Toffee making lesson... from a professional!

Ok, so I'm not the professional, but my mom's friend who makes it is!

My mom ha a boutique again, this time in folsom. SHe wanted a toffee maker and I said I would do it. Mom's friend gave me personal instructions, as she is not making it professionally any more. So I lucked out and so did you!

Here's the basics.

Start with a heavy bottom pot. She gave me an old pressure cooker pot. She bought it at a garage sale for a $1. If you are going to make toffee often, use the same pan, only for toffee. She explained that as the aluminum expands, particles of food get trapped as it cools. So If I were to make soup in the toffee pan, it might taste a bit like toffee!

You need 1.5 lbs of butter. Use the bricks from costco. Less unwrapping!

She uses the Dark Chocolate melting dics - like the kind from Wilton.

She explained that if you use chocolate chhips, they have a harder time melting. Chocolate chips are not made to melt smooth. If they were or chocolate chips would be a little different! Winco had the dark chocolate waffers in bulk. Best price. Micheals sells them, too.

You can use a candy bar if you want, also.

And be sure to use the dark chocolate. It cuts the sweetness and adss a richer flaver (but not burned :)

Put the butter and 3 and 1/4 cups of granulated sugar in pot. The best thermometer to use is the kind in the picture, It is the most acurate... unless you have something else, that works, too!

Put heat to just above medium. Let melt. You can stir occasionally.

Meanwhile, turn on oven to warm.

Put chocolate in to pie tin, or whatever you have. Close oven, let melt.

Still melting

Once mixter hits between 160 ~ 200...

(if you miss 200, turn the heat down until the temp drops back down. Easy to fix!)

Get out your hand mixer and mix away!

This is the easiest and best way to make sure the sugar and butter have combined well.

So it won't seperate later!

This is the color you want to achieve.

Once all combined, stop mixing and let cook until it reaches 300 degrees.

Stirring, occasionally. Really occasionally.

At some time between now and 300 add about 1 tsp of sea salt.

You can use table salt, but sea salt is best.

Trader Joes has a big thing of it really cheap and really good.

I've switched to that for all my baking!

Meanwhile arrange almonds on pan.

(now you can individually place them or not use them at all.

It's up to you. Or you can just shake the pan and take your chances!)

300 degrees. No more. No less. I missed and hit 320.

Rebecca said it had a richer flavor :)

It wasn't so bad. My work liked it!

Pour over toasted almonds! I get them at costco and toast them myself.

oven @ 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Be sure you do this way ahead, cause you don't want to pour hot toffee over hot almonds!

this amount will make about a sheet pan and about a 1/4.

you can spray pam on pan, but I found I didn't need it witha ll that butter!

wait five minutes, get out chocolate and spread over toffee!

You want it kind of thin because the chocolate is used as a glue for the almonds on top.

Not to thick, unless you like it that way!

Wait about 5 minutes after spreading warm chocolate on warm toffee.

If your kitchen is cool it might not be that long.

If your kitchen is warm, it might take a little lionger.

You want it to be set but not hard when you score it with the pizza cutter.

The ONLY way to cut toffee in my opinion!

After you score the warm toffee, sprinkle with almonds

(I used chopped on mine, she uses slivered)

Gentley press down so the almonds will stay!

don't put in frige or freezewr right away. I put mine outside to cool. If it's too cold, the chocolate will separate from the toffee when you break it up.

That's it. I can't think of any other tips. I think it's the hand mixer that make the difference.

Merry Christmas to you all!