Before you laugh and make fun of this Grandma's name,
like I did, (sounds like Utah with a na added) you had
better know that it is Joni's (Red Couch Recipes) husband's
grandmother and yes that is her real name - poor lady.
Joni has been making this toffee and bringing it to
our family for years. She has given me the recipe and
I have tried making it, but it never tastes the same so
today I drove 1 1/2 hours to Joni's house so that we
could make toffee together.
I was thrilled with the way it turned out and it turns out to
be sooo easy too. It is fabulous toffee and only takes minutes
to make a nice sized batch. What a great gift.
As a matter of fact, I drove home and boxed up two
gift boxes which I took to neighbors, one for a hostess gift
for a party tonight and another just as a neighbor gift, so I
will be making more tomorrow!
The trick is in not overcooking the candy.
I cooked mine until it was brown and hers is more
of a light tan. I don't make candy without a thermometer
that has been calibrated and this one is just by looks.
It really helped to have a hands-on experience. This is what your
candy should look like as it is boiling and you want to be stirring
it constantly. It will quickly become a pale tan just like you see
the candy look like in the photo and that is when you take it off
the stove. It has a delightful soft crunch and the flavor is amazing.
Grandma Utahna's Toffee Recipe
Heat oven to 350.
In a square 8x8 pan place 1 C. broken pecans.
Place in oven to toast for about 10 minutes. Watch
the nuts carefullyso they don't burn.
Remove from oven and let cool
while you are making the candy.
When pan is cool, line it with parchment paper and
place the toasted nuts on the bottom of the pan.
Place in a heavy saucepan:
1 C.salted butter, cut up (no substitutes)
1 C. sugar
3 T. water
Turn the heat on high and begin stirring. Continue to stir through
the boiling process. While stirring, use a wet pastry brush or
clean, wet dishcloth to wash down the sides of the pan to dissolve
any undissolved sugar crystals. If you skip this step, the batch of
candy might turn to sugar and be grainy. When the candy begins
to pull away from the edge of the pan and turns from creamy
white to a pale tan remove it from heat and pour it onto the
toasted nuts. Do not scrape the pan, this can cause it to sugar
too. (I have a gas stove and mine took about 7-8 minutes.)
Wait about 10 minutes for the candy to cool a little, then
top it with 1 C. Guittard milk chocolate chips. (We did a blind
taste test today and Guittard was the winner between Herheys
and a store brand.) It was smoother and creamier and had no
bitter aftertaste. Let the chocolate chips melt then spread
around with the back of a spoon or a knife. Let the candy
cool until the chocolate has hardened. You may place it in
the fridge to make it cool faster. Break it into pieces.
Yum.
Grandma Utahna may have had a crazy name, but the woman knew
how to make some great toffee!
Thanks Joni for being a great teacher.
I am bring this toffee to these parties
