toffee (again!)

This is a post previously shared on my former blog and posted again each year. This is such a favorite that I receive multiple requests for it each year. 

 

Toffee
1 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Butter an 8-inch square pan. spread the chopped nuts in the pan.
Heat the butter and sugar and boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture darkens and just begins to smoke, approximately 7 minutes.
Immediately pour the mixture evenly over the nuts and sprinkle the chocolate chips over this.
Cover the pan with a cookie sheet to keep the heat in and melt the chocolate.
Spread the chocolate evenly over the toffee layer. If desired, sprinkle more chopped nuts into the chocolate layer. Score while still warm, unless you don't mind irregularly broken pieces. (I don't mind them.) Refrigerate until hard.

Nicola's edited additions: I don't usually stir constantly. A reader commented about butter separation. When she did so, it had never happened to me. It subsequently happened once. I believe it was because I started with frozen butter and let that melt and begin to bubble before I added the sugar. Make sure you put these in the pan at the same time, room temperature. If you like hard toffee, make sure you cook it long enough. (It begins to have a slightly burnt smell.) If you like softer toffee, don't cook it as long. The 7 minute marker is helpful, but I find it takes longer, and after you have done a handful of batches, you will also notice the mixture thin and darken slightly.

from The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn