A co-worker made this delicious toffee from a recipe she found in our local newspaper. I was doubtful at first because I'm not a big fan of nuts (it has pecans on it) and I also heard what the secret ingredient was before I tasted it which seemed really strange. One bite and I was hooked! It was amazing! The recipe is so simple too. I wanted to share it here if anyone is looking for a super simple recipe that will be big hit. Takes about 20 minutes for prep and cooktime, plus an extra 30 minutes of it being in the freezer before you cut the pieces.
Saltine Toffee
1 cup butter
35 saltine crackers
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 package (12 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Line a 10x15 inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, allowing for some overhang. Melt butter in a large saucepan. Brush parchment paper with a little butter. Line up crackers on buttered parchment, touching but not overlapping.
Whisk brown sugar into remaining butter. Set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; boil thick 2 minutes (or 248 degrees). Pour evenly over crackers.
Slide into a 400 degree oven and bake util brown and bubble, about 10 minutes. Carefully remove from oven.
Scatter molten surface with chocolate chips. Let melt, 5 minutes. Use an offset spatula to spread chocolate. Cast on nuts; gently press into chocolate. Freeze until firm, 30 minutes.
Lift parchment by its overhang and set toffee (paper and all) on a cutting surface. Slice into 18 squares, then into 36 triangles.
Recipe from The Morning Call.
As you can see from mine, I did not slice the toffee into triangles. I just broke apart the pieces with my hands where the cracker seams were.
I also admit the first time I made these, I burned them! My oven gets really hot so I usually adjust a bit when I bake anything, but I kept them in the whole 10 minutes. One part of my parchment paper was black underneath and gave my toffee a burnt smoky flavor--yuck! The second time around I didn't use all of the brown sugar-butter mixture (about 1/8th cup leftover or so) and I baked the crackers for about 8-9 minutes. Yay! :^)
Merry Christmas!
