Pecan Toffee
I love to make this tasty little treat, especially around the holidays or to just treat a special friend. It is a nice mixture of sweet toffee, rich chocolate and crunchy pecans.
I love to make this tasty little treat, especially around the holidays or to just treat a special friend. It is a nice mixture of sweet toffee, rich chocolate and crunchy pecans.
- Carbohydrate 231.8876 g
- Cholesterol 308.325714285714 mg
- Fat 210.4166 g
- Fiber 13.3211433356149 g
- Protein 19.4619714285714 g
- Saturated Fat 96.09704 g
- Serving Size 1 1 pound (517g)
- Sodium 848.951360857143 mg
- Sugar 218.566456664385 g
- Trans Fat 13.8323114285715 g
- Calories 2813 calories
Step-by-step
- Line a 15 x 10 inch jelly roll pan with heavy duty aluminum foil; lightly grease foil. Sprinkle with 1 cup of pecans to within 1 inch of edges.
- Bring sugar, butter and 1/3 cup of water to a boil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly (around 10-12 minutes) or until a candy thermometer reaches 310 deg F (hard crack stage). Pour over pecans in pan; sprinkle with chocolate pieces. Let stand 30 seconds.
- Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of pecans . Chill for 30 minutes. Break up tofee using a mallet or rolling pin. Store in an airtight container.
Why does sugar crystallize right before reaching the temperature needed for proper structure? Confectioners relying on sugar syrups understand that even minor impurities or residual crystals on the side of a saucepan can ruin a batch before the hard crack stage is ever reached. Producing a brittle confection requires careful temperature control and precise attention to the physical changes occurring in the pan.
- Use unsalted butter with an 80 to 82 percent fat content to maintain the correct emulsion ratio between milk solids and water during boiling.
- Attach a calibrated candy thermometer to the side of a heavy-bottomed stainless steel saucepan, ensuring the bulb does not touch the bottom surface, which yields false high readings.
- Heat the mixture over medium-high heat while stirring constantly for roughly 10 to 12 minutes until the reading hits precisely 310 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Allow the chocolate morsels to sit undisturbed on the hot poured sugar for exactly 30 seconds to soften evenly before spreading them across the surface.
- Break the cooled sheet into shards using a mallet or heavy rolling pin and store the pieces in an airtight container at cool room temperatures.
Leftover shards can be crushed further to create a crunchy topping for ice cream or folded into cookie dough. Storing the container in a dry environment prevents moisture absorption that leads to sticky surfaces.
