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
How to Make Homemade Toffee Bits
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 Toffee Bits?
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 Are Needed for Homemade Toffee Bits:
- Butter (make sure to use American unsalted butter – European butter has too much butterfat and the toffee will separate)
- Light brown sugar
- Salt
Why American-Style Butter Only?
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 and unfortunately, we have yet to find a way to make this recipe work with butter containing higher percentages of fat. If you are successful in creating a hard toffee using European-style butter, please let us know in the comments below.
How to Make DIY Toffee Bits From Scratch:
- 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.
- If your toffee burns on the bottom or you’re having trouble with the toffee separating (and you’re using American-style butter!), try a thicker-based heavy 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.
- 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.
How to Store Toffee Bits
Once cooled and cut or broken into pieces, 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.
Recipes Using Toffee Bits:
- Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Coffee Toffee Crunch Muffins
- Salted Caramel Toffee Cupcakes
- Caramel Apple Streusel Pie
- Toffee Brownies
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Homemade Toffee Bits
Ingredients
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted American butter*
- 1 cup (200 grams) light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Line a small rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- 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 candy thermometer reaches 295 to 305°F, about 10 minutes.
- If the mixture separates at all, remove from heat and whisk vigorously until recombined. Return to heat and continue cooking.
- Immediately and carefully pour the hot toffee onto the prepared baking pan, allowing it to spread into an even layer. Let cool and harden for about 20 minutes.
- 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
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
I made this recipe for my husband – who LOVES skor bars. I did not have unsalted butter so I made it using salted butter and did not add any salt to that and it came out beautiful!!! I can hardly believe I never made this before, it’s way easier than I expected and tasted better than commercially made toffee. Everyone loved it so much that I’m making another batch (double) right now! I did buy the candy thermometer as linked here and it came out perfectly on the first try!
These are definitely addicting! So happy you love this recipe, Kim 🙂
I’m in the UK and just made this toffee with European butter and it came out fine. Used Tescos own brand of unsalted butter and it didn’t separate at all. Tastes great. Thank you
Quick, easy and delicious! it came out great! Cooking for 10 minutes was accurate for me. I wasn’t sure my thermometer would be able to give me an accurate temperature (it’s not a candy thermometer) but I gave it a shot after 10 minutes. It was at 298!
Something I’ve discovered: You SHOULD NOT use a nonstick pan when making toffee. I made this in a stainless steel pan and it came out perfect. Cleaning will be a pain, but every toffee recipe I’ve made in a nonstick pan has separated and gotten messed up.
so first time I made it my sugar and butter separated and I had to toss it but on the second batch I found out that adding a little bit of hot water when it separates fixes it so I made my second batch on a lower heat and was more patient and when it separated I took the pan off the heat, added a little bit of hot water and mixed it until it combined again and then put it back on the heat. I kept doing this for 10 minutes and it turned out good.
Audrey, thank you so much for sharing this info. This will be very helpful! I’m going to try this again.
I made two batches – both broke immediately and neither benefited from off-heat vigorous stirring to bring it back together. I make regular caramel (granulated sugar, water/boil to caramel color, add butter & cream) and have never had an issue. I so appreciate the tip to add some hot water because I was able to save both batches – even the one that was like boulders it was so hard!!! Maybe some water at the beginning would be helpful.
This is my second time making this and the first time it came out great! I used them in your Brownbutter toffee chocolate chip cookies ( to die for)! I’m wanting to make them again but this time my toffee came out all wrong. It started separating after it was done and was on the cookie sheet to dry out. All the butter just stared seeping out. I am using a butter with 80% butterfat but I am thinking the problem is the sugar. I only had dark brown sugar on hand instead of light. Do you suspect this is the reason why my toffee went haywire? Thank you- I love all your recipes so much. You have helped me understand the science behind baking and have helped me become a better cookie baker!
Hi Mady! We are so happy to hear that you love Tessa’s recipes and tips!! The issue you had with your toffee could be due to the fark brown sugar you used, as dark brown sugar contains more molasses than light brown sugar, so it will bring more moisture. Hopefully it goes perfectly for you next time, using light brown sugar 🙂 Happy baking!
If you need light brown sugar but have white and dark brown sugar, you can whisk them together to lighten the molasses ratio. So for this recipe, you would whisk together 1/2 c dark brown sugar and 1/2 c white sugar beforehand. I haven’t tried it with toffee but I’ve used this trick for brownies and cookies and it’s always worked well for me.
I made these, super easy and delicious. I live in Sweden so I had to use european butter. No problem, turned out great.
Came out perfect! Thanks for sharing this simple recipe. Love it!
Wow. This was insanely yummy. I’m not sure I’ll be able to save any to use in the cookies thank you!
Is it okay to use Dark Brown Sugar instead of Light? I understand Dark has more molasses so there is chance of it messing with the structure of the toffee, but I was wondering if it will really make that big of a difference with the toffee and if anyone has tried it before? I always use dark instead of light for my recipes, just love the flavor and chewiness it adds so hoping to not have to buy a different type 😀
Hi Sofia! Unfortunately, we haven’t tried using dark brown sugar in this toffee, so we can’t say for sure how that will work. The additional moisture from the molasses may cause the toffee to split or prevent it from setting up properly. Let us know how it goes if you give this a try 🙂
I consider myself a pretty swell, veteran at home baker and this recipe frustrated me like nothing in a very long time. Three attempts, all components accounted for: butter fat, heavy duty pan, even tried some of the, “save this broken mess” tips listed by others. It just breaks every.single.time, and even if taking off the heat works…it breaks again. I can’t imagine
So sorry to hear about your issues with this recipe, K! It’s very frustrating when a recipe doesn’t turn out the way you expect. Do you have any initial thoughts as to what went wrong? Most importantly, make sure you’re using American (~80% butterfat) butter. Secondly, you need to continuously whisk the ingredients – it takes a little bit of time for them to fully combine, but just keep whisking. Before you know it, you’ll have the peanut butter consistency and correct temp you’re looking for. Can I help troubleshoot further? This is a favorite recipe of mine (especially when used in our Browned Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Recipe), and I’d love for you to enjoy them the way they’re meant to be!
Were you using a nonstick pan? I’ve found that really messes with any toffee recipe I try and make.
Managed this with butter from UK! I just added a splash of water prior to melting the butter and it worked a dream
how many cups of toffee bits does this recipe yield?
Hi Kat! This recipe makes 1 1/2 cups of toffee. Be sure to read through all Tessa’s tips in the pink tip box above the recipe, before making this toffee. Let us know what you think once you have given it a try! 🙂