Chocolate-Almond Saltine Toffee

Are you one of those homemade gift kinds of people? Or do you love a good candy recipe? Well, this is for you.

Couple of notes: Some people say you shouldn't use chocolate chips due to the emulsifiers and stabilizers (that keep the chips in the chip shape). I generally buck this advice, and use higher quality chocolate chips (like Ghirardelli 65% dark), as it melts beautifully and firms up really well. But if you want to be a perfectionist, then yes, use bar chocolate. DARK bar chocolate.

Also, you can double this recipe, using 2 baking sheets of crackers, but do not try tripling it as the sugar-butter-syrup mixture boils up a fair amount. If you are doubling the recipe, make sure you have your chocolate measured separately for each pan. Your future self will thank you when it comes time to spread the caramel and then chocolate as it all moves quickly at that point.

Also a quick thought on special equipment: the candy thermometer mentioned in the recipe below is a nice-to-have sort of kitchen tool that easily monitors your mixture's temperature, neatly clipping to the side of the pan, out of your stirring spoon's way. I actually prefer to use a instant read thermometer but if this is the option you opt for, be sure that when you are measuring the temp, you do not allow the end of the probe to hit the bottom of the pan, but rather in the middle of the mixture so you get an accurate reading. I love my instant read thermometer, and will choose it every time over a candy thermometer partly because it is a very cool gadget that sits on the fridge with it's built-in magnet, and partly because we move often, so the fewer single-use kitchen gadgets I drag around the globe, the better. Use what you have and love.

Yes, you can make this ahead. The toffee can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container. I don't see it staying around for 2 weeks, but you can try.  You can freeze it too. If you are planning on gifting this, you might want to consider making a double batch just to make sure those at home have treats too, and they don't eat all of the bits intended to be gifted (speaking from personal experience).

Chocolate-Almond Saltine Toffee

Yield: about 2 1/2 pounds

Ingredients

1 cup sliced almonds

Approximately 60 saltine crackers (not low-sodium)

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 sticks (3/4 pound) unsalted butter

2 tablespoons light corn syrup (Lyle's is especially good)

1/2 lb. bittersweet chocolate chopped into 1/2-inch pieces or dark chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and toast for about 6 minutes, until golden. Once golden, remove from the oven and set aside near to your prepared pan of saltines.

Line a 12-by-17-inch rimmed baking sheet with a piece of foil or lightly buttered parchment paper. Arrange the saltine crackers on the baking sheet in a single layer, patching any holes with cracker bits; slight gaps are okay. I like to make sure that the same side of the cracker is up on the entire pan, but this is really just an aesthetic thing.

Measure out your chocolate in a medium bowl; set aside near your pans of prepared saltines.

In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, butter and corn syrup and cook over medium heat until the sugar is melted. Cook the syrup over moderate heat without stirring until it starts to brown around the edge, about 5 minutes. Insert a candy thermometer into the syrup and simmer, stirring with a wooden spoon, until honey-colored caramel forms and the temperature reaches 300°, about 10 minutes longer.

Slowly and carefully pour the caramel over the crackers, being sure to cover most of them evenly. Using an offset spatula, spread the caramel to cover any gaps. Let cool for 3 minutes, then sprinkle the chopped chocolate evenly on top. Let stand until the chocolate is melted, about 3 minutes, then spread the chocolate evenly over the toffee. Sprinkle the almonds evenly over the chocolate. Set aside to allow the chocolate to firm, either in the fridge for 15 minutes. You can stick it in the freezer, too, but then be sure to allow the pan to warm up just a bit before breaking into pieces; otherwise, the chocolate will break off the toffee.

To serve, break the toffee into bite-size pieces, making sure to peel off the foil/parchment.

Enjoy!