Salted Almond Toffee

I love toffee! So I play around with the recipe now and then. A year ago, the salted caramel craze got me thinking and I made my first batch of salted almond toffee. I love the combination of the crunchy toffee with the salted almonds! I hope you do too!

A couple weeks ago I got an offer to see what some of my photography would like put onto canvas from Easy Canvas Prints and I jumped at it. Who wouldn't? Put a favorite print on canvas? Yes please!  My mother and I had been talking a few weeks before about how she'd like to get some of my photographs up on the walls of her cabin (This is your cue to say "Ah! What a sweet mother!") and I thought this would be a perfect gift for her (Ah! What a sweet daughter!").

You can see the original photo on the left and canvas print on the right. It's a lovely replication. A few minor differences get made in the translation between photograph and canvas, as you can see: slightly more dark, a little less crisp, and the colors are a bit cooler. When they aren't put side by side you'd hardly notice. The texture of the canvas is lovely, very smooth, fluid even. My mother is absolutely delighted with it and is thinking of getting a few others and creating a collage. I find it a little funny that instead of putting my artwork on the fridge like mom's do in elementary school....she's putting up my artwork of what's in my fridge. Trust me, this looks much better than my finger paintings of unicorns! 

Now, back to toffee (Ah! What a sweet treat!). Is that getting old yet? I love toffee. It's one of my obsessions. Now, as I am focusing on my summer being more like a true summer vacation, I decided some toffee was in order. A tin of toffee on my desk at work just makes the horrid heat, the annoying boss, the excessively large stack of work that got put on my desk while my back was turned all feel far more manageable. Everything feels better with toffee...even work.  

So why salted? Just for a little twist, a little salty sweet flavor. If you like that idea you should also look at this toffee:

Bacon Toffee

But, if bacon's not your style, salted almonds add an extra bit of flair for your traditional toffee. Enjoy!

Salted Almond Toffee

2 cups blanched almonds

1 cup + 2 tsp. unsalted butter, divided

2 tsp fleur de sel

1 cup sugar

5 tablespoons water

1 cup chocolate chips (I prefer dark or semi-sweet)

Preheat the oven to 350.

Place the almonds in a baking dish. Toast until golden, about 12 minutes.

While the nuts are still warm, toss with two teaspoons of butter and fleur de sel until coated.

Spread the nuts out one a piece of aluminum foil into the shape of a large oval.

Cook the remaining butter, sugar, and water in a heavy saucepan, stirring constantly, until a candy thermometer says it has reached the hard crack stage. Remove from heat immediately and pour over nuts.

Allow to sit for five minutes and spread chocolate chips over the surface of the warm toffee.

When melted use a knife to spread the melted chocolate across the top of the toffee.

Any salted almonds that are not covered in toffee or chocolate can be removed and chopped as a garnish.

Allow the toffee to sit until the chocolate has set. If you’re in a hurry, place the toffee in the refrigerator to set more quickly.

When set, use a large knife to cut the toffee into pieces.

Enjoy!  

Caramel Apple Toffee Pastries

This was the winner of Iron Chef Apple and is one of my favorite fall desserts! How could you ever go wrong with caramel, apples, and especially toffee? The phyllo that wraps it all up adds the perfect bit of crunch!

One line reminder to vote for Cherry Tea Cakes in the Express Night Out Best of DC Food Blogger Vote through September 30th! See instructions here! 


Sorry for being late with this post. I came off of a long day at work after a night full of red eye flights, airports, and next to no food or sleep..,oh, and did I mention food poisoning? As it is, I am taking a detox day. Fruit juices and salad only to get my body back to normal...and to make it worse with the sleep deprivation, from what I read online...you shouldn't have caffeine when you are getting over food poisoning. Worst. Monday. Ever.

Butchie had to put up with me without sleep, without food, and trying to recover on our weekly baking night. And MAN was I on one! I have next to no filter when I'm that tired and hungry. [It's fabulous--she was smiley and punchy and rude and maybe now I will never let her sleep again. --B.] Never ask me what I really think in that state. I answer as honestly as I usually do, but with less tact and diplomacy.

So I asked Butchie what she wanted to make and she answered just as bluntly honest: apples! If you want to hear some gushing on how great fall boots, fall sweaters, fall scarfs, and all flavors are--note the trend--then you should talk to Butch. She has an endless supply of enthusiasm for fall. [How could you not? Gorgeous yellow leaves, pears everywhere, perfect snuggling temperature, fireplaces with ACTUAL FIRE IN THEM. Plus, Halloween! This year I was thinking I'd go as a sexy autumn leaf. Now that Halloween is just an excuse for ladies to be as close to publicly naked as possible. --B.] Anyway, this is a good recipe for us: I have an infinite amount of enthusiasm for toffee, and even though I do not care about autumn or its apples, basically at all, Butchie makes up for it. [Maybe I'll go as an apple. --B.]

There are two ways you can make this dessert: make it all, or buy it all. We made toffee and caramel from scratch, but you can buy it too, and these pastries are still very good. I am all about lessening the chemicals I can't pronounce in my diet, so I go the scratch route...plus, c'mon, homemade caramel? Way better!

Caramel Toffee Apple Pastries

3 large baking apples, peeled, cored, and finely chopped

1/2 cup caramel, store bought or see the recipe below

1/2 cup toffee bits, store bought or see the recipe below

16 sheets phyllo dough

Preheat oven to 375. Spray two muffin tins with cooking spray. In a medium mixing bowl combine the chopped apples, caramel and toffee bits. Set aside.

Lay phyllo pastry sheets flat on a work surface and cover with sheet of plastic wrap. Place a slightly damp kitchen towel over the plastic wrap. Removing one sheet of pastry at a time spray completely with cooking spray top with another sheet of phyllo pastry and spray with cooking spray. Repeat until four sheets of phyllo are stacked. Cut the stacked pastry into 6 equal squares. Press each stack into a muffin tin.

Place 1/4 cup of apple mixture inside each phyllo lined muffin tin, pour a little of the caramel over the top, and pinch the corners together to form a pouch. A ring of aluminum foil can be placed around the pinched dough to hold them together if desired.

Repeat with remaining sheets and apple filling. Wrap and refrigerate any remaining phyllo.

Spray tops with cooking spray. Bake 12-15 minutes or until pastries are golden brown.

Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Eat immediately, as they will not remain crisp for more than an hour.

Toffee Bits

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 tablespoons water

Place all ingredients in a pan and bring to a hard boil, cook until a candy thermometer reads hard crack. Poor onto a greased sheet of aluminum foil. Allow to set, chop.

Caramel Sauce

3/8 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1/8 cup light corn syrup

3/8 cup whipping cream

Combine sugar, water, and corn syrup in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and bring to a boil without stirring until mixture turns a deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 10 minutes, until caramel has reached a dark amber color. Remove from heat, carefully and immediately add cream--it will bubble and clot. Stir sauce over low heat until sauce is smooth.