English Toffee

Ever since I was a little kid I have loved Heath bars. Now that I am older, I still love Heath bars, but have developed a love for REALLY good chocolate. Callebaut, Valrhona and Green & Black are all some of my favorites. I decided to marry my love of toffee with some of that really good chocolate and I found heaven.

If you enjoy toffee and good chocolate, you must give this a try. Please note, I did not sprinkle the top of my toffee with nuts because my kids are not a fan of nuts and they can't tell that there were nuts in the toffee. If I was making this just for myself, I would have adorned the top with nuts, however I would have had no helping eating the toffee which would be detrimental to fitting into skinny jeans.

English Toffee
adapted from Martha Stewart

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pan and foil

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 tablespoons light corn syrup

3 tablespoons water

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups toasted almonds, chopped finely

8 ounces of your favorite semisweet chocolate, melted

Directions

Butter a 12-by-18-inch baking pan. Cover two large cutting boards or cardboard pieces with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, corn syrup and 3 tablespoons water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches 300 degrees.on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and 1 1/4 cups almonds, and pour out into prepared pan, spreading the mixture with the back of a spoon to fill the pan.

Before candy hardens, but when it is firm enough to handle, turn it out onto parchment-lined board. Allow to cool completely.

Wipe the surface of candy with a damp paper towel to remove excess butter, and allow to dry.

Using a small offset spatula, quickly spread melted chocolate over the candy. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to set chocolate.

Break candy into 2-inch pieces. The candy may be stored in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 1 week; use parchment paper to separate layers.