Toffee

By Vaughn Vreeland

Updated November 5, 2025

Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Samantha Seneviratne.
Ready In
30 min
Rating
5(169)
Comments
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Making homemade toffee may seem intimidating, but all you need is two ingredients and a few minutes for buttery, crunchy and flavorful results. While a candy or instant-read thermometer is necessary to reach the exact temperature for perfectly brittle toffee, it’s a useful tool to have for more than candymaking: It can be used to monitor oil temperatures for deep-frying or even to check the temperature of your oven. This toffee makes for a wonderful gift if cracked into large slabs. You can also chop it finely and fold it into these butterscotch chocolate chip cookies (or another favorite cookie or brownie dough) and it’ll be the star of the show.

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Ingredients

Yield:1 ½ cups chopped (about 7 ½ ounces)

  • ¾ packed cup/165 grams dark brown sugar

  • 6 tablespoons/85 grams salted butter (see Tip)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

27 grams carbs; 30 milligrams cholesterol; 206 calories; 3 grams monosaturated fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 11 grams fat; 99 milligrams sodium; 27 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Line a large (13- by 18-inch) sheet pan with parchment paper. 

  2. Step 2

    In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan set over medium-high heat, melt the brown sugar, butter and 2 tablespoons of water, stirring constantly until the sugar begins to dissolve. Bring to a boil and continue cooking, swirling the saucepan occasionally, until the bubbles slow considerably and the mixture reaches 290 degrees on a candy or instant-read thermometer, 6 to 8 minutes. Reduce the heat as needed to avoid smoking.

  3. Step 3

    Immediately pour the sugar mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and let cool completely until hard and brittle, at least 15 minutes. Using a large serrated knife, cut the toffee into ½-inch pieces and set aside. Toffee will keep, covered at room temperature, for up to a week.

Tip

  • Salted butter helps yield very evenly seasoned toffee. If using unsalted butter, add ¼ teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) when melting the butter, brown sugar and water in Step 2.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
169 user ratings
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Comments

JP

I make this every xmas to give out to friends and neighbors as gifts. As soon as I pour the toffee from the pan, I sprinkle milk chocolate chips on top which melt into a smooth layer, then sprinkle toasted chopped pecans on top.

Elise

@Juliet soft ball stage for fudge hard ball stage for divinity soft crack for nougat hard crack for toffee My grandma made a loooooot of candy :)

Juliet

Over 60 years ago when I was growing up in England, my mother used to make toffee and she did not have a sugar boiling thermometer. Instead, she tested a little of the toffee by putting a drop of it into a glass of cold water. Toffee goes through different stages which (if I remember correctly) were called something like "soft", or "hard crack". You might mention this for those who would like to try making toffee but don't have the thermometer.

Erik

Butter and sugar are the best ingredients ever invented!

Kay Fitz

Another NYT recipe that bombed! I’m done. And I am a good cook!

Betsy

What would you change if you are at high altitude (7600 ft)?

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