English Toffee

aka  Amy's Toffee from Candymaking by Ruth Kendrick and Pauline Atkinson.

This recipe has been tested against several others and is my hands-down favorite.  It is very close in taste to Almond Roca, and like Almond Roca, to keep it from getting sticky it must be kept away from air by coating with chocolate on all sides and being stored in an airtight container. Wrapping them in gold foil would be nice, but, really... And yes, I still occasionally buy Almond Roca. I love both. Probably too much.

Ingredients:

2 c. almonds, (sliced if possible)  toasted in a preheated 350 degree oven on a baking sheet for 8-10 min.
1 c. butter, grade AA
2 T. corn syrup
2 1/2 c (250 g.) sugar
4 T. water
2-4 T. more water for later (not in original recipe)
 optional: 1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
              
Toast the almonds so they are light golden and smell good and toasted. Cool them, then grind them in a food processor until they are fine, but not almond butter yet. Butter a 12"x18" baking sheet. Sprinkle it with the almonds, saving around half out for sprinkling on the melted chocolate at the end. If they aren't sliced and are unevenly ground they can be sifted through a coarse seive if uniformity is desired.

In a heavy 3 qt. saucepan combine butter, water, corn syrup and sugar.   Here's what the original recipe says next: "Stir over high heat till boiling.When it begins to thicken, reduce heat to low and cook to 290 degrees F."  Here's what I did, because I was doing other things in the kitchen and needed extra time: Stir over medium heat till boiling, then cover with pan lid for 2 minutes so the steam washes any sugar crystals back down into the mixture. Uncover and cook on low till the temperature reaches about 250, stirring gently with the thermometer whenever you check the temperature to even out the hot spots. Now stir in 2-4 more T of water, depending on how much longer you want to cook it - the more water the longer it takes. (Also I was hoping the extra cooking would increase the brown color a bit. Maillard reaction and all, you know.)  Now cook to 290 degrees, remove from heat and pour over the nuts. Immediately sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top, let sit 1 minute, then spread the softened chocolate to the edges of the toffee. Sprinkle with reserved almonds. Let cool at room temperature 1 hour. Now you can break it up (which is just fine) OR... flip it over, sprinkle another cup of chocolate chips on that side, heat it with a blow dryer or something to melt them (or melt them first and spread on) and spread and sprinkle with yet more ground almonds. The two sided coating helps the toffee stay fresh longer, even in an airtight container...because they never really are completely airtight, you know. At least mine aren't. When all the chocolate is set up, break the toffee into irregular pieces and store in the closest thing you can get to an airtight container.

With any luck you will never have this toffee around long enough to see what happens to it when it gets old. (As far as I can tell, it gets sticky, loses its texture then finally starts tasting...different.) Try not to refrigerate it, as warming up attracts moisture, and we don't want that. If it's unavoidable, wrap, wrap, wrap to keep the air out! I used to think Almond Roca's gold foil was just for looks. I know better now.

Note about temperatures and thermometers: 

 It's important to test your thermometer right before using it. Altitude, barometric pressure, invisible cracks in the thermometer (yes, it happened to me - SO glad I tested it and avoided mercury poisoning for about 10 people!), can change what temperature water boils at. WATER BOILS AT 212 DEGREES F  at sea level. Where I live it often boils at 208 instead, so I just subtract 4 degrees from the temperature I'm supposed to reach at the end: 290-4=286. Easy. For some reason, though, my thermometer reads higher in the boiling water out of the microwave than from a pan on the stove. Weird! So I use the microwave temp. Really, though, for this recipe I cooked it just barely to 290 and it was great. Cook it too low and the texture is stickier and sad. Cook it too high and it can separate into an oily layer on top, or worse, burn.

Note about problems with oil separating out:

If at any time during cooking the oil starts to gather on the top, just add 2 T or so of water, stir well, and cook to 290 again, and if it happens again, repeat but cook to a couple degrees lower. Also, avoid a lot of stirring. If there are sugar crystals on the pan sides, do the pan lid trick again. 

Note about variations:

This recipe makes good toffee without the chocolate on top. Just pour it on a.) a buttered baking sheet or b.) a buttered baking sheet covered in toasted nuts of your choice, then cool, break up and eat/give away/store.