0 In DIY/ Food

Easy Buttery English Toffee for Holiday Gifting

Deliciously decadent and easy buttery English toffee recipe perfect for Holiday gifting + tricks and tips for a foolproof batch.

Nine days to Christmas and the great cookie bake is on! I’m teaming up with a few designer blog friends for a holiday cookie recipe swap, so be sure to check out all the deliciously decadent recipes linked at the bottom of this post!

We’ve been making a baking list, and checking it twice. Among our family holiday cookie favorites are Spritz cookies, pepparkakor ginger snaps, wreath cookies, and homemade caramel. Homemade caramel is what we usually make for friends and neighbor gifts, but this year we’re taking our caramelized sugar one step further (or 50F degrees higher) and doing buttery English toffee.

close-up view of buttery English toffee, crunchy golden toffee topped with a layer of milk chocolate and sprinkled with crushed almond pieces, parchment paper in the background

buttery English toffee cut into triangle pieces and arranged on parchment paper on a dark wood table, crunchy golden toffee topped with a layer of milk chocolate and sprinkled with crushed almond pieces, bowl of melted chocolate, window pane, blue and white dish towel, small blue china plate with crushed almonds and mini wooden spoon

What Exactly is English Toffee?

What sets English toffee apart from American toffee or buttercrunch? In a word–almonds. English toffee, in addition to chocolate, usually incorporates almonds. In this case, we’re toasting our almonds prior to sprinkling them on top, which really maximizes their flavor.

Tips for Toffee Success

Candy-making sometimes gets a bad wrap for being hard to make, but if you’ve made caramel with me before (or even if you haven’t ), you’ve got this–I promise! The trick to success with English toffee is the little bit of light corn syrup that prevents the butter from separating as the temperature rises.

Also, you’ll definitely want to use a quality candy thermometer to know when the toffee has reached the ‘soft crack’ stage and is ready to remove from the heat. I’m linking the one I’ve used for years of candy-making and highly recommend.

buttery English toffee, crunchy golden toffee topped with a layer of milk chocolate and sprinkled with crushed almond pieces, sitting on a brass pedestal with parchment paper, carrara marble countertop, white subway tile backsplash, wood checker cutting board, and balsam fir branches in background

winter white kitchen view through doorway, scandinavian wood star in window, baking supplies on counter with festive red and white apron hanging on dishwasher handle, red persian rug on floor, Erin Francois in red sweater and jeans stirring glass bowl

glass pan lined with parchment paper with milk chocolate being spread over toffee with the back of a metal spoon, carrara mable counter top, candlelight, wood checker cutting board in the background

Ingredients:

2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 tbsp light corn syrup
3 tbsp water
1/4 cup whole raw almonds
1/2 to 3/4 cup milk chocolate chips depending on your chocolate-to-toffee-ratio preference

How to Make English Toffee:

First, toast the almonds in a small frying pan over low-medium heat, stirring every so often, until fragrant. Set almonds aside to let cool.
In the meantime, prepare your toffee dish, by lining a 9 x 13 glass baking dish with parchment paper. I like using parchment as it’s compostable, but tinfoil also works.

Note: A trick for getting parchment paper to lay nicely in the baking dish is to crumple it up in a ball first. Then flatten it out and press into your pan.

Once the almonds are relatively cool, pour into a resealable bag and break into small pieces by rolling a rolling pin or a glass jar over top. Set aside
Melt butter in a heavy bottomed, medium-sized pan over low heat. Use a wooden spoon for stirring to prevent your utensil from melting at the higher temperature we’re working with. Once butter is smooth, add sugar, salt, corn syrup and water, and adjust heat to medium-high. Stir continuously until the mixture begins to boil.
Once boiling, clip the candy thermometer on the side of the pan and continue stirring constantly until the candy thermometer reads 290 degrees F (about 30 minutes).
Remove from heat and immediately pour the toffee mixture into your prepared glass dish. You may want to tap the glass pan on the counter a few times to pop any air bubbles. Let toffee cool and firm up for a few minutes. Then sprinkle chocolate chips on top and let melt a bit before spreading over the surface with the back of a spoon or an offset spatula.
Next, sprinkle toasted almonds on top before the chocolate sets up so they’ll stick.
Set the toffee aside to cool. Feel free to speed up the process by placing in the refrigerator.
Once set, use a large, non-serrated knife to cut into triangles, or even your hands to break into pieces.
And lastly, try not to eat it all before wrapping some up for neighbors and friends!

I hope you love this buttery English toffee as much as my family does! Now please check out the incredible round-up of cookie recipes linked below. I can’t wait to make these recipes next!

detailed view of buttery English toffee, crunchy golden toffee topped with a layer of milk chocolate and sprinkled with crushed almond pieces, parchment paper in the background, text wording: Buttery English Toffee

More Fantastic Holiday Cookie Recipes:

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