Dark Chocolate and Walnut Toffee

December 10, 2011



If you're feeling a bit lethargic from all the holiday decorating, shopping, cooking, baking, card-writing, wrapping, ribbon-curling (+ screaming!) - I have just the recipe. You don't even need an oven, just a willingness to patiently watch butter and sugar transform into luxurious molten toffee.

I don't know about you, but I find butter transformation therapeutic.




If you prefer pecans to walnuts, you can easily make the swap. I love the sensual, almost bitter taste, of walnuts. And because toffee is cloyingly sweet, you truly do need something level-headed enough to balance the flavour scales. Also, if you want to use milk chocolate instead of dark, please go ahead. Some people thought that this was a bit too rich. The recipe is cordial enough to accommodate all flavour preferences.

Someone suggested eliminating the nuts and using white chocolate. I snorted (my New Year's Eve guest list just grew smaller.)



Dark Chocolate & Walnut Toffee

ingredients
2 cups cups chopped walnuts
1 cup sugar
1 cup (that's 2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
1 Tablespoon corn syrup (light or dark)
1/2 tsp. salt (I like salty sweets, you can reduce this to 1/4 tsp. if you prefer.)
1/4 cup water
1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

method
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Spread the walnuts out in an even layer on baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, stirring them around a bit half-way through.
Line a 9x13-inch pan with foil, leave a slight overhang along the edges. Lightly grease the foil. Scatter about 1 1/2 cups of the toasted nuts into an even layer on the bottom of the pan. (Set aside the remaining 1/2 cup.)
Prepare the toffee: In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the butter, corn syrup, salt, and 1/4 cup of water. Stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Once it reaches a boil, stop stirring. Cook until the toffee is golden brown, and reaches 290-310 F. on a candy thermometer (this will take about 15-20 minutes). While the toffee is cooking, swirl it around a few times using the handle of the pan, this will prevent it from burning.
Carefully pour the toffee over the walnut-lined baking sheet (be very careful, you do not want the hot toffee to touch your skin). Use the sides of the pan to tilt it back and forth until the toffee has coated most of the bottom. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the hot toffee and give them about 30 seconds to soften. Spread the melted chocolate over the toffee. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts over the chocolate.
Place the pan in the refrigerator and chill for at least one hour.
Remove from the fridge and, using the foil overhang, lift the toffee out of the pan.
Gently break the toffee into jagged bits. It's almost impossible to cut even slices, so just let your artistic side take over. :)

19 comments:

  1. Devilishly addictive! a delicious gift idea.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. wow..sounds scrumptiously tasty..
    just found your space..amazing space you have...excellent posts with stunning cliks..
    happy following you..:)
    do stop by mine sometime..
    Tasty Appetite

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  3. Toffee is my favorite holiday treat! Yours looks devine.
    I'll have to try walnuts next time. They are a nice touch and are just made to go with chocolate. I usually use almonds.
    Thanks for the FB friend add!

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  4. Incredible. You make it sound so simple that I feel like I simply must make a batch. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. MOI QUI SUIS ADDICT DE CHOCOLAT
    J'ADORE
    Je te souhaite un excellent dimanche
    Valérie

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  6. So what if you've done nothing on the Christmas list? Can I just have some toffee and hope it all goes away? I have made a few cookies and was thinking of making caramels or rum balls today, but this toffee would be a huge hit in my family. Looks gorgeous!

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  7. Mary, I don't have anything done yet either. The toffee does make it go away, at least for a while. (Methinks that rum balls would be even better.) :D

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  8. How did you know I was feeling lethargic? This would be the perfect boost for anyone. I'm picturing it with pecans, and the thought is making me very happy.

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  9. I would like to do this same recipe but with almonds. yum!

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  10. All I can say is WOW!

    Dark chocolate, toffe, and walnuts sound like an amazing combination. How lovely!

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  11. Oh these make aswesome gift, love it!

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  12. Would this work with using maple syrup or honey instead of the corn syrup?

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  13. Hi Anon,
    The corn syrup just helps the toffee 'caramelize' easily, without having to worry about it burning. And since it's only 1 Tbsp., I think that you could get away with using honey or syrup...it would probably taste even better! :-)

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  14. Butter transformation = totally therapeutic. This looks amazing!

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  15. oh my, made these tonight. I had no idea this was so easy to make - I hope I have the self control not to make and eat entire pan fulls. . .It's delicious, and I LOVE the walnuts in it.ta

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  16. Hi Teresa!
    I was surprised by how simple this was too (especially since looks like it would be complicated...in a multi-textured kind of way). :D

    I'm glad to hear that it was a success!

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  17. oh, this looks good. a perfect homemade holiday present! i make brittle all the time, but have never tried my own toffee.

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Thanks for visiting, and for taking the time to read through my ramblings!
If you have a recipe comment or question, I'd love to hear from you.

Happy Baking!
♥ Valerie

 

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