Ingredients
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted American butter*
- 1 cup (200 grams) light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
Directions
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Line a small rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
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In a heavy bottomed small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sugar and salt and whisk vigorously for one minute until combined. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture looks like melted peanut butter and a thermometer reaches 295 to 305°F, about 10 minutes.
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If the mixture separates at all, remove from heat and whisk vigorously until recombined. Return to heat and continue cooking.
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Immediately and carefully pour the hot toffee onto the prepared baking pan, allowing it to spread. Let cool and harden for about 20 minutes.
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Place the sheet of toffee on a cutting board or in a zip top bag. Use a mallet, rolling pin, or heavy object to crack it into small pieces. You can also cut into bits with a sharp serrated knife. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Recipe Notes
*Don’t use European-style butter (82% butterfat+) in this recipe. It contains too much butterfat and will cause the toffee to separate.
I just made these and they are amazing! Super easy. I don’t have a thermometer but it still turned out really well. I just let it bubble while whisking every so often for 10 minutes. I can’t wait to try them in the browned butter chocolate chip toffee cookies recipe!
YAY! Can’t wait to hear how your toffee cookies turn out!
I just finished making this! Omg, super easy and my home smells incredible! I’m making your Toffee and Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe!
SO happy to hear that, Eliza! Can’t wait to hear how your cookies turn out.
Donna D
This stuff is like magic! It can’t together so easily but tastes incredible.
Question: when I smashed it up in a bag it created a lot of toffee dust can I use that in the cookie recipe? Don’t want it to go to waste!
Thanks for your guidance
Hi Nevena, the toffee dust should be fine to use in the cookies!
3 ingredients definitely works! 15 minutes maybe even better nice not to have a long baking recipe this time of year, thank you!
So glad you tried this toffee recipe out!
I made this today, and it’s delicious! However, it’s quite chewy…did I do something wrong?
Super easy to make and they taste so much better than store bought! Made a batch this morning and then made the dough for Tessa’s Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies. Can’t wait to bake them off with these toffee bits!
Really adored this recipe! I made it in preparation of the Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip cookies on the blog! The toffee is delicious and took less than 10 minutes so it is definitely easy to make.
So thrilled you enjoyed this recipe!
The 1st batch I burned but after that I successfully made it 3 times! Once for toffee chips to put in cookies, once to make toffee popcorn and the last time for homemade almond roca. Very easy to make and it’s delicious!
I bet your kitchen smells amazing!! I’m so glad you tried this recipe out.
Made these with the intention of putting them in the chocolate chip toffee cookie recipe but…. THEY’RE SO GOOD THERE MAY NOT BE ANY LEFT TOMORROW!!!!! So good. Amazing what butter and sugar (and salt) can create.
Haha! This makes me so happy. So glad you enjoyed these toffee bits!!
Hey! This recipe looks absolutely incredible. Cant wait to try it. Just one question. Can i fold these bits into your butterscotch cake recipe before baking it?
I haven’t tried that out! Let me know how it turns out!
I was so excited for this as toffee bits aren’t available where I live. However, both my attempts ended up with separated butter and sugar (I followed the direction of taking it off the heat and whisking the *second* it looked like it might be separating.
Since brown sugar is hard to come by here (though available, unlike toffee bits), not sure I’m willing to risk a third attempt.
These were delicious! I’m planning on using them to bake with the brown butter toffee cookies. I think I’ll have more leftover than I expected. Do you think they would freeze well?
So I made this recipe but my toffee didn’t harden after it cooled. Any advice on what happened?
Basically had the same problem as Ann. I love the taste of this toffee, but I have a problem. I put the tray in the freezer to harden faster, but when it came out it was still soft. Is there anything I can do to fix the problem? I want to use it in a biscotti recipe.
If you’re having trouble with the toffee hardening, that’s usually due to it not quite reaching the hardening temperature of 295-305°. I wouldn’t recommend putting it in the fridge or freezer as that will soften the sugar in the recipe. You’ll want to keep it at room temperature in an air-tight container once hardened. Did your mixture combine ok? I know I’ve tried using European butter in this recipe, but it never combined/set due to it containing too much butterfat. Hope this helps, and I really hope you try this recipe again! It would taste incredible in biscotti!
Can we use dark brown sugar?
That should work!
Easy and delicious! Great to add as a topping for the Ultimate Cheesecake…(along with anything else)! They are supposed to last 1 week in an airtight container – as if they’d still be around then! Will certainly be using this recipe again and again.
YUM!!! I literally just made this and it’s so easy and delish!!! Has the perfect crisp crunch not tacky at all. I used salted butter and dark brown sugar because that was all I had…one of the many COVID lessons. I just used a little less salt. I’m not sure if it’s because of the subs, the elevation (7k), or high heat but it was more like 3-4 minutes not 10 until 300 degrees. Thanks for making toffee so easy!!!
So glad you tried this recipe out!
So easy, and so good! Thanks for the simple recipe!
Wonderful to hear this!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed!
Tessa, this toffee recipe is so easy and so delicious! It’s a definite game changer for my chocolate chip cookies. Thank you!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these toffee bits!
I just finished making these – it was so easy and the toffee bits are so delicious ! Added bonus is that the house smells fabulous ! Next I’m making the Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Toffee cookies to give to my sister-in-law for her birthday.
So glad to hear that! Hope those cookies are a hit!!
Thank you so much for a GREAT recipe. For years I’ve been using the 1 cup white sugar 1 cup butter posted on other sites. Today was the end of that. 1 to 1 ratio has inconsistent results to say the least today it was burned separated mess preparing the same as always. Most of the time it is a buttery separation. Found this recipe and thrilled; color is beautiful and consistency couldn’t be better! Thank you again!!!
Hooray! I’m so happy you love this toffee recipe and that it turned out perfectly for you, Lenal!
Where has homemade toffee been all my life!!! It’s legal crack is what it is. Take a lesson from me…I screwed up my first batch by heating too hot, too fast. Second batch perfect. Make this. Hide this. Eat this. Repeat.
Yes, heat is key to this recipe for sure! I’m so happy you finally had success with this toffee, and I agree 100% that it is. SO. GOOD!!
Delicious and BETTER than store bought. Great recipe.
I found it took longer than 10 min, more like 17-18 to get to the 300 degrees (used a very thick ceramic pot, so that’s probably why). Definitely rec a candy thermometer so you ensure it cooks properly, I’m sure medium heat and all our pots vary 🙂
Hooray!! Your pot does sound like the “issue” you had, but other than that, I’m thrilled this recipe turned out great for you! Candy thermometer is a must for sure 🙂
Incredible! Total game changer and so easy!
Hooray!! I’m so happy you loved them!
So yummy! At first my toffee would not harden. To make matters worse I tried to harden it in the freezer which I learned is a NO NO. Tessa told me it haden’t reached hardening temperature.of 295-305°. Time to get a candy thermometer.
Decided to experiment with putting it in the over at 350°. IT WORKED! Sorry, I didn’t time it since I wasn’t shure it wouldl work. I can tell you that my meat thermometer indicated that it was 190° the first time Ichecked. So I put it in again and left it for maybe 20 minutes? It was a little flexible when it cooled some, But I was able to break it into pieces with my hands. Thanks Tessa, for filling me in on what I did wrong.
Interesting! I’ve never heard of someone making toffee in the oven before, I’m glad to hear you found what worked! I’d still recommend that candy thermometer for next time though 🙂 Enjoy your biscotti!
Easy recipe and tastes good
Can this recipe be tripled if you’re trying to make a large batch?
That should be fine, Alexis, just be sure to use a large enough pan. We’ve doubled this recipe with no issues 🙂 Enjoy your toffee!
Thanks so much, Emily! I will try this! ☺️
Hi Tessa, i made this recipe last night and i left it aside overnight to set. I forgot about it and only remembered about it this afternoon, the top of the toffee seems to have melted. I followed your recipe to a T, i even used candy thermometer. What went wrong? Can i still fix it or is it totally unusable? Is it because the weather is extremely hot where i live?
Hi Githa! Bummer, I’m sorry to hear that! Tessa doesn’t live in a humid climate so she hasn’t come across this issue before, but I do and have had the exact same thing happen to me. My toffee pieces were sticky and super bendy. Personally, I threw mine out and started over. You are welcome to experiment with trying to reheat the toffee, melt, and then pour it out and cool again, but just know we haven’t tried that. If you do, let us know how it goes!