English Toffee

Step 1

TOAST THE PECANS:

Step 2

Place a skillet over medium

Step 3

heat. Add the pecans and toast them in the skillet until they are fragrant and

Step 4

lightly browned. Remove the pecans to a paper towel or cutting board to cool.

Step 6

Line a 9x13-inch pan with

Step 7

parchment paper. Sprinkle half of the toasted nuts evenly on top of the

Step 8

parchment paper.

Step 10

MAKE THE TOFFEE:Spray a heavy, light-colored saucepan with nonstick spray. This is a crucial step because it will help to prevent boiling syrup from flowing over the pan. Combine butter, sugar, water, corn syrup and salt in the pan and heat over medium temperature. It's important to use a light-colored pan so you can more easily observe the color of the toffee as it's cooking. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan so it's touching the ingredients but not the bottom of the pan.

Step 12

Cook to the "hard crack" stage (295 to 300 degrees F), whisking constantly and watching closely. This should take 15 to 20 minutes. Don't rush the process. Low and slow is good. Syrup that does not reach temperature will be chewy instead of crunchy. And if you try to cook it more quickly, you'll end up with the butter separating from the sugar.

Step 14

Pull the pan off the heat when it has reached temperature. It should be a nice, golden brown color.

Step 16

Immediately pour the hot toffee over the pecans in the pan and spread evenly with a metal spatula.

Step 18

Sprinkle chopped chocolate on top. Let it sit for a minute until the chocolate melts, and then spread the chocolate over the hardening toffee. Sprinkle the rest of the nuts on top.

Step 20

Let the English Toffee cool at room temperature for about an hour. Then move it to the refrigerator to harden the toffee completely. Chop or break the toffee into pieces.