MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
 
      Title: English Toffee -- Part 1
 Categories: Candies, Desserts, Nuts, Chocolate
      Yield: 1 1/2 lb/700
 
      6 oz Semi-sweet chocolate chips
           - (170 g)
      1 c  Sugar (200 g)
    1/2 c  Slmonds; chopped (60 g)
      1 ts Vanilla extract (5 mL)
    1/8 ts Salt
      1 c  Unsalted butter (225 g)
 
  Toffee is a hard candy made mainly with sugar and butter. In
  America, the term "English toffee" is generally used for
  toffee prepared with a coating of chocolate and almonds.
  
  This recipe is easy to prepare and yields a full flavored,
  crunchy toffee that has just a little "stickiness" when
  chewed.
  
  To create toffee, we will basically heat sugar and butter
  until the sugar reaches the hard crack stage (300°F/150°C).
  
  If you don't allow the sugar to reach this temperature
  before cooling, the texture will be different. For example,
  if heated to the soft crack stage (the temperature range
  just below hard crack), the candy would be more like a
  butterscotch than a brittle, crunchy toffee. (In some parts
  of the world, this is also considered a toffee, but it's not
  what comes to mind when I hear the word.) If the sugar is
  heated beyond 320°F/160°C, then it might not retain its
  solid form and turn into liquid caramel over time.
  
  Select a small saucepan. Make sure the saucepan is large
  enough to contain about double the volume of the butter and
  sugar. As the mixture cooks, it will bubble and increase in
  volume - using too small of a pan may result in overflows.
  
  Melt the butter in the saucepan with the sugar and salt plus
  a little (about 2 ts, 10 mL) water over gentle heat.
  (Low heat is important to prevent separation later. Just be
  patient and let it melt together.) The extra water will make
  it easier for the sugar to heat evenly and melt together.
  
  Stir the mixture constantly while heating over medium-high
  heat. The butter and sugar will bubble and foam as the water
  boils off. This can take several minutes because butter
  contains a decent amount of water. The volume of the mixture
  will increase dramatically at this point. At this point the
  temperature should be relatively constant at a few degrees
  above the boiling point of water.
  
  Once the water has boiled off, the mixture will collapse and
  thicken. The temperature will also start to rise again. The
  goal is to remove the pan from the heat once the mixture
  passes 300°F/150°C and before it reaches 320°F/160°C.
  
  Use an instant read thermometer or candy thermometer to keep
  track of the temperature as you heat and stir because the
  temperature can change pretty rapidly once the
  off.
  
  CONTINUED TO PART TWO
  
  From: http://www.cookingforengineers.com
  
  Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives
 
MMMMM