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toffee

Ritz Crackers Chocolate Toffee

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A lot of my posts start with “Bret went to Costco…” This one will too.

Bret went to Costco and brought home a huge box of Ritz Crackers.

Ritz Cracker Chocolate Toffee

I love Ritz Crackers when they’re very fresh and fortunately these are.

The dilemma is, what do you do with 10 pounds of them?

Make sweet/salty, crunchy, buttery Ritz Crackers Chocolate Toffee, that’s what!

Ritz Cracker Chocolate Toffee

Many years ago I posted Quick and Easy Salted Chocolate Toffee, which is very similar to this one, but uses caster sugar versus brown sugar. And of course, different crackers.

If you go to the link, don’t make fun of my photo. I was a newbie and at the time thought it was a great picture. One day I’ll go back and re-shoot that recipe and it will be sooooo great.

Ritz Cracker Chocolate Toffee

Ritz Crackers Chocolate Toffee is easy to put together, but you do need to be careful. The sugar/butter toffee mixture is muy hot, so don’t even think about sticking your finger in to taste it!

Really, though, be careful pouring it into the pan and make sure the pan is on a sturdy base before you pour.

Also, the baked cracker/toffee mixture wiggles around some when you pour on the chocolate, so just take your time when you pour it. Then lightly smooth it out so it doesn’t all mush together. Even if it does mush together it will still taste great.

Ritz Cracker Chocolate Toffee

Be creative with the toppings. I use sliced almonds. At Christmas I’m going to sprinkle some of those chocolate/peppermint bits on it. Maybe a little of those toffee bits, pecans, or even crushed pretzels.

The buttery base of this is so good and will support almost any topping you choose.

Ritz Crackers Chocolate Toffee is a great snack or dessert for the family. I sprinkled it with a little sea salt before the chocolate set up completely. That’s entirely optional, but I like the sweet/salty thing.

Put this on your list for Christmas plates, too. I know it’s a little early, but really now – it’s never to early to start looking for new Christmas goodies!

**Don’t forget to check out my amazing Ritz Cracker Pie!

Ritz Crackers Chocolate Toffee

Ritz Crackers Chocolate Toffee

Yield: 12 pieces
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Sweet/salty, buttery, crunchy toffee covered in chocolate and your favorite topping.

Ingredients

  • 16-18 Ritz Crackers
  • 1/2 C butter
  • 1/2 C plus 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 C chocolate chips or your favorite meltable chocolate
  • Toppings of your choice - sliced almonds, pecans, crushed pretzels, crushed peppermint

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Line an 8x8" pan with parchment paper, creasing the inside edges to lay flat.
  2. Place Ritz Crackers over the bottom of the pan, then fill in the spaces with the rest of the crackers (will kind of be 2 layers in parts).
  3. In a medium nonstick pan over medium heat , melt the butter and add the brown sugar, stirring to completely combine. Once the mixture starts boiling, do not stir. Turn to a medium simmer and cook for 3 minutes, again without stirring.
  4. Remove pan from the heat and pour carefully into the prepared pan, spreading evenly to the edges. Place the pan in the oven for 5 minutes.
  5. While the toffee is baking, put the chocolate chips into a microwave-proof bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Take the bowl out and stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds, then stir until creamy. If not completely melted, microwave in additional 10 second increments, stirring between each.
  6. Remove the toffee from the oven and place on a sturdy wire rack for 2-3 minutes until not as wiggly hot (wiggly hot - technical chef term). Pour the melted chocolate evenly over the top of the toffee and carefully spread to the edges.
  7. Before the chocolate hardens, sprinkle the top with your favorite topping. I chose sliced almonds. Press toppings lightly into the chocolate, being careful because it's still fairly hot. Let cool for 2-3 hours until chocolate is firm (or if you're in a hurry, put in the refrigerator for an hour).
  8. Lift the toffee out of the pan and break into pieces.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

This recipe is fairly straightforward, so not much to 'tip' you about.

Be very careful with the hot toffee mixture and DO NOT touch it while pouring into the pan so it won't burn you!

If you want a crunchier, thicker base, place a few more crackers around the bottom of the pan.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 piece
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 223Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 136mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 2gSugar: 10gProtein: 3g
© SusanB
Category: Candy

Ma’s Christmas Toffee

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Every year our family has enjoyed Bret’s mother’s Ma’s Christmas Toffee in the candy trays during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. 

Now, I’ve had a lot of toffee in my life, maybe too much, but this has to be the best I’ve ever had.  It’s not the thin, Heath-bar type of hard toffee – this is about an inch thick and full of pecans with chocolate coating the top and bottom. 

Ma’s Christmas Toffee isn’t not rock hard, but it’s not chewy either – it’s hard to describe the wonderful texture of it.  Many have tried to duplicate it, but there’s nothing like this recipe, and no one can quite make it as well as Ma can.

Ma's Christmas Toffee

This is my second attempt at making toffee; the first being the saltine toffee previously posted in November.  That was successful and tastes great, but this is an altogether different type of toffee. 

You have to be patient and not deviate from the recipe, as it is spot on and produces great results. 

Many say you’re not supposed to make candy on a humid or damp day, but Ma says she’s never had any problem with humidity, even with her divinity.

Ma's Christmas Toffee Closeup

The only problem I had with this recipe was that my chocolate kept falling off the bottom of the toffee and that was because I deviated from the recipe and added a handful more of chocolate chips to make a thicker layer of chocolate. 

More is better, right?  Not in this instance.  Stick to the amounts listed. 

Bret said it was really good (and it is..) but not quite the texture of his mother’s. 

I never really expect to make Ma’s Christmas Toffee as well as she does, but I can keep trying!  (And enjoy the results….)

Ma's Christmas Toffee

Ma's Christmas Toffee

Yield: 1 lbs.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Outstanding. Best toffee I've ever had!

Ingredients

  • 1 C butter
  • 1 C granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp white corn syrup
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 1 1/2 C chopped walnuts or pecans
  • 1, 6 oz pkg. semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Instructions

  1. Butter a 9" square pan.
  2. Melt the 1 cup of butter in a 2 quart saucepan. Stir sugar in gradually. Add syrup and water; cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally to 290 degrees on a candy thermometer or until a little mixture in cold water becomes very brittle. Add 1 Cup of nuts - cook 3 minutes more, stirring constantly. Pour into pan. 
  3. When cooled completely, remove from pan. Melt half of chocolate chips over hot water and coat one side of toffee - sprinkle with half of remaining chopped nuts. Allow to set until chocolate is hardened.
  4. Melt remaining chocolate chips and spread onto the other side of the toffee and sprinkle on remaining nuts. Cool completely until chocolate is hardened and then break or cut into bite-sized pieces.

Notes

Tips and Stuff :

Be patient when bringing the mixture up to 290 degrees on candy thermometer and make sure thermometer doesn't touch the bottom of the pan.

I used pecans, but walnuts would be wonderful on this - even chopped almonds would be great.

I buttered the 9" pan very, very well, but Ma said you could use aluminum foil and butter it to make lifting it out of the pan easier. I didn't have a bit of trouble popping it out of the pan, though.

I lightly patted the nuts into the chocolate so they'd stick better. Also, it takes awhile for the chocolate to harden, so I stuck it in the refrigerator to speed the process.

Don't be tempted to use more chocolate - I got it too thick on one side and the chocolate kept dropping off the toffee on that side.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 25 Serving Size: 1 piece
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 179Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 60mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 1gSugar: 13gProtein: 1g
© sblades
Category: Candy

Quick and Easy Salted Chocolate Toffee

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This Quick and Easy Salted Chocolate Toffee recipe has been around forever and I’ve just gotten around to trying it.  I thought now would be a good time, because on a recent Costco visit without me Bret bought a 72 ounce bag of chocolate chips – I’ve made as many batches of chocolate chip cookies as I can take.

For some reason, saltine cracker toffee just sounded a little weird to me. I always thought the butter/sugar mixture would make the crackers soggy, but I was wrong!

The toffee comes out crunchy and chocolatey with a touch of salty-sweet after sprinkling the sea salt on top. It’s a quick fix for a sweet-tooth craving, but for full-blown toffee, I’ll stick to my mother-in-law’s recipe. It’s the best.

Took awhile, but finally got a pretty good picture of the toffee the second time I made it. With the first one I put the chips on the warm toffee and tried to spread them (disaster).

In the second batch (pictured below), I melted the chocolate first, then spread it on the toffee. I’ve never had good luck with putting the chips on and spreading while they’re solid

Toffee New

Probably everyone has tried a version of this toffee. It really is easy and tasty.

This Quick and Easy Salted Chocolate Toffee recipe has floated around the cooking-sphere forever and I’m glad I finally tried it. It will be quick to whip up at the last minute and the ingredients are always right on hand!

Salted Chocolate Toffee

Quick and Easy Salted Chocolate Toffee

Yield: 40
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Inactive Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

Sweet and salty, quick and easy saltine toffee

Ingredients

  • 35-40 saltine crackers
  • 1 C. butter, cubed
  • 3/4 C. sugar
  • 2 C. 12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1-2 tsp sea salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.
  2. Place crackers in a single layer (crackers touching) on a foil-lined 15" x 10" x 1" cookie sheet. 
  3. In a saucepan, melt butter and add sugar - bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 5-7 minutes or until mixture is thickened and sugar is completely dissolved.  Carefully spread mixture over the crackers.
  4. Bake for 7-8 minutes or until bubbly. 
  5. Meanwhile, melt chocolate chips in microwave or over a double-boiler.  Remove crackers from oven and pour chocolate over them, spreading with a spatula.  Sprinkle sea salt over chocolate. 
  6. Chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (the longer, the crisper).  After chilled, break into pieces.  Store in refrigerator.

Notes

Tips and Stuff:

If salted crackers and sea salt seems too much salt for you, use unsalted crackers. I've seen this recipe using graham crackers, too.


If you want a darker toffee, boil the butter/sugar mixture a little longer till it turns golden.  Be sure and watch it carefully.


Do not sit down with the container of finished toffee.  You will eat it all.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 40 Serving Size: 1 piece
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 109Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 182mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 1gSugar: 8gProtein: 1g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

© sblades
Category: Candy