This Homemade Toffee is one of those classic Christmas candies that feels a little fancy. My Dad has been making this recipe for as long as I can remember, and its the best toffee I’ve ever had! It’s perfectly crunchy with the best buttery flavor, and a light chocolate coating. You’ll want to make it for the holidays every year!
This toffee has the best buttery crunch, a thin layer of melted chocolate, and a sprinkle of crunchy nuts on top. Every bite tastes like its from a holiday candy shop, and this is the best homemade toffee you’ll ever make!
This crunchy toffee comes together with just a few ingredients, and a candy thermometer. It makes a big sheet of sweet, crunchy candy that is perfect for breaking into pieces for gifting, adding to cookie trays, or snacking on straight from the tin!
This recipe gives you toffee with the best signature crunch that isn’t too hard. It’s buttery, never grainy, rich, and sweet. And also uses ingredients you probably have on hand! My dad always adds cashews to his toffee, because we love their buttery, salty flavor, but any nuts will work!
Why this is the Best Toffee
- Decades of Flavor: My dad has been making this recipe for over 20 years. This recipe is packed with his expertise and the best toffee flavor!
- Unmatched Texture: The result is the best textured toffee you’ll ever have. Crunchy, and crispy, but not too hard that you can’t bite through it!
- Perfect for Gifting: This toffee is delicious packaged up on its own in cellophane bags, or added to your Christmas cookie trays! It’ll be everyone’s favorite part of the holidays.
- Stores Well: The toffee can be stored in an airtight container for a few weeks, so its a great option to make ahead of time before the busy season really kicks in!
- Cashew Twist: Using cashews instead of almonds gives this toffee a rich, extra buttery flavor that you won’t find in other recipes, but everyone will love!
Ingredients Needed
This is a quick overview of some of the ingredients you’ll need for this Toffee Recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card below.
- Salted Butter: Use real butter, since it will add richness and flavor to the toffee base
- Granulated Sugar: This sweetens the toffee, and gets cooked down to give it the toasty caramel-like flavor
- Corn Syrup: Just a little to give the toffee an extra smooth texture
- Water: A little water helps the sugar dissolve, so the texture is even and not grainy
- Cashews: Use your favorite nuts, but these are mine. You can use almonds, pecans, or even leave the nuts out if you want.
- Chocolate Chips: The chocolate chips will melt right on top of the toffee, pairing so well with its nutty flavor.
How to make Homemade Toffee?
Step 1: Melt the Butter. Add the butter to a large heavy saucepan over medium low heat, stirring it occasionally to keep it from burning.
Step 2: Add in the Toffee Ingredients. Add in the Sugar, Corn Syrup, and Water and stir together until it is all a gooey consistency.
Step 3: Cook to 290 to 300 F. Continue cooking the toffee, stirring regularly. Once the toffee has reached 225 F you want to stir it constantly! Your arms will feel like they are burning, as you continue stirring. But we want to the toffee to reach the hard crack stage, it will be a golden brown caramel color. (By now my dad skips the candy thermometer and recognizes the colors and texture of the toffee, but that’s 30 years of experience). Remove from the heat and stir in the cashews.
Step 4: Pour into the pan. Pour the toffee into a greased or lined cookie sheet (with edges!). Don’t scrape the bottom of the pan out in case any of it has burnt. Spread the mixture evenly over the cookie sheet all the way to the edges and corners.
Step 5: Add the Chocolate. Let the toffee rest for about 5 to 10 minutes, then sprinkle chocolate chips over the top of the toffee. Let the chocolate chips sit for a couple minutes, you will see them stir glossy and melt from the heat of the toffee. Spread the chocolate evenly over the top of the toffee. Sprinkle additional nuts over the chocolate. Then let the toffee sit until the chocolate is set, and break it into pieces.
Tips and Tricks:
- Line your Pan: Line your pan with parchment paper or foil to make your clean up even easier.
- Any Nuts: You can substitute chopped almonds, pecans, or even peanuts for the cashews if desired.
- Candy Thermometer: Using a candy thermometer is the best way to guarantee this toffee will turn out for you. We need the toffee to cook to the right temperature for the candy to have the right texture. (Unless you’ve made this for years like my dad has, who now knows what to look for just based on the color!)
- Have a Helper: This toffee requires constant stirring while it is boiling, and once the candy has reached 225 F. This could mean 15 to 30 minutes of stirring, so your arms will get tired. Do not stop stirring. Have some one around to help switch in, if needed.
- Extra Pieces: After breaking your toffee into pieces, use the small leftover bits for ice cream topping, or using in our Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies!
- Half Batch: My dad’s recipe is double what a lot of toffee recipes make, this means more vigorous stirring, but you also get twice the toffee at once. You can cut the recipe in half and pour it on a Half Sheet Pan, or into a 9×13 pan.
Storage Instructions
Toffee can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container, or wrapped up in ziplock bags, or cellophane bags for packaging up and delivering to friends and neighbors. It can stay good at room temperature for a few weeks. Or it can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Toffee can turn grainy when the mixture is heated too quickly. The sugar will crystalize on the sides of the pot and then gets stirred back into the toffee mixture, and created a grainy texture.
Brittles usually are mostly sugar, with just a little bit of butter, making them sweeter. While toffee has a lot of butter, giving it a richer and more buttery taste. Brittle is usually more airy thanks to baking soda added in to add air bubbles. Where toffee is more crunchy. Try our Microwave Peanut Brittle and see which you like better!
(Now that’s one mighty piece of toffee!)
This Toffee recipe is originally from Better Homes and Garden’s New Cookbook (published in 1981) but my Dad has really perfected the recipe. He started with an old pressure cooker, a lot of patience, and made this recipe over and over again until he got it just right.
In recent years, he purchased some nice NordicWare cookie sheets (heavy duty and non stick surface) that don’t get used for anything other than toffee making. And now he makes dozens of batches of toffee every year, without a candy thermometer because he knows exactly what to look for! He and my mom share the toffee with friends, family and neighbors every year for Christmas!
This toffee is a true labor of love. Every batch takes about 25 minutes of fairly constant and vigorous stirring. But the results are well worth it!
This homemade cashew toffee is a delicious homemade candy for the holiday season. It’s got a nice bit of snap, with a delicious crunchy, buttery sweet candy topped with creamy chocolate and crunchy cashews, it’s such a delicious
More Homemade Candy Recipes
- Zebra Popcorn
- Reindeer Oreo Cookie Balls
- Maple Walnut Fudge Recipe
- Christmas Pretzels
- Microwave Peanut Brittle
- Polar Bear Paws
- Chocolate Turtles
- Crockpot Candy
- Microwave Peanut Butter Fudge
- Peanut Butter Meltaway // Best Christmas Desserts
- Cashew Brittle // Best Christmas Desserts
If you make this Toffee Recipe please leave a comment and 🌟 rating letting me know what you think! If you post the photo on Instagram, please tag me – I’d love to see what you’re making!
The Best Toffee Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb Salted butter (4 sticks)
- 2 cups Granulated sugar
- 6 TBS water
- 2 TBS light corn syrup
- 1 1/2 cups chopped cashews** (divided)
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Add the butter to a large heavy duty sauce pan, and melt it over medium heat. Stir it occasionally to keep it from browning. 1 lb Salted butter
- While the butter is melting prepare a half sized cookie sheet (12x17inches). You can line it with parchment paper, or coat it in butter all over!
- Once the butter is melted, add in the sugar, water, and corn syrup. Stir it all together until it is a gooey consistency. 2 cups Granulated sugar, 6 TBS water, 2 TBS light corn syrup
- Hook a candy thermometer to the side of the pot, make sure it does not touch the bottom of the pan.
- Raise the heat to medium high, and stir occasionally, using a wooden spoon or other non heat conducting spoon.
- Once the temperature reaches 225 degrees Fahrenheit, you will need to stir constantly, and quickly. The toffee will continue to heat, and once it hits 270 it will rise even quicker, so stir very quickly.
- Near the end you will feel like your toffee and your arms are burning. This could be about 15 to 25 minutes. The toffee will be turning a golden brown color.
- Once the toffee is between 295 and 300 F remove it from the heat.
- Stir in 1 cups of the chopped cashews. 1 1/2 cups chopped cashews**
- Pour the toffee into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly to the edges and corners with the wooden spoon. Do not scrape the toffee that is stuck on the bottom of the pan, as it may be burnt and bitter.
- Let the toffee cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly. Wait a couple minutes and the chocolate chips will start to turn glossy and melt from the heat of the toffee. 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Spread the chocolate chips over the top of the toffee with a rubber spatula, avoiding the edge of the pan so you don't have to clean it off later.
- Once the chocolate is spread, sprinkle the remaining chopped nuts across the surface. You can chop them even finer first.
- Let the chocolate harden until it is set, and break toffee into pieces and enjoy.
Notes
- *Chopped Cashews: 1 cup coarsely chopped cashews, and 1/2 cup finely chopped (I use a small electric food chopper)
- Line your Pan: Line your pan with parchment paper or foil to make your clean up even easier.
- Any Nuts: You can substitute chopped almonds, pecans, or even peanuts for the cashews if desired.
- Candy Thermometer: Using a candy thermometer is the best way to guarantee this toffee will turn out for you. We need the toffee to cook to the right temperature for the candy to have the right texture. (Unless you’ve made this for years like my dad has, who now knows what to look for just based on the color!)
- Have a Helper: This toffee requires constant stirring while it is boiling, and once the candy has reached 225 F. This could mean 15 to 30 minutes of stirring, so your arms will get tired. Do not stop stirring. Have some one around to help switch in, if needed.
- Extra Pieces: After breaking your toffee into pieces, use the small leftover bits for ice cream topping, or using in our Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies!
- Half Batch: My dad’s recipe is double what a lot of toffee recipes make, this means more vigorous stirring, but you also get twice the toffee at once. You can cut the recipe in half and pour it on a Half Sheet Pan, or into a 9×13 pan.
Nutrition
This Cashew Toffee was first posted on December 20, 2013. The photos and blog text were updated for clarity on December 5, 2025.
Enjoy this delicious toffee Christmas treat!
Diane says
This is one of my favorite recipes – I have been making it for many years and friend and family love it. I have had an issue with separating the past few times. Any ideas/suggestions?
Thank you
Ellen says
This is absolutely the best toffee ever. We make, or I should say my husband makes about 20 batches of this yearly at Christmas time. It is the only Christmas treat wanted from our family for family, friends, and neighbor treats. Someone mentioned addicting, and this is so true. Imagine having 20 pans sitting at your home. Maybe he makes that much because we eat alot ourselves. So good!
Carolina McKenna says
This is actually easy to make if you follow the instructions. I like it a lot because it makes a lot of pieces, it doesn’t take too long, and it’s made with ingredients I almost always have in my pantry. Only problem is…. It’s addictive. So good!!! It makes the perfect, cute Christmas gift for your neighbors. 🙂
Saundra says
I took it off at about 275f and it still has that bitter slightly burnt taste and is pretty dark even after speedy stirring.
Plus side it didn’t separate 😊 i may try again in a few days.
Aimee says
You definitely have to stir constantly! Also cook on a medium, or medium low temp. Good luck!
Valentina | The Baking Fairy says
This looks all sorts of amazing! I’ve never attempted making toffee before but I definitely will have to now with tips and tricks from a pro. Love that you use cashews instead of the traditional almonds!
Aimee Berrett says
It’s seriously the best! Let us know if you try it!
Jessica says
We just made this for our first time and it turned out amazing! Thanks for the recipie!
Aimee Berrett says
So glad it turned out for you!
Sarah says
It turned out great! I followed the awesome step by step instructions and used my grandma’s old pressure cooker pot. It’s delicious! Thanks for sharing!!!
Ellen Garrett says
Oh, I am so glad. The old pressure cooker pot is perfect. We got a new stove and it needed a flat bottom pot so that was a bit nerve racking to try a new one but we found the perfect pot. So glad you are able to enjoy the toffee – now make some for your mom. 🙂
Sarah says
I made this today, just letting it cool! So excited!!! 😀
Ellen Garrett says
Oh, I hope it works well for you. It took Craig a little time to perfection but now he has it down. He has started his Christmas list for this year.
Karen says
My husband LOVES toffee so I’m going to give this a try tomorrow, I’ve cleared my day…lol
Lori's Culinary (@snowluvnferret2) says
Oh. My. YUM!! This looks like something I can gobble up in no time.
Ellen Garrett says
It is so good and super easy to gobble up quickly. Craig can’t seem to make enough for all our friends because the family eats more than our fair share. Good luck.
Jonie @ Just Between Friends says
This is my all time favorite Christmas treat, hands down! Thanks for the recipe. I have never tried making it myself and now I have no excuse 🙂 Pinning!
Lindsay Gilbert says
Yum!! That sounds sooo good! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Ellen Garrett says
Let us know how it works for you. We love it, but it really is a labor of love from Craig.
Tia Fowles says
Yum! Toffee is my favorite treat! I’ll have to try this recipe!
Ellen Garrett says
I hope it works well for you. The recipe is great but does take patience and love and lots of stirring.
triedandtasty says
Wow – that looks delicious! Toffee is sooo yummy!
Ellen Garrett says
Were you able to make this? I hope it turned out for you. It takes a few tries to perfection.