English Butter Toffee with Almonds and Pecans

This Homemade English Butter Toffee is crunchy, buttery, and chocolaty and loaded with almonds and pecans for a rich and decadent candy recipe that’s perfect for sharing!

English Toffee is an absolute timeless holiday treat, this classic has been everyone’s favorite for decades! 

This toffee is so good you can skip making anything else for your holiday tins, just fill them up with this candy! 

Although if you don’t want your toffee to be lonely add in my other favorite recipes for cookie tins! Peanut Butter Fudge, Crockpot Candy, or Shortbread Christmas Crack! 

Let this toffee recipe interrupt the hustle and bustle of the cookies and pies you’ve been making for the holidays! This rich, golden treat is addicting in the best way possible, make up a few batches, you’ll thank me later! 

Don’t shy away from making this because of the candy process or having to move quickly yet patiently. I’ve laid out the path to arrive at the best homemade toffee, your job is just to follow each step! 

Jump to the recipe at the bottom if you’re in a hurry to get addicted to this almond toffee recipe! 

Homemade English Butter Toffee Ingredients

Preparing the ingredients ahead of time will be one of the keys to success in this recipe! This recipe is made with two distinct layers, the toffee itself and the toppings for which you will need:

Toffee – Salted butter, sugar, and water are boiled together to make up the base of this recipe. Then toasted chopped almonds are folded into the toffee mixture before pouring onto the pan and hardening. 

Topping – Semi-sweet chocolate chips are melted and spread on the hot toffee layer and then sprinkled with pecan pieces and sea salt.

Kitchen Tools Needed

Along with gathering your ingredients here’s a list of kitchen tools you’ll need to have during the process as well: 

Candy Thermometer – A critical part of candy making is removing it from the heat at just the right temperature! This takes the guesswork out of which candy making stage your boiled sugar mixture is at. 

Heavy Bottom Pan – Heavy, high-quality stainless steel saucepans are best to use when making candy since they allow the heat to be distributed more evenly. This will ensure your toffee doesn’t get scorched! 

Baking Sheet – Used as the surface for the butter toffee to rest and harden on, giving you a nice thin, even layer.

Parchment Paper – Every baker’s best friend! This coated paper is non-stick and makes cleaning up a breeze! 

How To Make Butter Toffee 

Before beginning it’s important to measure out and prepare all of the ingredients. Making toffee is time-sensitive and requires you to work swiftly, so again, preparing everything ahead of time is vital! 

Line a large rimmed baking pan with parchment paper and set it aside. 

Prepare the nuts by toasting them for a few minutes at 350°F on a separate parchment-lined baking sheet. You could also toast them in a skillet over medium heat as well. 

Using your heavy saucepan combine the butter, sugar, and water and place it over medium heat. Stir the butter toffee constantly with a rubber spatula until the mixture begins to boil, about 5 minutes. 

Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and continue stirring it, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot. Continue stirring until the mixture is golden brown and registers 305°F but no more than 310°F on the candy thermometer, this is called the crack stage.

Remove the saucepan from heat and quickly stir in chopped almonds. Then quickly pour the toffee onto the prepared pan and spread it evenly out to ½ to ¼ inch thickness. 

Let the homemade toffee sit for 2 minutes then sprinkle chocolate chips all over the top of the hot toffee and let them sit. Once they’ve softened, spread the chocolate all over the surface with a rubber spatula. 

Finish the toffee off by sprinkling the pecan pieces and salt over the melted chocolate and let sit for 10 minutes. Toffee bits would also be a wonderful addition to the topping! 

Chill in the refrigerator for about 1 hour until the chocolate has hardened, then break it into roughly 2-inch pieces. You can store this in the refrigerator for up to 1 month in an airtight container.

Toffee Frequently Asked Questions 

Can I substitute semi-sweet chocolate chips for milk chocolate chips?

Yes, you can substitute the two. Semi-sweet gives a deeper chocolate flavor from the higher cocoa content so using milk chocolate may make them sweeter. 

Are there different toffee flavors? 

There are SO many flavors of toffee, peanut butter, coconut, cinnamon sugar, the list could go on! 

Does the weather dictate toffee results? 

Yes, it’s best to make this candy when it’s not raining, snowing, or humid. For best results make the candy on a clear dry day.  

Can you freeze this toffee? 

Yes! To freeze, place the toffee in a freezer bag and squeeze out any excess air. store in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Now that you’ve taken a bite of this delicious English Toffee aren’t you glad you made a few batches? Here are some more delicious recipes to try!

Try Another Tasty Recipe! 

• Sticky Toffee Pudding – Rich individual cakes in a sticky toffee sauce! 
• Yellow Cake – There’s always room left for a slice of homemade cake! 
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cake – Indulge in the best of both worlds, cake, AND cookie dough! 
• Banoffee Pie – A graham cracker crust piled with bananas, toffee caramel, and homemade whipped cream!  

Let’s Connect!

If you’ve tried this recipe, please let me know how you liked it in the comments below and leave a review. I love hearing from you!

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