Holidays. When my kids were in grade school, they always wanted to make Popcorn balls and Christmas cookies.

Jingle bells and Merry Christmas to you!

Judith Ashley said...

The main problem with this recipe, Tam, is it's easy, fairly quick to make and so delicious it will be gone quickly -

I have a peanut brittle recipe that is quick, easy, and delicious. It's made in the microwave so I don't even need the candy thermometer. It's so good it's gone in a thrice.

Thanks for sharing your recipe. Butter toffee with almonds and chocolate is one of my favorites! Yes, I'm an almond roca fan!

Paty Jager said...

Sounds yummy! My claim to Christmas candy fame is fudge. Which this year, for some reason, hasn't been turning out.

Tam Linsey said...

Glad to share - and you are right, it IS TOO EASY! I haven't had popcorn balls in ages so might need to make those this weekend. As far as fudge goes, I used to make old fashioned fudge, too, but it started coming out wrong. So I quit. Maybe I'll give that a try this weekend again, too. Thanks for stopping by, all!