Elegant Toffee

Ellen found this in a magazine in 1987 and it's become a family favorite. It's delicious and easy. Yes, you do need to use a clean, wooden spoon or it doesn't set right and Wendy discovered her Vision cookware cooks it too quickly. Beth now makes it "perfectly" every year. Except the year that the spatula melted in it...

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unblanched whole almonds
  • 1 cup butter (may be half margarine)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 (12 oz.) package real milk chocolate pieces
  • 1/2 lb. walnuts (2 generous cups), finely ground

Directions

  1. On a foil-lined baking sheet, arrange almonds in a single layer over an area measuring 12x7 inches. Set aside.
  2. In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, combine butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt.
  3. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly with a clean, dry wooden spoon, till butter is melted.
  4. Continue cooking and stirring for 5 to 7 minutes more or until candy is the color of unblanched almonds.
  5. Immediately pour candy, without scraping the pan, over almonds, covering all nuts. Cool completely.
  6. Meanwhile, in the top part of a double boiler, melt chocolate over hot (not boiling) water. (Or melt in a heavy saucepan over low heat, or in a microwave oven in a 1 cup glass measure, uncovered, on high for 1 to 2 minutes or until chocolate is soft enough to stir smooth, stirring every minute.)
  7. Break toffee into large pieces. Remove top part of double boiler containing chocolate to work surface. Place ground walnuts in a large bowl near the chocolate.
  8. Using a fork, dip each piece of toffee in the melted chocolate, spreading chocolate over toffee in a thin, even layer. Scrape off excess chocolate with another fork.
  9. Using 2 other forks, coat each piece very lightly with ground walnuts.
  10. Place on foil or waxed paper to set.
  11. Break into serving-size pieces. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator.

Makes 2 lbs or about 25 pieces

*We like to spread the chocolate and nuts across the unbroken piece of toffee and when both sides dry, we break it up into smaller pieces.