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Nana T’s insanely good toffee
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Easy and quickChocolate and walnut toffee
This recipe comes from my friend Kim's grandmother, known in her family as Nana T. Kim has been making this 3rd generation family toffee recipe for 30 years and all of her friends both anticipate and dread Kim's annual delivery of this insanely good toffee. We anticipate it because it is so darned good. We dread it because we all know we will eat every last piece she gives us.
4-Ingredient wonder
Amazingly, this toffee has only four ingredients: walnuts, chocolate chips, sugar and butter. Nana T originally made this toffee with Hershey bars, but over the years Kim substituted semi-sweet chocolate chips, because they are more economical.
I use Kerrygold unsalted butter for this recipe. I really like Kerrygold products. Both their butter and cheese are made from pasture-fed Irish cows, are naturally higher in Omega-3 and Omega-6.
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DIY Christmas gifts
This toffee makes great DIY Christmas gifts. I package it in these 8-ounce Italian mason jars:
Or if you want to be more generous, these 2-cup wide-mouth Ball mason jars:
Important tips
- When you make the toffee from the butter and sugar it is critical that you stir the toffee constantly until it darkens. If the butter and sugar start to separate, you need to stir faster.
- If you cook the toffee on too low a heat, the toffee will be crumbly. At medium high the toffee should become more brittle and crunchy.
- Refrigerate the toffee until it sets.
- If you have problems removing the toffee from the pan, you can briefly set the bottom of the pan in hot water to loosen it.
- Save all the small crumbles for ice cream topping. My friend Kim swears that the crumbles are calorie-free.
Nana T’s insanely good toffee
This 3rd generation family toffee recipe is unfortunately addicting. Once you eat a piece it is hard to stop. Package it in mason jars for delicious DYI Christmas gifts.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 1 13 x 9 x 2" tray 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup chopped fresh walnuts, divided
- 24 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
- 1 pound butter, (I use unsalted)
- 2 cups sugar
Instructions
- Spread half the walnuts in the bottom of a metal 13 x 9 x 2″ cake pan. Sprinkle half the chocolate chips on top of the walnuts. Set aside.
- In a heavy bottomed pan melt the butter and sugar together, stirring constantly on a medium high heat. Cook until it is golden to dark brown, almost burnt. Depending on the heat you use this will take anywhere from 10 to 12 minutes. If it is not done in 12 minutes, turn up the heat a little to speed up the process.
- Pour the liquid toffee over the nuts and chocolate, being very careful as this mixture is extremely hot. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips over the toffee and then sprinkle the nuts over the chocolate.
- Using a wooden spoon, gently press the nuts and chocolate into the toffee. Using a knife, score the toffee into 2″ squares. This will help you break up the toffee into pieces later. Refrigerate overnight or until it sets.
- Break the toffee up into pieces using a knife and a spatula to remove it from the pan. Store in airtight containers such as mason jars.
Notes
Hint: 1 pound of butter is the equivalent of 4 sticks (16 oz or 454 grams total)
Disclaimer: Kerrygold has generously supplied me with sample products but I have no financial arrangement with them. I use their butter because I think it is an excellent product. I am an Amazon affiliate and I do make a small commision when you purchase products through my links.
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Made these to share with family and friends tonight for Christmas Eve! I LOVED that it only took 4 ingredients and was so simple to make. I’ll report back after putting them to the real test…with my chocolate loving fiance!
When is the best time to score it? And what’s the best to use to score it? I am trying to get them into squares, but it’s hard to get a consistent shape. Thanks!
Hi Josh, I just score them after I add the remaining nuts. Take a look at the slider at the bottom of the recipe for pictures. That said, I don’t worry if they don’t come out in uniform pieces, because they really don’t. If you think about commercial toffee that you buy they are also irregular pieces. Pro tip: save all the extra crumbs to put on ice cream!