Dark Chocolate Almond Toffee Recipe

While "toffee may seem intimidating," says recipe developer Kate Shungu, "it's a lot easier than you might think." She describes her dark chocolate almond version as "a classic toffee recipe with its butter/sugar ratios," but with a modern addition of corn syrup. This special ingredient, she explains, helps to keep the granulated sugar from crystallizing, which would result in a grainy toffee. Thanks to that touch of corn syrup, this candy creation is nice and velvety.

Shungu describes this sweet treat as "crispy, crunchy, perfectly smooth toffee that's loaded with almonds and topped with chocolate and sea salt," pointing out the sweet and salty flavor combination many of us know and love. She also points out that "this recipe is perfect for holiday gift giving," especially since the cooler weather during the winter season will help the toffee maintain its crisp consistency while it's en route to your friends and family.

This toffee is made with a classic combination of butter, sugar, and a pinch of salt, plus, as previously mentioned, the addition of a little corn syrup. For the toppings, all you'll need are dark chocolate chips and chopped almonds.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat.

Place the butter, sugar, corn syrup, and ¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat.

Cook until the butter is melted, and stir to combine.

Continue cooking over medium heat until the mixture reaches 290 F on a candy thermometer or instant read thermometer. Stir the mixture very sparingly, just enough to ensure it cooks evenly.

Stir in ½ cup chopped almonds and spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet.

Sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips and allow to melt.

Using an offset spatula, spread the melted chocolate evenly over the almond mixture.

Sprinkle with remaining almonds and sea salt.

Allow the bark to cool completely, then break into pieces and serve.

While this toffee recipe is for a dark chocolate almond variety, you can instead use the instructions as the basic template for other types of toffee. You could swap out the dark chocolate chips for semi-sweet, milk, or white chocolate chips. Shungu also notes that "you can make this with any type of nut that you like." Her suggestions include pecans, cashews, walnuts, or pistachios, or you could opt for peanuts for a budget-friendly option or expensive macadamia nuts for something more upscale. Sunflower or pumpkin seeds could also make for a nut-free option.

Although Shungu uses flaky sea salt both in the toffee and as a topping, she tells us that this is more for aesthetic purposes as it makes "the best looking toffee." If you don't have any, you can simply use table salt in the butter mixture and omit the salty topping.

In the recipe, Shungu exhorts home cooks not to over-stir the toffee while it is cooking, explaining that "stirring too much can cause the sugar to crystallize, which causes the mixture to become grainy." Should the candy appear in need of mixing, her recommendation is to "just tip the pan from side to side instead of stirring" since this makes for a more gentle method of mixing.

Another issue you might face while making the toffee is that it could start to separate once you add the nuts. If this happens, Shungu advises, "Put it back on the stovetop over medium heat and stir constantly while allowing the mixture to come back to a boil." Once everything looks nice and smooth again, you can then go ahead and pour the candy onto the pan and proceed with the rest of the toffee-making process.