Easy Homemade Toffee (No Thermometer!)
Buttery, crunchy homemade toffee made with just butter and brown sugar. No thermometer needed, and it sets up perfectly every time!
Yield:1 1/4 cup of toffee bits
- Prep Time:
- 5 mins
- Cook Time:
- 20 mins
- Cooling time:
- 20 mins
- Total Time:
- 45 mins
Ingredients
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into cubes (140g)
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed (200g)
- 1/2 tsp salt (optional but strongly recommended)
- 1 tsp vanilla (optional)
- 200g dark chocolate for a chocolate version (optional)
Instructions
- Line a large baking sheet with a silicone mat and set it aside. Have everything ready before you start, because toffee moves quickly at the end.
- Add the cubed butter and brown sugar to a 2 qt stainless steel saucepan. Place over medium heat (medium burner, medium flame).
- As the butter melts, the mixture will look grainy and lumpy. Stir slowly and break down any large lumps.
- After melting, the butter may look like it’s floating on top of the sugar, which is normal. Keep stirring gently and it will come together into a cohesive sauce.
- After about 5 to 7 minutes, the mixture will start bubbling, first around the edges and then across the whole surface, and will froth up as the water cooks out. Keep stirring slowly and constantly from here on.
- The bubbling will settle down and you’ll have a slightly grainy golden sauce. Keep stirring, and it will pick up color and become smooth, shiny and fragrant. If it’s darkening too quickly, lower the heat slightly.
- Continue cooking until the toffee is a deep amber color, very glossy, and starts to slip and glide across the surface of the pan, gathering around your whisk. This is the sign that it’s ready, and takes around 20 minutes total. If using a thermometer, it should read 300 to 310F.
- Stir in the vanilla and salt if using, then immediately pour the toffee onto the prepared silicone mat and spread it evenly to about ¼ inch thick (you can go thinner depending on the use).
- If adding chocolate, spread the melted dark chocolate over the toffee right away and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
- Let the toffee set at room temperature, or in the fridge for about 20 minutes, then break into shards or small chunks, as desired.
Notes
- Pan: a light colored stainless steel pan lets you see the color of the toffee as it cooks. Avoid dark nonstick pans.
- Heat: keep it at a steady medium throughout. Heat that’s too low makes the butter and sugar more likely to clump or separate. If you see too many lumps, keep whisking and turn up the heat slightly.
- Storage: store the toffee in an airtight container at room temperature and it can keep for weeks. Humidity will soften it, so keep it sealed!