Buttercrunch Pecan Toffee is the perfect treat with toasted, buttery pecans mixed with sweet toffee and topped with a rich chocolate layer.
Delicious homemade Candy Recipes like this buttery, crunchy chocolate-covered toffee are the perfect addition to any holiday gift basket or cookie box! For more shareable toffee treats, try my Classic Butter Toffee, Toffee Bits or Saltine Toffee too.
Table of contents
Sabrina’s Buttercrunch Pecan Toffee Recipe
Toffee is an old-fashioned sweet and crunchy candy made by mixing caramelized sugar and butter. This recipe walks you through preparing an easy and tasty toffee mixture on the stovetop. After combining the buttery mixture, add toasted pecans for a wonderful boost of flavor and crunch. Then, let it all harden with a layer of chocolate over the top. The combination of rich chocolate, caramelized candy, and pecans is pure perfection. You won’t be able to get enough of this easy homemade confection!
Ingredients
- 3 cup pecans: Add sweet, nutty flavor and a delicious crunch to your toffee recipe with chopped pecans. Toasting the pecans enhances the natural flavor and crunchy texture of the nuts.
- 2 cups unsalted butter: Dice butter and melt it on the stovetop with the sugar for a rich, decadent, buttery flavor in your toffee recipe.
- 2 cups sugar: As you heat the white sugar and butter, the sugar melts into the butter and starts to caramelize. The buttery caramelized syrup acts as the delicious base for your toffee recipe.
- 6 tablespoons boiling water: Add hot water to the caramelized mixture to help thin out the consistency and blend everything smoothly.
- ¼ cup light corn syrup: Corn syrup enhances the toffee’s sweet flavor and keeps the sugar from crystallizing as the candy hardens.
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips: Sprinkle chocolate chips over the warm toffee mixture. The toffee will melt the chocolate chunks so that you can spread it into an even layer.
Kitchen Tools & Equipment
- Candy Thermometer: A candy thermometer is essential in this recipe. Use it to check your toffee as it cooks and remove from heat as soon as the syrupy mixture comes to temperature.
- Baking Sheet: Use a standard 9 × 13-inch baking sheet. Be sure to use a rimmed baking sheet with tall enough sides to hold layers of toffee, chocolate, and nuts.
- Parchment paper: Line your pan with parchment paper to prevent the toffee from sticking.
- Skillet: Toast the pecans in a large cast iron skillet.
- Heavy Saucepan: Prepare the toffee mixture in a medium saucepan. Be sure to use a large and tall enough pan so that the sugar mixture won’t spill over the sides.
- Whisk: Use a whisk to stir the candy mixture frequently and keep the sugar from burning.
- Spatula: A rubber spatula spreads the melted chocolate into an even layer over the toffee.
How to Make
Time needed: 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Prep time
Assemble your ingredients and line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Toast pecans
Spread chopped pecans out in a pan over medium heat. Move the pan gently to mix as you toast. Continue toasting pecans until they become fragrant. Transfer the toasted pecans to a mixing bowl.
- Prepare candy mixture
Add butter and granulated sugar to the saucepan and cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes. The sugar should melt into the butter and turn golden brown.
- Whisk and heat
Pour in the water and corn syrup. Whisk the mixture frequently until it reaches 300-310 degrees. This may take between 18-20 minutes.
- Add nuts
Mix 1 cup of toasted pecans into the toffee mixture.
- Transfer candy mixture
Then, pour the toffee into the prepared baking sheet and let it cool for 5 minutes.
- Add chocolate
Sprinkle chocolate chips over the toffee. Let the chocolate sit for 5 minutes, and then use a spatula to spread it into an even layer.
- Add more pecans
Add the remaining 2 cups of pecans in an even layer over the top.
- Chill to Set
Cover and refrigerate Buttercrunch Pecan Toffee until the chocolate hardens, about 20 minutes. Break the homemade candy into pieces to serve.
Ingredients
- 3 cup pecans , roughly chopped (divided)
- 2 cups unsalted butter , diced
- 2 cups sugar
- 6 tablespoons boiling water
- 1/4 cup light corn syrup
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add pecans to a pan on medium heat and toast, swirling to mix, until it just starts to get fragrant.
- Remove to a bowl.
- Add butter and sugar to a saucepan and cook for 4-5 minutes until golden brown.
- Add in the water and corn syrup whisking frequently (about every 45 seconds or so) until it reaches 300-310 degrees on a candy thermometer (18-20 minutes).
- Add in just 1 cup of the toasted pecans, stir to combine.
- Pour into pan and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Add chocolate chips over the toffee.
- Let sit for 5 minutes then spread with a spatula.
- Top with remaining 2 cups of chopped pecans.
- Refrigerate for 20 minutes to harden chocolate.
- Break apart into pieces.
Nutrition
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Chef’s Note: A tasty holiday gift!
Homemade toffee makes an excellent edible gift to give to friends, neighbors, or family. I recommend freezing the candy before you package it and using small tongs instead of your hands as much as possible. While you can put the candy directly in candy tins, gift baskets, etc, personally I like to wrap portions in festive cellophane. This keeps it fresher longer plus you don’t get chocolate on your other goodies.
Can this be made ahead of time?
Yes. This homemade candy recipe is easy to make now and enjoy later for the holiday season. Follow the regular recipe instructions and let the toffee harden as usual. After breaking it into pieces, add the candy to a ziplock bag to store at room temperature, in the fridge, or the freezer until you’re ready to serve.
Nutritional Facts
What to Pair With Pecan Toffee
- Drinks: Sweet, crunchy toffee is a delicious snack to serve with Hot Chocolate, Eggnog or coffee.
- Desserts: Crunchy pecan toffee makes an amazing ice cream topping. Break the toffee into small pieces and sprinkle it over Vanilla, Chocolate, or Coffee Ice Cream.
How to Store
- Store: You can keep homemade toffee fresh at room temperature or in the fridge. Store the candy in an airtight container lined with wax or parchment paper. It can stay good for a week at room temperature or up to 2 weeks in the fridge.
- Freeze: Buttercrunch Pecan Toffee freezes beautifully. Keep the recipe sealed in a freezer bag with wax paper between layers to keep the pieces from freezing together. Properly sealed, frozen toffee can stay good for a full year.
- Serve: If you store the toffee in the fridge or freezer, let it come back to room temperature before serving so that it’s not too hard.
Frequent Questions
To toast the pecans, add them to a pan over medium heat without any oil. Mix as you toast to keep the nuts cooking evenly. It should only take 5-7 minutes to toast the chopped pecans. You can tell that the pecans are properly toasted when they become fragrant.
These sugar confections are quite similar as they’re both made by caramelizing sugar. However, toffee is made with a combination of sugar and butter, which hardens as it sets. Caramel is made with a combination of sugar and milk or cream for a soft, chewy candy.
To break the toffee into pieces, lift up on the sides of the parchment paper to remove it from the pan. Then, drop it from a few inches above the countertop to shatter it. Alternatively, you could use a kitchen mallet to break the toffee into small pieces to serve.
Variations
- Nuts: You can make your crunchy toffee with different kinds of nuts. If you prefer, swap out the pecans for toasted almonds, walnuts, or hazelnuts.
- Chocolate: You can also use different varieties of chocolate. For a slightly deeper, lightly bitter flavor, use dark chocolate chips. Or, for a more milky, sweet taste, melt milk chocolate.
- Salted Toffee: For a bit of salty flavor to balance the sweetness of the recipe, sprinkle sea salt over the top of the toffee before it sets for an addicting holiday treat.
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