CASHEW TOFFEE

Cashew Toffee is an easy and popular holiday dessert, it is made by simply adding roasted cashews to a delicious traditional toffee recipe! This chocolate covered toffee tastes absolutely incredible and makes a great treat to share at holiday parties or events.

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Dessert, No-Bake Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Cashew Toffee

Servings:

Calories: 145kcal

Author: Jessica & Nellie

Ingredients

1 cup cashew halves and pieces
½ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup brown sugar packed
1 cup butter or margarine
¼ cup water
½ cup white vanilla baking chips

Instructions

Prep: Start by preheating the oven to350°F. Then, line a quarter baking sheet with parchment paper.
Break the cashews halves into pieces. You can chop them slightly or just break them up in the bag with your hands. They don't have to be perfect, just want some smaller pieces along with the halves. After that, spread the cashews in the baking sheet and bake for 6 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the nuts are lightly browned. Divide the cashews in half and set aside. Keep the parchment paper in the pan for use later on!
Toffee mixture: Now, in 4-quart heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, brown sugar, butter and water and cook over medium-high heat(see tip# 2 below), stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. The mixture will come to a full boil after about 5-7 minutes.
Lower the temperature to just under medium and boil the mixture for 15 minutes. At that point, the candy should begin to stir as 1 mass. The temperature on a candy thermometer will be 300°F or small amount of mixture dropped into cup of ice water forms a hard brittle strand. Be sure to stir frequently during this process, the mixture will darken as it gets closer to 300 degrees. See tip# 4 below if you live in a high elevation.
Next, quickly stir in 1/2 cup of the cooked cashews and then immediately pour the toffee into the parchment lined pan. Quickly tilt the pan to help the candy spread around. Don't spread it too thin, there's no need to fill the pan.
Sprinkle the top with the white chocolate chips. Let those stand about 1 minute or until the chips are completely softened, then using a spatula, spread the softened chips evenly over the top of the toffee. It is ok if they do not melt and spread completely. Sprinkle the top of the chocolate with the remaining cashews.
Place the baking pan in the refrigerator about 30 minutes or until the topping is firm. Then, using a knife, break the toffee into 1-inch pieces. Serve and enjoy!

Video

Notes

Making candy at home is not super difficult, but it does require some patience and attention. Here are a few tips and tricks for ensuring your homemade toffee turns out great every time.

Use a stainless steel pan. I make toffee every year and I have learned that while I love my enameled cast iron or porcelain pans, they do not work well with candy making. Stick to a good quality stainless steel pot. I use a 4-quart because the candy will bubble up a bit and more space is always a good idea.
Cook the toffee on medium high heat. On my electric stove I set it between 6 and 7. If you cook at high heat, it will likely burn and lower heat, well, that takes forever. Find that happy medium and your candy will cook perfectly.
Use a really good cooking thermometer. My all-time favorite cooking thermometer is the Thermapen. It is super fast and incredibly durable. Another great thermometer is the ThermoPop which is a more basic version that works just as well too. They are worth the investment, these are the only cooking thermometers that last longer than a couple years for me.
High Elevation toffee cooks to just 290°F. If you live at high elevation, cook your candy to 10 degrees less than the recipe states. This applies to all candy, by the way, not just toffee.
Prepare ahead. Measure the cashews and the white chocolate, lay the parchment on a pan and have it close. Toffee tends to cook fairly slowly...then very fast at the end, so have everything ready so you don't have to scramble.

Nutrition