Valentine’s Day is coming up, so if you’re up to the challenge, it’s time to make some Valentine’s Day treats! Toffees are easier to make than you think. This recipe makes a lot at once ~ but be warned, you’ll never have enough!

Note: This recipe does require some experience in the kitchen. The stove will be used for caramelizing sugar so wear long sleeves and possibly some mittens.

Setup:

Get all of your ingredients ready. The toffee will need constant attention once it begins to boil, so measure everything out beforehand.

You will need:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks) or margarine
• ¼ cup water
• ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup finely chopped pecans (or almonds, or walnuts)

You also need a medium size pot. It is better if you use an old metal pot because you will probably need to do a bit of scrubbing later. Make sure it is dry, or your toffee will splatter when you cook it.

Put sugar, water, and chopped butter into the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-high. Stir continuously.

You want this to cook anywhere from 13-20 minutes. You will see the color change from a light caramel to a dark amber. Be aware, as it may continue to splatter.

If you have a candy thermometer, it will be ready once the mixture hits 300℉. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, you can know when the toffee is ready by putting a drop of it in ice cold water. If it separates into thin threads or cools to the hardness you like, then it is ready. A good hardness would mean it is  brittle, not sticky.

Carefully, wearing oven mitts, pour the mixture onto a cookie sheet. Quickly spread if necessary (it will cool rapidly!).

Let it cool for no more than a minute. Then, sprinkle the pan with chocolate chips. Let the chocolate sit for about two minutes; the toffee’s heat will melt them. Spread the chocolate with a spatula, and sprinkle with chopped pecans.

 This will need to cool for about an hour. You can speed up this process by refrigerating it, but either way you will need to be patient! Get to cleaning that pot while you wait; it will be much harder to clean once the leftover, sticky toffee inside cools.

 Finally, your toffee is ready to eat. The whole thing should pop right out of the pan. This is the fun part: breaking it into pieces! I’ve found it much easier to hold a big piece of toffee and whack chunks off the sides with the end of a spoon (it is also surprisingly satisfying) but you can Hulk-smash it, too, if you would like to. It should come out in pretty layers as shown below: 

If the toffee  didn’t work out, just try again. Here are a few common mistakes:

Making a double-batch: In the candymaker’s world, it is a huge no-no to double ingredients. Although it is tempting (I’ve done it before, I know) it will seriously mess up the cooking time. I’ve made this toffee in a double batch and it took almost an hour to fully cook. Double batches are also a lot harder to manage.

Undercooking: If your toffee is soft or chewy, you probably didn’t cook it long enough. Don’t fret, though, because now, you have caramel (sort of)!

Deciding to use half the butter: For some reason, people seem to think ingredients are optional. This recipe does have a lot of butter, but that’s what toffee is: caramelized sugar and butter. You aren’t supposed to eat the whole thing anyway…although that suggestion is actually optional. So, do not reduce ingredient quantities – it will mess up the proportions.

Whether you make toffee for friends, yourself, or someone special, I hope it does make your day a bit brighter!

Happy Valentine’s Day!