Tessa's Recipe Rundown
Taste: Sweet, nutty, and delicious.
Texture: Perfectly crunchy with a slight candy chew.
Ease: Just 3 ingredients and 15 minutes prep and cook time.
Pros: Such a fun DIY!
Cons: None.
Would I make this again? Absolutely, I like to make a double batch and sprinkle them on everything I bake for weeks.
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I adore toffee.
Like butterscotch, toffee seems to be caramel’s forgotten cousin. To me, it deserves as much adoration as caramel. Maybe more!
As much as I love a buttery toffee recipe on its own, my favorite is when it’s added to something already delicious.
It’s the perfect addition to a chocolate chip cookie, blondie, brownie or even banana bread. Or sprinkle the toffee on cupcakes, French toast, or ice cream. Plus, you likely already have the simple ingredients on hand to make it from scratch.
Bonus: this toffee recipe is also a great treat for giving as delicious holiday gifts during the holidays or Christmas!
Sprinkle of Science
What is Toffee?
Toffee is a crunchy, sweet, buttery, cooked sugar candy, similar to caramel and butterscotch. These three classic dessert components seem very similar – so how do they differ?
- Caramel: Based on white granulated sugar. Typically, butter, milk/cream, and vanilla are added for flavor and to produce a thick, creamy caramel. Caramel can be heated less for a sauce consistency, longer for a chewy soft caramel, or even longer for a crunchier hard caramel. I have a recipe for caramel sauce here.
- Butterscotch: Similar process to caramel, but made with brown sugar instead of granulated white sugar. Cream and vanilla are also often added. I have a recipe for butterscotch sauce here.
- Toffee: Just like butterscotch, toffee starts with brown sugar – but the difference between butterscotch and toffee is the temperature it’s heated to. Toffee is cooked longer to a much higher temperature – all the way to the ‘hard crack’ stage. This means that toffee will harden completely as it cools, and can then be cut or broken into pieces, to be added to other delicious desserts, or simply enjoyed by itself!
What are Toffee Bits?
Just what it sounds like! Bits of crunchy sweet toffee, chopped or broken into pieces about the same size as chocolate chips.
Can’t You Just Buy These?
Yes, you can buy them in the baking aisle under the Heath brand. However, they can be difficult to find in some regions and stores. Additionally, many stores only carry chocolate-covered toffee bits, which you may not always want.
But trust me, this homemade toffee recipe is even tastier than the Heath version! Plus, no preservatives or artificial flavors in these homemade sweet morsels!
Only 3 Ingredients:
- Butter (more on this below)
- Light brown sugar
- Salt
Why American-Style Butter?
European-style butter (such as Kerrygold) contains a higher butterfat percentage, compared to American-style butter. This lack of water content in European-style butter results in the toffee separating, and/or refusing to set fully. Any butter over 80% butterfat will cause these issues unless you add in 1-2 tablespoons of water to the melting butter.
Step by Step:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Then, add the sugar and salt and whisk until combined. Continue whisking for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture looks like melted peanut butter (reference the picture below). Make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan or pot.
- Pour the toffee onto the prepared baking sheet pan, allowing it to spread. Let cool for about 20 minutes.
- Use a mallet, rolling pin, or heavy object to crack the batch of toffee into small bits.
- You can now use your toffee pieces to amp up the flavor in cookies, brownies, streusel toppings, sprinkled on top of vanilla ice cream, you name it!
Tips for Making Toffee:
- Before you start the recipe, line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. It’s best to do this first because you will need to pour the finished toffee onto the prepared pan immediately.
- Use a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Pans with thinner bottoms will heat too aggressively and may cause separation or scorching.
- Never step away from the toffee while it’s on the stove. It can burn quickly.
- Do not try to touch or taste the sugar while it’s cooking, as it will be extremely hot.
- Separated toffee can sometimes be saved by removing the saucepan from the heat and whisking vigorously until it comes back together into a smooth mixture. You may need to add a tablespoon of water to re-emulsify.
- A candy thermometer is so helpful in making toffee. This is my favorite candy thermometer.
- Make sure to let the toffee cool completely before you break it into bits and store it.
- If the toffee is flexible instead of hard, it wasn’t cooked long enough. You can break into pieces, return to the stove, and re-melt and cook to 295-305°F.
How to Store Toffee Bits
Once cooled and cut or broken into pieces, store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 1 month. Alternatively, freeze in an airtight container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw at room temperature before enjoying or adding to cookie dough, streusel or other baked goods.
Try Next: Dutch Apple Pie With Caramel Streusel Topping
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Ingredients
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted American butter*
- 1 cup (200 grams) light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Prepare your pan first: Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. This will make it easy to pour and cool the toffee later.
- Melt the butter: Place butter in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat and let it melt gently. Heating over high heat may cause the mixture to separate.
- Add sugar and salt: Once the butter is partially melted, stir in the brown sugar and salt, then use a whisk to whisk vigorously for 1 full minute until smooth and evenly combined. The sugar won't be fully dissolved yet—that's normal.
- Cook carefully: Keep the pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, including the edges to scrape up any sugar that sticks. The mixture will bubble, thicken, and look like smooth, melted peanut butter.⚠️ Important: Don't leave the pan unattended or stop stirring, even for a moment. Toffee can burn very quickly if ignored.
- If the mixture separates: If the butter and sugar split at any point (see Notes), remove the pan from heat and whisk vigorously until smooth. Return to medium heat, stirring constantly, to finish cooking.
- Check for doneness:*With a candy thermometer: 295°F-305°F (about 8-10 minutes)*Without a thermometer: Watch and smell closely. The mixture is ready when all three of these happen: the mixture is very smooth and glossy, the color turns a deep golden-brown, and a rich, toasty caramel aroma fills the air.
- Pour and spread: Immediately pour the hot toffee onto the prepared pan and use a spatula to spread evenly. Be careful, it's very hot! Let cool and harden, about 20 minutes.
- Break into pieces and store: Once hardened, crack into small pieces with a mallet, rolling pin, or heavy object, or cut with a sharp serrated knife. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 1 month.
Notes
- Butter: American-style butter gives the best texture and flavor. If using European-style butter ( 82% or more fat), add 1 tablespoon (14 g) of water as it melts to compensate for the lower water content. Cook to 300°F. The resulting toffee may be slightly greasier and is best used immediately.
- Salt: Don’t skip it! Salt helps stabilize the mixture and enhances the flavor overall.
- Pan: Heavy-bottomed pans distribute heat evenly. Avoid thin-bottomed or cheap pans, which can create hot spots and cause separation or burning.
- Heat: Keep medium heat consistent. Avoid abrupt changes or cooking on higher temperatures to speed up.
- Timing: Cooking time depends on your pan and stove. If separation happens within the first few minutes or your toffee cooks much faster than the time listed, your heat is likely too high. Always rely on sensory cues — texture, color, and aroma — rather than the clock alone.
- Toffee not hardening? If your toffee hasn’t set and is bendy, it likely didn’t cook long enough. To fix it, simply return the mixture to the pan over medium heat and cook while following the three sensory cues listed in the recipe — texture, color, and aroma — to know when it’s ready.
Recipes Using Toffee Bits:
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin. Recipe instructions updated in December 2025 for clarity.
I have made your chocolate chewy chocolate chip cookies and was wondering if you can use
Couverture semi chocolates in the chocolate chip cookie instead of semi chocolate chips?than you
Dianna
I have bought your book and magazine WHICH I CANNOT PUT DOWN. I HAVE LEARNED A LOT!! Thank you.
Hi Dianna! Yay, we’re so thrilled to hear that you’re loving Tessa’s wonderful book and magazine!! 🙂 As for your question, couverture chocolate tends to melt faster due to the higher percentage of cocoa butter it contains, so it may get a touch messy in chocolate chip cookies – but I’m sure it would also be super delicious! Check out this recipe for Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, which uses a combination of regular semisweet chocolate chips as well as higher-end chocolate baking wafers. This combo might be perfect for you 🙂 Happy baking!
I live in Europe and I don’t have access to butter with less fat, so I was wondering if it was possible to use margarine instead?
Hi Mina! We don’t advise using margarine because it won’t react the same way as butter, as it’s made from oils – and it won’t taste as good, either! I would recommend experimenting with any butters you can find with 80% butterfat, if possible – and if you cannot find such a butter available, you are more than welcome to experiment, but we have not seen much success with butters containing over 80% butterfat, unfortunately. Let us know how it goes 🙂
simple ingredients easy to make good instructions and delicious 😉
Hi I used publix unsalted sweet cream butter which is a stick style butter that I thought was american but online it says it contains 82% fat and separated when I tried the recipe. I tried researching which brands had 80% but I can’t find anything. Can you let me know which brand of butter you used please
Hi London! Tessa loves using Challenge unsalted butter for all baking, but Land O Lakes is a great choice too. Good luck!
I just made this and after 2 attempts have 2 batches. The first, I thought I’d try European butter (Kerrygold) since its all I had. And just as the notes say, it didn’t firm up. In hindsight I might do this on purpose next time and use it in ice cream!
But I went out and got America butter (Land-o-Lakes) and tried again. That set up nicely and worked as expected. (It actually separated right at the end, but I was able to bring it back by adding about 1 tbl boiling water and stirring back to temp.)
But I thought I’d try some of the comments and try to redeem the first batch instead of throw it out.
So I put it back on the heat, added about 2 tsp Molasses (didn’t have Corn Syrup) and 1 tbl boiling water. I then just re-followed the instructions heating it back to temp and it worked! I don’t know if it’s smart to add the water at any other point in the process with European butter, but this trick did work for me.
Thanks!
Turned out GREAT after a trial & error.
My first attempt I took off too soon (oops went by time rather than temp).
It was still soft, BUT I read a comment saying you could just put it back in the pot and heat it back up.
I did this and after whisking a lot to get it to combine again, got it up to temperature and now I have toffee bits!
Thanks for the recipe and the commenter who gave the tip to reheat any too-soft attempts!
I rate the website and idea 5 stars! My skills or instinct without a candy thermometer is like 2 stars. I made this twice. The first separated at 9min after adding the sugar. Removing from heat at the first signs of separation and whisking was a lost cause. It looked like a peanut blob oozing oil uncontrollably. It became too hard to stir and not splash the hot separated butter all over the kitchen and my clothing. I had to throw that one in the sink. I then tried a second batch at slightly lower temperatures. I kept mixing and this time it separated after 6 min. I may have mixed too aggressively and sped up the separation. Rather than try to save this one, I immediately dumped it onto the cookie sheet to see if it would be edible after sponging all the buttery sweat off its brow like a 15th round boxer.
Hi Seth! Oh no, I’m sorry you had issues making this toffee! First question: did you use European-style butter? Any butter over about 80% butterfat will cause this toffee to separate, unfortunately. The other issue could be the saucepan you’re using. If you use a pan with a thinner base, the temperature might be too harsh for the toffee and it might cause it to separate due to the temperature being too high. If you ever give this another try, be sure to use 80% butterfat butter, and keep the temperature a little lower and/or use a thick-based pan, and if it starts to separate, stir as vigorously as possible (without splashing yourself!) off the heat or over a very low heat, until it comes back together. I hope that helps! Best of luck!!
This is a great recipe! Came out perfect. I only had salted butter so I cut back on the salt.
Hello,
I live in Europe. Can somebody tell me what is the average fat percentage of an American butter?
Thanks,
Mirjam
Hi Mirjam! Most American-style butters will contain about 80% butterfat. Most European butters contain 82% or higher. We have yet to find a way to make this recipe work, without separating, using a butter containing more than 80% butterfat. If you are able to find a butter with 80% fat, let us know how it goes. Good luck 🙂
How do store thede chips and for how long can they be stored?
Hi Pamela! You can store these for about a week inside an airtight container or a ziptop bag 🙂
Hi there I’m confused on American vs European butter I use Kerrygold would that work?
Hi Tiffany! Kerrygold is a European-style butter, so it has a higher butterfat content and will therefore likely cause the toffee to split. If you’re in the US, try using Challenge or Land o Lakes or a similar American-style butter 🙂
Why is this recipe only good for one week after being cooked?
Hi Barbara! It may last longer than that, but it should be good for at least a week. It all depends on your weather and environment. It may start to get soft after a week or so if it’s very humid and/or hot where you live. We just like to be cautious when giving shelf-life estimates, and err on the side of caution. Let us know what you think if you give this toffee a try!