Toffee Buttercrunch Two Ways: Toasted Coconut Almond & Hazelnut Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt

Can you just look at this.

Oh my goodness. These are some of the most gorgeous things I have seen in a long time.

Buttercrunch, or toffee, whichever you prefer to call it, is one of my absolute favorite candies. I think a lot of people don’t know how easy it is to make it, which makes it seem so special and fancy. But it actually really is so easy! A bit dangerously easy really.. And the best part is you can mix and match the nuts and toppings and make it exactly to your liking or those of your friends or whoever may be lucky enough to be receiving some of your delicious treat. On one I used white sugar for a classic toffee and made it with almonds topped with milk chocolate, more almonds and toasted coconut. I made another version using brown sugar instead of white for a brown sugar toffee base, used hazelnuts, and topped with dark chocolate, hazelnuts and sea salt. Both are seriously superb. The brown sugar version is a little more difficult because the mixture starts out very close to the color of the finished product so you can’t use the color as an indicator of when it is finished the way you can with the white sugar version that turns the shade of brown that you expect toffee to be once it’s done.

I’ve heard that you should really use a candy thermometer to make this and that you will then know exactly when it’s ready based on temperature, but let’s be honest, I don’t know a single person who owns a candy thermometer. It’s not too hard to gauge it based on color and texture, once you know what you’re looking for though and it’s totally worth figuring it out.

Try these combinations, or try making up your own. But be careful- this is so good and so simple you definitely need someone to give most of it to as soon as it’s done so that you don’t end up eating it all yourself in one day. Not that I would know.

 

:Toasted Coconut & Almond Toffee Buttercrunch:

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

1 1/4 cups chopped almonds

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips

ASSEMBLY

Heat oven to 350. Place coconut on a parchment covered baking sheet and heat for 3-5 minutes, just until slightly toasted. Remove from pan and set aside. Place almonds on the parchment covered baking sheet and heat for 5-7 minutes until toasted and just becoming fragrant and slightly browned. The exact time will depend on how small you chopped the almonds so watch it carefully- just one extra minute and they will go from toasty to burnt. Remove from oven and remove 1/4 cups of the almonds and set aside for later. Leave the remaining almonds on the sheet, evenly scattered, and set the whole sheet aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat butter, sugar, vanilla and salt over medium heat, whisking constantly for about 15 minutes. The mixture will start getting bubbly and thick, but keep whisking constantly until it starts to turn brown, becoming the color of toffee and thins back out into a liquidy, pourable consistency.

Immediately remove from heat and carefully pour over the almonds in the baking sheet. Let cool about 3-5 minutes and then sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly on top. Let them sit for about 3-5 more minutes and then gently spread the chocolate into an even layer using a rubber spatula. Sprinkle with remaining almonds and toasted coconut. Let cool until set. Break into pieces using a sharp knife.

 

:Brown Sugar Toffee Buttercrunch with Hazelnut, Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt:

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 cups butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips, plus a few extra for topping

1 1/4 cups chopped hazelnuts

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

ASSEMBLY

Heat oven to 350. Spread 1 cup chopped hazelnuts evenly over a parchment lined baking sheet and heat for 5-7 minutes until toasted and just becoming fragrant. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, heat butter, sugar, vanilla and salt over medium heat, whisking constantly for about 10 minutes. The mixture will start getting bubbly and thick, but keep whisking constantly until it starts to thin back out a little bit and the butter is completely incorporated with the sugar. This one doesn’t want to get as liquidy as the other kind so remove from heat when it’s still a little thick.

Immediately remove from heat and pour over hazelnuts. Let sit for 5 minutes and then sprinkle dark chocolate chips evenly on top. Let them sit for about 3-5 more minutes and then gently spread the chocolate into an even layer using a rubber spatula. Sprinkle with remaining hazelnuts and sea salt. Let cool until set. Break into pieces using a sharp knife.