Toffee. What do you imagine when you see mention of this treat?
Before last Sunday, I held too close the cautious telling of an aunt. One day I’ll post the specifics. For now, with buckled fingers and a cringe in mind, I’ll whisper: burned finger, lips scalded to pouting, and bubbly bursts onto unsuspecting arms.
For years, I strayed from toffee recipes, despite loving it so. Fixes were found in random candy bars and pints of froyo with toffee bits freshly blended throughout.
After all of this time, what led me to stray from apprehension? Sometimes, all I need is a bump of encouragement from a darling cookbook and Sunday morning chockfull of sunshine and warmth.
Last Sunday was such a day. Apples for Jam is such a cookbook. Both coaxed my optimism to rise hazily (as did most of our neighbors) from out of the shadows, with my want of toffee in tow. I’d simply been coddling this fear long enough. Tessa Kiros’s recipe for Chocolate toffee nut squares promised to liberate me from the stronghold of my toffee timidity.
This is a consummate recipe for a Sunday morning. When an open-ended day lies in wait and vigor gets its hold on you. A batch yields enough to fill my cookie jar and two giftys for well-deserved friends and family. A candied delight whose making is just shy of 30 minutes.
Toffee is a lesson in patience. And, confidence. While the butter mixture gurgles, my overzealous watch is met with a stinging steam. Step back, it warns, or your worst toffee fears will be realized.
Doubt about the timing of the color change creeps along the crevices of my inexperience.
Lemon yellow settles to a furious pale yellow.
Then, finally, light brown smothers the spurting bubbles to a luscious and smooth tawny which is soon poured prudently around the baking sheet layered with parchment paper and a mix of chopped nuts.
A layer of chocolate chips melt fondly before their kissy shape is polished smooth with a snappy spatula.
I also sneak a swirl of the spatula, glistening with a chocolate glaze, through my coffee cup.
And, for the sake of frippery, scatter a sprinkle mix of chocolate jimmies and hearts.
My wanton impatience is eager for a taste. But, wait I must. I rest the sheet in the fridge. Distract with a mingle in the sunshine while stacking the moisture-rich firewood strewn about the yard.
Hours later, I break the wholesome sheet of toffee into triangular shards. After I ration out three shares, I gnaw on a morsel.
Thick toffee glides away from itself, like melting ice upon a frozen lake. Crackle, crackle. Remnants dwadle, encrusting teeth. Chocolate is rich and moody. Nuts snag texture. Lesson learned. Never shy away from something so sweet and magical.
Chocolate toffee nut squares
Adapted from Apples for Jam: A Colorful Cookbook by the lovely Tessa Kiros
Yields about 20 squares, or in my case, shoddy triangles
2 1/4 cups pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped (I used both.)
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh water
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 2/3 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup jimmies sprinkles
Line an 11 by 16 by 1-inch baking sheet with two sheets of parchment paper. Sprinkle the nuts upon the paper, and flatten them to a compact and even spread with the back of a wooden spoon.
To a heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the butter, vanilla extract, salt and water. Heat until the butter melts and just begins to bubble, then add the sugar. Cook over a low heat, stirring almost continuously to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom, until you have a thick, rich toffee-colored mass that comes away from the side of the pan when stirred. If you have a candy thermometer, it will be at just below 300°F. It could take up to 20 minutes to get there, depending on your pan and the heat. If the toffee looks like it’s separating at any point, remove it from the heat and vigorously beat in 2 1/2 tablespoons of hot water to seal it together again, taking care, as it may splash up.
When the toffee is brown, remove the pan from the heat and carefully pour the toffee over the nuts, beginning with the sides and working your way in from there, covering all the nuts. Sprinkle the chocolate as evenly as possible over the hot toffee, then leave it for 5 minutes to soften before spreading it evenly with a spatula. Scatter the jimmies sprinkles over the chocolate for added flair.
Leave to cool and set completely–in the fridge if the weather is very hot. Use the parchment paper edges to lift it out of the baking sheet. Break up the pieces and keep in a cookie jar, or in the fridge if the weather’s hot.
