This homemade salted dark chocolate almond toffee is completely over the top in the best way possible. Covered in rich salted dark chocolate, each sweet buttery bite is filled with crunchy toasted almonds.
Toffee. I’m all about it right now. I went on a major toffee kick for a few weeks, making batch after batch after batch. It was a little personal challenge I made for myself: master the art that is stovetop toffee making.
It’s all about salted dark chocolate now!
This salted dark chocolate almond toffee is completely worth every single second making it from scratch. It’s the kind of toffee that won’t break your teeth; rather, it’s on the crispy-tender side. Completely melting in your mouth as you chew. Not something you get with all toffee recipes. And that is why I call this one my favorite.
The dark chocolate and toasty almonds are an obvious addition to my butter toffee. I remember eating toffee exactly like this during the holidays when I was growing up, easily demolishing the entire batch over the course of a couple days. And as the weather starts to get cold, I crave salty sweet candy exactly like it. After one taste, you’ll begin to crave this ridiculous-in-the-best-way toffee too. I brought it along with me to a book signing last weekend and, naturally, people were going insane over it.
Old-fashioned, authentic toffee making takes some time, some practice, and some patience. Don’t be intimidated. You can absolutely do this if you have just a few special tools. These three items will make your toffee making experience easier, as well as guarantee toffee success. Sweet, sweet success.
Candy thermometer. There is no way you can make old-fashioned toffee with no sugar graininess, a hard yet soft texture, and a toffee bursting with the toasty caramelized flavors of properly cooked butter and sugar without this tool. I recommend a digital candy thermometer. The one I own is easy to hook onto my pot and very easy to read. No mistaking temperatures with this particular model. Don’t be scared of a candy thermometer! It’s literally just a thermometer telling you when your candy reaches certain cooking stages. Using a candy thermometer is so much easier and more accurate than using your eyes to detect doneness.
A heavy bottomed saucepan. Oh, the many batches of toffee I ruined from using a cheap saucepan. An ideal saucepan for making today’s candy is one that is deep and thick. Thin pans, which often have hot spots, do not withstand the heat needed for toffee to cook. I burned 1,000 batches of toffee before realizing this. Well, not really. But it sure as heck seemed like it. I have a few pans I use for making toffee: here and here.
Wooden spoon: Wood = high heat tolerance, strong, will not scratch your pan. Most importantly? It’s insulated. A wooden spoon guarantees you are not going to cause a sudden crystallization by sucking out a bunch of heat from your candy.
A silicone baking mat. This will make your candy making experience much easier. Why? Well, when you pour the toffee out onto a large baking sheet, it is so much easier to spread onto and remove from this slick silicone surface compared to a bare baking sheet, parchment, or aluminum foil. Not only this, I don’t bake my chocolate chip cookies (or any cookies) on any other surface! Always a silicone baking mat. I own 9 of them. I wish I was joking. I’m ridiculous.
Besides these three items, you’ll also need the ingredients and some self control if you plan to share it or gift it.
I really, really want you to make this. I sound like a walking (typing) advertisement for any and all things toffee. But really! I want your holidays to include homemade toffee and I want you to challenge yourself in the kitchen. Your family, friends, and absolutely anyone with tastebuds will thank you for this recipe. They will get down on their knees and praise your toffee making abilities. Or something like that.
Perfectly salty, sweet, chewy, crunchy, buttery, sugary, toasty dark chocolate toffee bliss.
PrintSalted Dark Chocolate Almond Toffee
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: about 1 pound
- Category: Candy
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This homemade salted dark chocolate almond toffee is completely over the top in the best way possible. Covered in rich salted dark chocolate, each sweet buttery bite is filled with crunchy toasted almonds.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (340g; 12 ounces) whole unsalted almonds*
- 1 cup (230g; 8 ounces) unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/2 cup (120ml; 4 ounces) warm water
- 1 cup (199g, 7 ounces) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
- 8 ounces (224g) dark chocolate, finely chopped*
- sea salt for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Before you get started, review the information below the recipe card for helpful toffee troubleshooting tips.
- Preheat oven to 300°F (149°C) degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. (Silicone baking mat is preferred.) Spread the almonds onto the sheet and bake for 15 minutes, stirring them around twice during that time. Toasting the almonds brings so much flavor to the toffee. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, and set 1 cup aside. Chop up the other cup of almonds nice and fine. Or pulse in a food processor a few times to break them up. These will go on top of the dark chocolate.
- Line a 12×17-inch jelly roll pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.
- Melt the cubed butter over medium heat in a 3-quart heavy duty saucepan. Stir occasionally (about every 2 minutes) with a wooden spoon as it melts. Once melted, add the water, sugar, salt, and corn syrup. Stir constantly until the sugar dissolves, then brush down the sides of the pan with a water-moistened pastry brush. Attach a candy thermometer to the pan. Do not let it touch the bottom of the pan.
- Once dissolved, stir occasionally as you bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, stop stirring. Rapid bubbles, a thicker consistency, as well as a slightly darker color forms around 235°F (113°C). At the 265°F (129°C, hard ball stage) point, stir in the 1 cup of toasted whole almonds. The mixture may separate when you add the nuts. If it does, temporarily remove the candy thermometer and stir vigorously until it all comes back together. Carefully reattach the thermometer and brush off any candy on the side of the pan with the pasty brush. Cook and stir the candy until it reaches 290°F (143°C, soft crack stage).
- Turn off the stove, remove pan from the heat, and pour the toffee out onto the prepared jelly roll pan. Smooth into an even layer. The toffee should be thick and not spread all the way to the edges of the jelly roll pan. Allow the toffee to cool for 5 minutes. Sprinkle half of the chopped chocolate on top. Allow the chocolate to soften and melt from the heat of the toffee, then spread the melted chocolate into a thin, even layer. Sprinkle half of the crushed almonds onto the wet chocolate and press down gently with the back of a spatula to adhere them. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to set the chocolate.
- Once set, flip the toffee over as a whole. You should be able to just peel it off the silicone baking mat. Melt the remaining chopped chocolate in the microwave, in 10 second spurts, stirring after each until completely smooth. Spread over the toffee and top with remaining chopped almonds, pressing down gently with the back of a spatula to adhere them. Sprinkle the top with sea salt. Refrigerate toffee again to set the chocolate, about 20 minutes. Once set, slice with a sharp knife or break into pieces—as large or small as you want.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Store toffee in an airtight container at room temperature in a cool, dry place for up to 2 weeks. For longer storage, freeze up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Heavy Duty Saucepan (like this one or this one) | Wooden Spoon | Pastry Brush | Candy Thermometer
- Almonds: I prefer unsalted almonds here; salted are just a little TOO salty for this toffee. Instead, I add a little sea salt on top of the finished toffee (which already has some salt in it). You have control over how much you’re adding this way.
- Chocolate: I prefer Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate. You can use quality semi-sweet chocolate instead, either Ghirardelli, Baker’s, or your favorite brand. If chocolate chips are more convenient, you can use semi-sweet or dark chocolate morsels instead—no need to chop them. Since they are not pure chocolate, they are not my first choice for candy making. Pure, quality chocolate tastes best.
- Can I make this plain? Absolutely. Feel free to skip the almonds and/or chocolate topping. Sometimes I make this with the almonds and 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Add the cinnamon when you remove the cooked toffee from heat.
Candy making is chemistry! And every ingredient serves an imperative role in the cooking process. Need some troubleshooting help?
Troubleshooting Toffee
When butter separates out of toffee. Toffee recipes contain a large amount of butter and in the course of cooking the candy, it is not uncommon for the butter to separate and create a slick, oily layer on top of the cooking candy or the finished candy. The causes? Temperature shifts; if the candy is heated too hot too quickly. Slow and looooow heating is best. And by low, I mean medium heat. Another culprit is a thin saucepan. Thin saucepans do not conduct heat evenly and may have hot spots where portions of the candy can be overheated. Another culprit I’ve experienced is not stirring often enough. Stirring is so imperative, so make sure you are stirring as directed in the recipe. And finally, humidity can cause the butter separate, so if your kitchen is very warm or humid, it’s not the best time for toffee.
All is not lost! If your toffee does separate, you can sometimes fix it. Briefly remove the pan from the heat and stir vigorously to bring the candy back together. Unfortunately, if you notice the separation after the toffee has been poured out of the pan onto the sheet, it is too late. You may *try* dabbing any excess butter off with a moist paper towel. If you find the toffee is too hard (because of the lost butter), you can chop your toffee up and use the toffee bits in baking recipes like cookies.
When toffee is too soft and sticky. Soft and sticky toffee is a result of too much moisture in the candy, which can be caused by humidity in the air, undercooking the candy, or using too much corn syrup. Soft toffee cannot be hardened after the candy making process. Avoid cooking toffee in a high humidity environment and make sure you are following the recipe and proper temperature readings.
When toffee is too hard and brittle. It’s been cooked too long. If you find the toffee is too hard, you can chop your toffee up and use the toffee bits in baking recipes like cookies.
When toffee is gritty and sugar crystals can be tasted. This is why corn syrup—no substitutions—is used. Also, make sure you are stirring as directed in the recipe. And as you stir, make sure you aren’t scraping the sides of the pan. If there is crystallized sugar on the side of the pan (if you did not brush with a wet pastry brush or butter as directed in the recipe), you will bring this crystalized sugar back into the boiling mix which can turn your entire batch into a grainy, coarse mess.
Instead of almonds and sea salt, sprinkle the dark chocolate almond toffee with festive sprinkles during the holidays! I admit, I didn’t spread chocolate on the bottom of this batch. I used it all on top.
I’m sure this is really good but my toffee burnt
I tried this recipe twice and it split both times. The 2nd time I didn’t add the almonds hoping to avoid it splitting, but it still did. I live at a high altitude. Should I adjust the cooking temp for high altitude?
Hi Amanda, With the amount of butter in toffee, separating can be quite common and is often the result of changing temperatures. We share some troubleshooting tips at the very end of this post (after the recipe card) that will be helpful should you want to try this recipe again. Thank you for giving it a go!
Do you use regular table salt 1 tsp in your brittle recipe and sea salt just for the top? Or do you use kosher/sea salt in the recipe? TY!
Hi Nancy, we use regular table salt in the brittle and sea salt on top.
Does the chocolate need to be tempered? I’ve done toffee with chocolate chips melted on top, and the chocolate turned gray after just a day. I’m new to baking chocolate, but I want to get it right to be able to give it away. So if I just follow the recipe and use Ghirardelli chocolate bars I won’t need to temper and the chocolate will be shiny for days? Thank you so much for your help.
Hi Katie, tempering the chocolate on top isn’t necessary, but you absolutely could if you wanted. Hope you enjoy the toffee!
Where is the cinnamon almond toffee recipe mentioned in this recipe? There is a link but it just brings you back to this page.
Thank you for letting us know! We recently removed that older recipe from the site, but all pertinent information has now been included in this post. See below the recipe card for helpful troubleshooting tips. Hope you enjoy the toffee!
I too struggled with the mixture splitting. I followed the recipe as closely as I could but must have done something wrong. Flavor was still pretty good though!
Hi Emma, we’re glad you enjoyed the flavor! With the amount of butter in toffee, separating can be quite common and is often the result of changing temperatures. We share some troubleshooting tips at the very end of this post (after the recipe card) that will be helpful should you want to try this recipe again. Thank you for giving it a go!
Thank you!
All hyperlinks for the cinnamon almond toffee redirect to this recipe. Is this alternative available?
I combined the recipes as they were so similar, and added notes above to make this the cinnamon almond version. See recipe Note.