I was yelling, "I DID IT!!! I MADE TOFFEE!!!"
So, this time, I used the toffee recipe from Sweet Confections and guess what?!? It worked like a charm!
Can we talk about Marcona almonds for a minute? If you've never had them, let me describe. Imagine crunchy little nuggets of salted butter. Yep, that's pretty much it.
Marcona Almond-Sea Salt Toffee
{adapted from Sweet Confections Toffee recipe}
1 TBSP water
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp Kosher salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used Ghiradelli)
1/2 cup Marcona almonds, roughly chopped
pinch flaky sea salt
Line a cookie sheet with parchment.
{I have this one and love it.}
Bring the pan contents to a boil. Stir slowly and continuously with a silicone spatula until the syrup reaches 300.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
{{sigh}}
Refrigerate until the toffee has set; about 45 minutes.
Break into pieces; I use waxed paper to touch the toffee to avoid fingerprints.
Store in an airtight container...if you don't eat it all immediately.
Go on; have a piece! ;)
{psst...have you ever tried Marcona almonds?}
WOW!! Gratuitous Photos indeed! Looks really great! Yes, we can get the almonds at our local grocery store. Love them - but never baked with them. Gotta try one of these days!
ReplyDeleteLooks DEEElicious! Love your photos! Candy thermometers scare me!
ReplyDeleteI finally realized this year why my toffee never turned out...I let it get too hot. This year, I took it off at 300 degrees and ended up with some amazing deliciousness. Marcona almonds? YUM! Looking forward to try this one!
ReplyDeleteMarcona almonds are one of the best inventions of all man kind! Remember how we talked about those rosemary ones from TJ's (the ones I forgot to bring you at Girlhunter ;) ADDICTIVE!!
ReplyDeleteCovered in toffee & chocolate - even better. But you all ready knew that. XXOO
This toffee looks AMAZING!!!
ReplyDeleteOh my, those almonds sound great, and I am too scared to try anything with a candy tempt yet, Ihave two, but not used.
ReplyDeleteI need this in my life. Like right now:)
ReplyDeleteLooks insanely good! I love marcona almonds.
ReplyDeleteMmmm - that looks GOOD ! I can almost taste it by just looking at your pictures....mmmm
ReplyDelete:-) Nina
I've made toffee before, but it was in one of my food science courses in college, and the professor was the "candy expert." We made a whole table of toffee! A little afraid to try it at home, but it is on my list of things to make...
ReplyDeleteThat looks amazing! And your pictures are so good I can almost taste it! :)
ReplyDeleteI love toffee, but I love chocolate/almond toffee even more! totally drooling right now!
ReplyDeleteI love the new website lay out and your new photo style. Everything looks so great! I really want to make this recipe :)
ReplyDeleteI made Saltine Toffee this year, i.e. Christmas Crack, and it was so good and your toffee looks AMAZING!
ReplyDelete#1 Where have those almonds BEEN all my life?!?!
ReplyDelete#2 Toffee. Yum.
I can't WAIT to make this. Wish me luck as I have never made anything like this before. You have inspired me to make cake balls and decorate them and all kinds of other goodies!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Linda
that looks beautiful!
ReplyDeleteLooks awesome - as does everything you do. Any help on where to find 'flaky sea salt'? I have other recipes that call for it but I can't find it anywhere.
ReplyDelete@BakeMom....I just got mine at the grocery store. Mine carries lots of varieties of salt now...just look near the kosher salt. :)
ReplyDeleteMarcona almonds are my favorite. This recipe seems so easy to make, I will save it for sure.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Bridget!
Yum! Where did you get the containers for them? Such a cute blue!
ReplyDeletes.o.o.o excited just purchased marcona almonds
ReplyDelete@ my local bulk grocer & now i DEFINITELY know what i am using them for!
thanks for a great recipe & happy new year!!
um, did you just say "crunchy little nuggets of salted butter"? I think I just fainted! In the words of my 2 1/2 year old, "me. want. now...please"
ReplyDeleteI have never had Marcona almonds...but I think I need to find some, Fast! They look and sound amazing!
ReplyDeleteThat looks amazing! I've never had those almonds but I have to try!
ReplyDeleteThat looks amazing! I've never had those almonds but I have to try!
ReplyDeleteBridget, could you share a bit more on your candy thermometer experiences? I had one that I used to make caramels with a couple times, and it worked quite well. Then a year later, this past Christmas, I used it to make fudge and it went quite wrong.
ReplyDeleteI tried calibrating it in boiling water and found that it was 10 degrees off. Next time I suppose I should calibrate BEFORE using it! Live and learn!
Anyway, I just purchased the one you mentioned, and will try out this toffee once it arrives. Looks amazing!
Looks great! I succeeded in making caramel sauce in December, so I feel your joy! :)
ReplyDeleteWow! Looks amazing! I love all the ingredients, marcona almonds are my favourite variety!! :)
ReplyDeleteBut I'm afraid to try this, though... it may be possible that I am not able to stop eating it..
Mac says. "oohh, that looks good!"
ReplyDeleteI LOVE marcona almonds!!! Yum...
ReplyDeleteMmm this sounds so yummy!! Love it!
ReplyDeleteIs this a hard toffee when it cools? TIA
ReplyDeleteI love marcona almonds - so much so that I have to stay away from the bulk bins at Whole Foods and the nut aisle at TJ's. But that won't stop me from making this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI did hear a lot of yelling from the general vicinity of Texas and was wondering what the heck was going on. Well, I'd say this gorgeous toffee is a very good reason to make a ruckus!
ReplyDeleteGreat recipe. Love it.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you didn't tell me you were doing this before. I would have been fishing for sympathy scraps! I LOVE toffee! But I like it best when someone makes it for me. I have as much with toffee as cakes!
ReplyDeleteLooks delicious, I've only had toffee once or twice actually, i'm little intimidated by it but maybe I can finally give it go, THANKS YOU TO. THanks for the recipe. Now my worry is that I will eat it all before it becomes a gift for somebody.
ReplyDeleteThis looks so delicious! anything that has sea salt and chocolate in it is good for me :-) Can't wait to try it!
ReplyDeleteCan I eat this for breakfast?? It looks amazing:)
ReplyDeleteIf I was guaranteed that my toffee would look as delicious as yours, I'd get over my fear of failure in a flash. Lucky the recipients of the gifts of it.
ReplyDeleteYUM!! I must make this over the weekend, so glad I bought a candy thermometer. It sounds incredible.
ReplyDeleteLet me see now~
ReplyDeleteI need a candy thermometer and offset spatula.
I've never ever heard of Marcona almonds~
Where have I been?
My Daddy would crown me his favorite child if I made this and sent it to Alabama for his birthday!
We'll have to chat about it being good to ship or not.
I wonder if Kristan got any of this toffee?
She's so LUCKY to live right next door to YOU!
Does she ever come over and just hang and watch you do your thang in the kitchen? ;)
It would be so convenient if I lived next door~being that I'm your AGENT and all! ;)
Any~who~zee~wee~zee...this toffee looks BEYOND amazing!
I think I need to PIN THIS!!!!!!! ;)
xoxoxo
This looks so GOOD! I've never even heard of the Marcona almonds..but as my hubby loves almonds, I've gotta find some! The fun thing is i can actually try this recipe. I'm no longer in fear of the candy thermometer..and it only took 47 years;) ( I made my first ever successful batch of marshmallows on my last birthday) Thanks for posting yet another wonderful recipe :o)
ReplyDeletemmm it looks delicious!
ReplyDeletei've never tried marcona almonds but i definitely have to
xx
These look amazing. I've never tried Marcona almonds, but I sure want to now.
ReplyDelete2 Kids and Tired Cooks
The best way to make good toffee is to calibrate your candy thermometer. Boil some water and stick it in. If you haven't used it in awhile, you should do it again, they can change over time. If there is any offset, keep it in mind-pull the toffee early or late.
ReplyDeleteI love homemade toffee!
Holy smokes this looks awesome. Definitely going on the top of my list. LOVE marcona almonds! I ask everyone I know that goes to Spain to bring them back for me. They are really good from the source, but thankfully they are easier to find in supermarkets here now.
ReplyDeleteoh I think I need to make this!!
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Marcona almonds....but I think we need to meet!
Whoa, Bridget! This looks pretty amazing. I love these photos too--you managed to make every process shot completely intoxicating. Really gorgeous work, and yes, I will be making this (I love, love toffee of any kind!). Happy 2012! xo
ReplyDeleteGood thing I'm sitting down cause I'd be swooning! It looks terrific!
ReplyDeleteeverything looks amazing. I am going to make this. One question, where did you get the blue carton that the toffee is in?
ReplyDeleteI've never had Marcona almonds, but they do sound drool worthy!
ReplyDelete(I first read the title as Macarena and hummed a bit in my head...)
I LOVE Marcona almonds! Plus toffee, chocolate, AND sea salt??? Oh dear, I'm not so sure that I could have shared any of this deliciousness.
ReplyDeleteI would have to make a second batch to give away.
This looks perfect!
ReplyDeleteOMG this looks delicious. I would definitely just eat the bar whole without smashing it up
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your description of marcona almonds. They. Are. Amazing. So glad we live close to the US border so we can get our fix easily :)
ReplyDeleteI had the EXACT SAME REACTION when I first made toffee successfully! I had a major fail as well... :/
ReplyDeleteI heard you yelling. :) I think you also yelled something like "NIKKI! You must give this a try!" So, I'm going to listen and try making toffee in my home, too. ;)
ReplyDeleteI make at least 30 batches of homemade toffee around the holidays (my Grandmas recipe) but this one looks yummy. Will have to give it a try.
ReplyDeleteTHRILLED to have come across your exceptionally beautiful blog!!
ReplyDeletexo
http://allykayler.blogspot.com/
Wow! I've been meaning to make toffee for a while, but didn't get around to it for Christmas. I need to make this ASAP!
ReplyDeleteI loved making toffee but when mine hit 300 I took it off the heat and poured it onto my parchment lined cookie sheet. Mine was all separated....pools of butter. What did I do wrong?
ReplyDeletePatty
Oh no you gave most of it away! I do the same thing and then I kick myself! My BFF brought me a huge tub of Marcona's from LA, so excited to make your recipe! Nettie
ReplyDeletehi i tried to make it but the my caramel didint get the color it was yellow i used margarin and non diary cream that why?
ReplyDeleteYep...that's probably it. :)
Delete