Chocolate Almond Toffee

Today is a very busy baking day for me but I was really in the mood to give the oven a break for a few minutes and make toffee!!  I love caramel, chocolate and almonds, so any recipe that combines them all has no chance to make it long in my house.  I have never used this recipe before but it was really simple to make. Just make sure that you have a candy thermometer to help you out.

Since I haven't made this before I followed the directions exactly including all of the times and the toffee turned out perfect!!

I literally poured the hot toffee mix onto my silpat (this way I didn't need to use oil or spray) and spread it a bit.  I didn't form it into any perfect shape, just spread it out and then spread the melted chocolate on top!  I like that the pieces are not perfectly shaped, to me the imperfections make the candy even more fun!  Enjoy the recipe....let me know how yours turns out!

Chocolate Almond Toffee

• 1 cup whole unblanched almonds
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1/3 cup rum (I used Malibu Rum)
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) butter cut into small pieces
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces

Directions

Position rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Spread nuts on a baking tray and bake until toasted, 10 to 15 minutes, turning as they toast.  Remove from oven and chop into course pieces. 

Clean baking tray and coat with vegetable oil spray or use a silpat. Spray both sides of the wooden spoon with vegetable oil spray. Set aside.

Make the toffee: Place sugar in a small deep saucepan. Add the corn syrup and rum and, over medium heat, bring to a boil. Let boil until large bubbles form on the surface, 3 to 4 minutes. Cover with foil and boil 5 minutes longer.

Add the pieces of butter and continue cooking, uncovered, over medium heat until temperature reaches 300 degrees F on a candy thermometer, about 30 minutes.  Remove from heat and immediately add the salt, baking soda, and 3/4 cup of chopped nuts. Stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.

Pour the toffee mixture on the oiled baking tray and spread the mixture out, making a block about 10 by 13 inches. The toffee will thicken very quickly, so work as fast as you can. When cool, blot some of the oil or vegetable spray with a clean towel.

While the toffee mixture is cooling, melt the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl placed over simmering water. When almost melted, turn off heat and let the chocolate continue to melt, stirring occasionally.

Spread the chocolate onto of the toffee, spreading to cover the entire surface and before the chocolate cools, sprinkle with the remaining chopped nuts.

When the toffee and chocolate have cooled and hardened completely, either break or cut toffee into pieces and serve!

Recipe adapted from Foodnetwork.com