Something new: making candy. And by that I mean boiling sugar and other ingredients together using a candy thermometer to perform some feats of chemistry to produce something utterly different. I've owned a candy thermometer for years but this is the first time I've ever used it. I chose this recipe because it had clear, easy to follow steps and step-by-step pictures that were extremely helpful to a candy-novice.

English Toffee
From Cooking for Engineers

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
  

Directions:

• Melt the butter, sugar, and salt over gentle heat.
• Raise the heat to medium-high and stir the mixture constantly.
• he 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.
• Once the water has boiled off, the mixture will collapse and thicken.
• Remove from heat as the temperature passes 300°F but before it reaches 320°F.
• Stir in vanilla extract.
• Pour the hot mixture over a silpat mat or parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Use a spatula to spread it into a rectangular shape.
• Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the surface and wait about 2 minutes until the chips start to melt and look wet.
• Use a spatula to spread the melted chocolate over the top.
• Sprinkle the slivered almonds over the chocolate and gently press them into the chocolate using a spatula.
• Cool 20 minutes at room temperature and an additional 30 minutes in the refridgerator.
• Break into chunks.
• Store at room temperature in an air-tight container.

About this recipe: Over all my attempt was semi-successful, I think. In the directions on the web site, they instruct you to add 2 teaspoons of water to the butter, sugar and salt mixture to aid it in a smooth melting. I did this, but I ended up with a very wet toffee at the end. I saved it by draining off the oily liquid.

Cooking the butter, sugar and salt together went smoothly, and the bubbly mixture resembled a sour dough bread starter. It took quite a while (5 minutes, maybe more) for it to collapse. As I said, I was left with a smooth toffee with an oily wetness that I had to drain off. Perhaps I should have also cooked it at a slightly higher temperature. When I added the vanilla it spattered a lot and I'm sure that wasn't supposed to happen. In any case, be careful.

I drained off as much of the liquid as I could without burning myself or dumping all of the toffee down the drain and poured what remained over a parchment lined baking sheet. It looked like the picture so I went with it.

I sprinkled my chocolate chips over the top and set it on the oven where it was still warm to aid in the melting. A few minutes later I was able to use a spatula to spread a thick chocolate coating over the now hard candy top. I scattered the slivered almonds and used a dry spatula to gently press them into the chocolate. It cooled at room temperature for about 20 minutes and in the fridge for another 30. Immediately after taking it from the fridge I used my He-Man-like strength and broke it into more manageable shards.

The result: it worked! I saved it and it has a wonderfully pleasing texture, crunchy without being hard as a rock. It's very sweet, but after all, it is candy, but quite nice. I really like it! Next time I'll avoid the extra liquid and see how that works. This would make a great addition to a christmas treat plate for friends and coworkers.