Candy is the traditional Valentine's Day gift. And you can certainly buy any kind of gourmet homemade candies if you'd like. But why not make yhour sweetie some candy all by yourself? It isn't hard!
Choose a nice box (or pull a used and clean box out from your collection of past Valentine's Day gifts) and pack classic Truffles, Fudge, Peanut Butter Truffles, and this fabulous toffee. They're all easy to make, but the toffee is the easiest.
Just be careful about the sugar topping. It's really hot - hotter than boiling water, and it can burn you very easily. Don't let your kids help with this step of the process. They can put the crackers in the pan, but you take care of the rest.
You could use semisweet chocolate chips, those fabulous dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or flavored chips like peanut butter or caramel to top this easy candy. Or use nuts instead; cashews would be a fabulous addition.
You have to use salted crackers for this recipe. It may sound strange, but the layers of the cracker and the salt, combined with a brown sugar and butter syrup and chocolate, makes for a candy that is much more than the sum of its parts. Enjoy!
Cracker Toffee
- 1 sleeve rectangular buttery crackers
- 1 cup butter (NO substitutes!!)
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 cups milk chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a sturdy 10" x 15" jelly roll pan with heavy duty foil and line with the crackers, making sure to place the crackers in a single layer, edges touching. You can break some crackers to fill the pan completely if you need to.
In a small saucepan, combine butter and sugar and bring to a boil. Boil, stirring constantly with a wire whisk, for 2 minutes. The mixture will gradually combine and form a thick sauce. Be careful with this sauce; it can burn very easily. Carefully spoon the sauce over the crackers. You can gently spread the sauce to cover all the crackers with the tip of a spoon. Bake the mixture for 10-12 minutes, or until the sauce bubbles all over its surface.
Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with the chocolate chips. Return to oven for 1 minute to melt chips. Then remove from oven again and, using the tip of a knife, swirl the chocolate into the toffee. Let cool completely, then break into squares. Makes about 36 pieces
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Linda Larsen - I am a cookbook author and professional Home Economist who has created and tested recipes for major food companies like Pillsbury and ...
