English Toffee

You may have noticed on my homepage I say how I like to live a healthy lifestyle with a healthy dose of indulgence... Well this is some of that indulgence I was talking about. Perfect for the holidays and honestly one of my favorite Christmas time traditions is making my family's English toffee recipe. So turn on some Mariah Carey Christmas songs and whip up a batch of this sweet, crunchy, chewy treat!

English Toffee

Ingredients

• 1 lb. salted butter (make sure it's salted, this is very important!)
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (salted or unsalted, whatever you prefer; I like salted)
• 3/4 cup slivered almonds
• 6 regular sized Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars
• Small bowl of ice (if you do not have a candy thermometer)

Directions

~ Be sure to read all the notes at the bottom of this recipe first! ~

1. Open the chocolate bars and set them aside (to avoid scrambling at the end).
2. Combine butter and sugar in a saucepan* over low heat until they are melted together, stirring frequently. Add almonds.
3. Increase the heat to medium-high. Cook the mixture until it becomes a beautiful brown color and reaches 300° F, about 15 minutes**. Make sure you are stirring constantly but be sure not to stir fast - you just want to make sure you're always moving the mixture around.
4. When the mixture is ready***, carefully pour in an even layer onto a baking sheet.
5. Quickly place pieces of the chocolate all over the toffee. Let it sit for about 30 seconds until it melts, and spread it around evenly with a spatula.
6. Sprinkle the top with the walnuts and place the toffee in the fridge or freezer to set. Once cooled, stab it with a knife (doesn't have to be sharp, a dinner knife works great) to break it into shards. Keep it all for yourself or give it as a gift for the holidays. Enjoy!

* Make sure you use a saucepan big enough for the volume of the mixture to double, because it will!
** If you do not have a candy thermometer, test the consistency of the toffee by dripping a little on the ice cubes. Once it cools (just a few seconds), that will be the texture.
*** It goes from not ready to ready very quickly so do not leave your stove's side. Also do not let it go past 320° F, it will burn and the texture will be way off.