Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Homemaking Tip – Toffee Bits


Michelle, Cali, and Cousin Haley

Ande wanted to have the cake with many names served at her Moses Lake reception.  It would have been a disaster to try and serve it as individual squares, so we crumbled chocolate cake into the bottom of a cup, poured two or three tablespoons of caramel over the crumbles, sprinkled a few tablespoons of toffee bits over the caramel, and topped it with whipped cream. 

Toffee bits cost nearly $3 a cup, so I made the toffee instead for nearly one-fourth the price.  After the toffee cooled, I put it in a sturdy bag, gave Michelle a rolling pin, and she crushed it into bits.  (I made plain toffee with no chocolate or nuts added.)  Toffee is easy to make and takes less time than a run to the grocery store.  Here are our recipes:  we used Teresa’s recipe when we lived at a high altitude and we use Janice’s recipe now that we live at a low altitude.  We've discovered it makes a difference which one you use where.

Teresa’s Toffee
1 pound butter (no substitutes)
2 ½ cups sugar
4 Tbsp corn syrup
1 cup water
            Boil ingredients until it reaches a hard crack stage (290-300 degrees).  Add chopped nuts if desired.  Pour into a buttered cookie sheet.  Frost with melted chocolate and sprinkle with nuts if desired.  Let cool.

Janice’s Toffee
1 pound butter (no substitutes)
2 ¼ cups sugar
¼ cup corn syrup
            Boil ingredients until it reaches 290 degrees.  Stirring constantly.  Add chopped nuts if desired.  Pour into a buttered cookie sheet.  Frost with melted chocolate and sprinkle with nuts if desired.  Let cool.

4 comments:

Jill said...

Your resourcefulness and creativity always impress me!

Ande said...

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Derek-Jenny-Kaitlynd-Ethan-Dylan said...

I love toffee.

I usually just put the chocolate chips right on (not melted)after pouring on a cookie sheet, wait a few seconds and spread. Saves me a step!!

Yum!

michelle said...

It's hard to beat toffee bits!

I'm cracking up over the cake being taken out of a box that says "soil test."