My easy 30-minute homemade toffee recipe makes a rich, buttery, crunchy toffee. It has a sweet chocolate topping with toasted pecans that’s perfect for parties and holiday gifts.
Love toffee recipes? Try my toffee cookies, saltine cracker toffee and toffee apple dip.
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A Toffee Recipe That’s Foolproof
This is such an easy toffee candy recipe and a recipe we make every Christmas. Microwave caramels, Christmas crack toffee and peanut brittle and are at the top of our list too!
I would recommend having a candy thermometer on hand to make things easier. They’re inexpensive and they take a lot of the guesswork out of candy making.
Why I Love This Recipe
- Simple. This homemade toffee recipe is foolproof and makes a candy maker out of even the most novice of cooks. Just follow my tips for the best classic toffee recipe!
- Tasty. It is sweet and addictive with incredible flavor. It’s the perfect gift any time of year just like my old fashioned hard candy!
Toffee Recipe Ingredients
Homemade toffee starts with a buttery, golden brown English toffee layer that is topped with chocolate and nuts.
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Butter: Unsalted butter works best. I like to chop it up until cubes before adding to the pan so that it melts quicker and more evenly.
- White sugar: White granulated sugar is best for this recipe.
- Vanilla: I recommend a high-quality pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Chocolate Chips: Semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips are my favorites that make it taste like a Skor candy bar. Dark chocolate or white chocolate could be used.
- Pecans: Chop the pecans into small pieces before using. You may also use chopped almonds or cashews if preferred.
- Salt: Using unsalted butter allows us to control the amount of salt used in this recipe. Adding a hint of salt is the perfect compliment to the sweet, caramelized flavor.
How to Make Homemade Toffee
The most difficult part of this homemade toffee recipe is making the caramel. After that, this buttery chocolate treat is as simple as sprinkling and layering.
- Boil. Add butter, sugar, water, and salt to a saucepan with a heavy bottom and bring mixture to a boil over medium heat. Keep a close eye on the toffee as it cooks (don’t walk away).
- Make caramel. It will pale in yellow color, then deepen into a rich caramel tone. The candy thermometer should read 285°F (a minute or two after I took the above picture). Be careful not to let the mixture get too dark, or it will have a burned taste.
- Stir. Remove pan from heat and stir in vanilla. The mixture will be bubbly and incredibly hot. Carefully pour mixture onto a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, and cool for 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle. Sprinkle the toffee with chocolate chips and rest 10 minutes.
- Spread. Spread melted chocolate chips over toffee with an offset spatula.
- Toppings. Sprinkle chopped pecans top of the melted chocolate. Almonds, peanuts or walnuts would also be yummy! Cool completely, then break into pieces and enjoy!
Tips and Variations
- Tools: Investing in a quality candy thermometer and heavy-bottom saucepan is well worth it for best toffee recipe results.
- Patience: Avoid the temptation to turn up the heat to speed up the process! You will end up burning the toffee.
- Avoid making on a humid day: Toffee hardens by releasing moisture, so humidity may make it soft if there is too much moisture in the air. Wait to make on a dry day.
- Quality ingredients: There are 7 ingredients and that includes salt and nuts. Quality butter and real vanilla extract make a difference. Avoid using margarine as is contains too much water content.
- Chocolate bars: Use three Hershey’s bars in place of the chocolate chips. It really gives it a candy bar essence.
- Nuts. Sprinkle the nuts on the bottom of the pan instead of over top.
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Homemade Toffee Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter , cut into pieces
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt , or 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips (milk chocolate or semi-sweet)
- 2-4 Tablespoons chopped pecans , or almonds
Instructions
- Prep. Butter or line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Melt butter and sugar. In a medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine 1 cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 2 Tablespoons water, and 1 teaspoon salt over medium-low heat. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon until the butter is melted and the sugar is dissolved. Leave the spoon in the pot and clip on a candy thermometer, if desired, being careful to not let it touch the bottom.
- Stir. Stirring only occasionally, simmer until the caramel is a deep amber color and the thermometer reads 285°-290°F (takes about 20 minutes). Immediately remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla.
- Pour into pan. Pour onto the baking sheet and let it spread. Cool 5 minutes. Sprinkle with 1 cup chocolate chips and let sit 10 minutes.
- Spread chocolate and add nuts. Spread the melted chocolate with an offset spatula and sprinkle with 2-4 Tablespoons pecans.
- Cool. Cool completely before breaking into pieces. Enjoy!
Notes
- Swap the chocolate for dark or white chocolate.
- Add spice to the chocolate: cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, or even things like chai spice
- Go nuts with something other than pecans or almonds. Cashews work really well, too.
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Recipe FAQs
It is a crunchy, sweet and buttery sugar candy. It’s similar to caramel and butterscotch but yet unique in it’s own way! Caramel contains additional cream to make it sweeter and creamier, like in this caramel sauce. Butterscotch is made with brown sugar and is not cooked to a hard crack stage.
No, some people use the hard crack test or just know by the color. If this your first time making it though or you want to ensure foolproof results, I highly recommend it.
This could happen especially if you have used margarine that has too much water content or have used a butter that has butterfat over 80% (like a European-style butter).
If it starts to seperate, try slowing stirring one Tablespoon of water in at a time until it comes back together. If you are still having trouble, use a thicker based, heavy bottomed saucepan.
If you’re looking for a way to use up leftovers, try making these delicious toffee cookies. Chop into toffee bits similar to a Heath bar bit, then fold them into the dough. The toffee adds the perfect chocolate and caramel flavor! You could also sprinkle the bits on homemade brownies, apple pie or cupcakes.
Place it in an airtight container or zip-top bag. I like to layer my toffee between wax paper sheets to prevent sticking. Depending on how big your pieces are, you may need to use two containers or bags.
This candy is good for at least two weeks if stored at room temperature. If your home is a bit on the warm side or if you’re holding onto it for gift-giving, I would store it in the fridge. It should last for a couple more weeks if you stick in the refrigerator!
Yes, I love snacking on frozen homemade toffee when craving a sweet chocolate treat. To store in freezer, place in an airtight container or bag. It should keep in the freezer for a couple of months.
Categorized as: American, Candy + Fudge, Chocolate, Christmas, Desserts, Freezer-Friendly, Gluten-Free, No-Bake, Reader Favorites, Stovetop, Vegetarian
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
i made it and it worked perfectly and taste so good. I did double it (the carmel and chocolate) and put it into one cookie sheet pan and the chocolate was a little thin so I will just have to make sure to do a little bit more chocolate next timee
I made this toffee, and it turned out amazingly! The small batches are the only way to make this! Delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the homemade toffee recipe!
This came out chewy. I cooked to 298 degrees. Is it my butter? It’s not humid here….
Hi! I recommended a high quality unsalted butter, was your butter not actually butter or salted? Usually the culprit of chewiness it not cooking it long enough and this can be due to a thermometer error. Next time, I would try placing a small amount of the boiling toffee mixture in a glass of cold water, it it balls up and form hard brittle threads it’s ready (this is the hard crack stage). Let us know how it goes next time!
Easy to follow and turned out great! I did this recipe x 4 and had no issues (used a larger pot). After melting butter and sugar I did cook on medium heat at a low rolling boil. To test I put a drop in cold water and when it was brittle it was done!
So glad the larger batch of homemade toffee turned out so well for you!
First time I made it, the thermometer went up so quickly after 280 that it got to 291 before I measured out the vanilla and it tasted slightly overdone but not burnt. So this second time, I had it pre measured in a small bowl and pulled it off the heat the moment it hit 285. It cracked but as you chew, it gets soft like a very, very sticky caramel (not sure my dental work is going to be able to handle it). So next attempt, I’m going to try for something in the middle. I did keep it at the medium low heat the whole time this time and last time I turned down to Low/Simmer on my stove dial so maybe that was a difference, too? It still tastes good though. I topped with Ghirardelli dark chocolate and honey roasted pistachios. Yum. Very happy to have this recipe. Thank you!
AMAZING RECIPE!!!!!! No thermometer and it came out ammmmmaaazing! It cracked properly and everything!!!
This is very good but for some reason my toffee didn’t get hard and I followed the steps perfect. Any suggestions? Thanks
Hi Karen! It’s hard to say without being there. Did you use a candy thermometer to test the temperature?
Easy recipe to follow. We used chopped almonds & substituted dark chocolate melts for the chocolate chips & it turned out great! Thanks for posting!
Sounds delicious! Glad you enjoyed the homemade toffee!