Salted Caramel Toffee

Yum, this came about as a delicious accident. 

I was trying to perfect the caramel for my Millionaire's Shortbread, which is one of my most popular recipes on my blog!
I had to do it three times....
Once was too soft, once was too hard and finally, one was just right. 
The hard one was delicious, it just wasn't right for the layered cookies, but it was perfect for savoring on it's own.  This toffee has a crunchy start and a chewy finish, and probably is something that your dentist would never approve of. 

If you don't want Salted Caramel, just omit the salt.  Easy, huh? Everyone I gave this too, especially liked the saltiness, but frankly, either way makes me gloriously happy.

Some recipes for English toffee say to get the temperature to 300 degrees, but I think that 250 works for this.  If you decide to take it to the 300 degree mark, watch it carefully, I felt that mine was a bit close to burning at 250. 


Makes about a pound of candy.
Ingredients:


Salted Caramel:
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2-3 tsp crushed sea salt


In a big heavy pan, it needs to hold at least 3 qt so your caramel doesn't bubble up and over the top.  That would... make ... a ... mess!!!

Add a candy thermometer to the side of the pot.  Add the sugars, corn syrup and cream and turn the heat to medium and cook until it is bubbly and the sugars are dissolved.  Add the butter and bring the heat up to medium high. 

Keep stirring and keep an eye on the temperature. 

You will want to get your caramel to 250 degrees.  At that point, remove from the heat and add the salt.  I used 2 tsp of the sea salt.  Start with 2 tsp and carefully taste (let it cool on your spoon for a minute) as sea salts do vary in how salty they are.

On a small sheet pan, line with parchment paper, wax paper, silpat or just butter the bottom. Pour the hot caramel toffee on. 

Let cool for a couple of minutes, and using a large knife, score (make cuts without going all the way to the bottom...) it into pieces.  Let cool completely.  Put in the fridge or freezer for 5 minutes and then break into shards using a mallet or a heavy spoon.  Keep in airtight containers, or put right into small gift bags.