Homemade toffee bits
Homemade toffee bits are buttery, sweet nuggets of crunch perfect for baking or snacking. They’re quick to make with just a few ingredients.
Ingredients
- 150 g granulated sugar
- 100 g butter
- 15 g water
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Line a baking tray with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Set it next to the stove before you start, because the toffee sets quickly once it's ready.
- In a small to medium, heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter, sugar and water with the salt over medium heat. 150 g granulated sugar, 100 g butter, 15 g water, Pinch of salt
- Whisk constantly as it cooks. The mixture goes through three stages. First it bubbles rapidly and looks pale and loose. Then it thickens into a pale, paste-like mixture that can look almost grainy. Finally it smooths out, becomes really runny and deepens to amber. This takes 7 to 10 minutes.
- Once the mixture smooths out and starts to thin, swap the whisk for a heat-proof spatula and keep it moving, scraping the base and corners of the pan.
- It's ready when it's both deep amber and running off the spatula in a thin, glossy stream. Both cues need to be there. Don't let it get very dark or smell sharp or it will taste bitter.
- Remove from the heat and pour onto the prepared tray straight away, scraping the pan out with the spatula. Tilt the tray to spread the toffee into a thin, even layer, around 3 mm thick.
- Let it cool and harden completely.
- Once set, break into small shards.
Notes
How to tell it's ready
Watch for thin and dark together, not just dark. When the mixture is deep amber and pouring freely off the spatula, the sugar has melted and it's done.
Whisk first, spatula second
The whisk matters early, through the pale thick stage, because that's when the butter and sugar are most likely to split and whisking is what keeps them emulsified. Once the mixture thins, swap to a heat-proof silicone spatula. It scrapes the base and corners where sugar catches and scorches, which a whisk skims over, and it gets the batch out of the pan cleanly. A balloon whisk traps toffee between the wires and it sets solid in there.
Stirring
Keep it moving continuously to keep the butter and sugar emulsified and stop the mixture splitting. If it splits, take it off the heat, add a teaspoon of hot water and whisk vigorously to bring it back together. Be careful not to splash yourself, it's extremely hot.
How to break the toffee into bits
- For big shards, use your hands. Snap the edges gently with your fingers to get irregular, rustic shards.
- Tap with a tool. I like to use the back of a tool like the handle of a knife or a rolling pin. Tap lightly or press down to break the toffee along its natural lines.
- For smaller bits. Put the toffee in a zip-top bag and gently tap it with a rolling pin or meat mallet.
Nutrition
Serving: 10gCalories: 69kcalCarbohydrates: 6gProtein: 0.1gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 40mgPotassium: 2mgSugar: 6gVitamin A: 156IUCalcium: 2mgIron: 0.004mg
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