Grandma Utahna's Toffee

Before you laugh and make fun of this Grandma's name,

like I did, (sounds like Utah with a na added) you had

better know that it is Joni's (Red Couch Recipes) husband's

grandmother and yes that is her real name - poor lady.

Joni has been making this toffee and bringing it to

our family for years.  She has given me the recipe and

I have tried making it, but it never tastes the same so

today I drove 1 1/2 hours to Joni's house so that we

could make toffee together.

I was thrilled with the way it turned out and it turns out to

be sooo easy too.  It is fabulous toffee and only takes minutes

to make a nice sized batch.  What a great gift.

As a matter of fact, I drove home and boxed up two

gift boxes which I took to neighbors, one for a hostess gift

for a party tonight and another just as a neighbor gift, so I

will be making more tomorrow!

The trick is in not overcooking the candy.

I cooked mine until it was brown and hers is more

of a light tan.  I don't make candy without a thermometer

that has been calibrated and this one is just by looks.

It really helped to have a hands-on experience.  This is what your

candy should look like as it is boiling and you want to be stirring

it constantly.  It will quickly become a pale tan just like you see

the candy look like in the photo and that is when you take it off

the stove.  It has a delightful soft crunch and the flavor is amazing.

Grandma Utahna's Toffee Recipe

Heat oven to 350.

In a square 8x8 pan place 1 C. broken pecans.

Place in oven to toast for about 10 minutes.  Watch

the nuts carefullyso they don't burn. 

 Remove from oven and let cool

while you are making the candy.

When pan is cool, line it with parchment paper and

place the toasted nuts on the bottom of the pan.

Place in a heavy saucepan:

1 C.salted butter, cut up (no substitutes)

1 C. sugar

3 T. water

Turn the heat on high and begin stirring.  Continue to stir through

the boiling process.  While stirring, use a wet pastry brush or

clean, wet dishcloth to wash down the sides of the pan to dissolve

any undissolved sugar crystals.  If you skip this step, the batch of

candy might turn to sugar and be grainy.  When the candy begins

to pull away from the edge of the pan and turns from creamy

white to a pale tan remove it from heat and pour it onto the

toasted nuts.  Do not scrape the pan, this can cause it to sugar

too. (I have a gas stove and mine took about 7-8 minutes.)

Wait about 10 minutes for the candy to cool a little, then

top it with 1 C. Guittard milk chocolate chips.  (We did a blind

 taste test today and Guittard was the winner between Herheys

and a store brand.)  It was smoother and creamier and had no

bitter aftertaste.  Let the chocolate chips melt then spread

around with the back of a spoon or a knife.  Let the candy

cool until the chocolate has hardened.  You may place it in

the fridge to make it cool faster.  Break it into pieces.

Yum.

Click here for printable recipe.

Grandma Utahna may have had a crazy name, but the woman knew

how to make some great toffee!

Thanks Joni for being a great teacher.

I am bring this toffee to these parties

It's A Wonderful Life, Tasty Tuesday, Foodie Friday