SINGLE BATCH (fills half a large cookie sheet):
1 lb butter (2 cups)
1/2 cup water
2 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup white corn syrup
1 lb walnuts
1 lb whole pecans
milk chocolate chips (preferably Ghiradelli)
TRIPLE BATCH (fills two cookie sheets):
6 cups butter (3, 1 lb blocks of butter from Costco)
1.5 cups water
7.5 cups sugar
3/4 cup white corn syrup
The walnuts and pecans aren't necessarily tripled and are really a matter of preference. I use about 2 lbs of pecans for a triple batch of toffee and about 1.5 lbs of walnuts.
QUINTUPLE BATCH (fills 3.5 cookie sheets)
10 cups butter
2 1/2 cups water
12 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups corn syrup
Arrange whole pecans on a large cookie sheet in a single, tight layer with very few gaps between the pecans. Set aside. NOTE: A 2 pound bag of pecans (which is what Costco sells) fills 2 cookie sheets.
Mix first 4 ingredients (butter, water, sugar and corn syrup) in a large pot and bring to a boil. WARNING: the candy will double in size and then reduce back down during this process so make sure you use a large enough pot, especially if doubling or tripling the recipe! An 8 quart pot will hold a triple recipe. A 5 quart pot will hold a double recipe. A 3 quart pot holds a single recipe. NOTE: it's best to wear oven mitts during the stage since the toffee bubbles and is very hot (not good for the skin).
Scrape bottom of pot constantly with a flat-bottom wooden spoon to keep candy from burning. Reduce heat to med- high for several minutes stirring constantly. When the candy loses the frothy top layer and no longer climbs toward the top of the pot, reduce heat to med low, stirring occasionally. "Paint" around the top of the pot with a wet brush once the candy has reduced back down in size to avoid sugar crystals.
Heat candy to about 290-300 degrees between soft crack and hard crack. This can take a while depending on your stove and pot. Watch it carefully as it gets close to 290 because it can go quickly from there to 300+.
Water test: scoop candy from bottom of pan with spoon and drop a ball of it into room temperature water. Remove from water and bite down on the candy. If it sticks to your teeth or is chewy at all, it is not ready. Continue cooking until it's the color of dark brown sugar and cracks when you bite down on it. This is a very important step. The reading on some thermometers may tell you the candy isn't ready, but if your water test tells you otherwise (meaning it doesn't stick to your teeth when you bite into it, then take it off the stove). Burned toffee is a MAJOR bummer!
Slowly pour over pecans so as not to move them making sure all pecans are covered. Let cool completely (or skip to the "TIME SAVER" section and follow those steps).
Once cooled, wipe the oil from the candy with a paper towel so the chocolate will stick better. Chop the walnuts in a food processor. Melt milk chocolate and pour over the candy. Spread it evenly in a thin layer (too thick of a layer will make the chocolate fall off the candy when you break it up). Immediately spread the walnuts over the chocolate and press them into the chocolate so they stick. Let cool completely.
Turn the candy out onto a cutting board and repeat the melted chocolate and walnut steps. Once that side is cooled and the chocolate is hardened you can break up the candy into whatever size pieces you want.
Breaking the toffee: The best method I've found requires a cutting board, butter knife and rubber mallet. Put the toffee on a cutting board, place the butter knife where you want the crack to be and tap it with the mallet. Then tilt the butter knife until the toffee breaks.
TIME SAVER: As an alternative to the process described above with the chocolate and walnuts, here is a time-saving way to do it. After you pour the toffee over the pecans, let it harden slightly until the top part is firm to the touch but the toffee is still quite warm. This takes about 5 minutes. Wipe away the oil from the top layer with a paper towel and put the chocolate chips directly onto the toffee without melting them first. I put enough chocolate chips to cover both sides of the toffee. A 23 ounce bag of ghiradelli chocolate chips (or 2, 11 ounce bags) is enough for both sides of one cookie sheet of toffee. Let them sit for a few minutes and then spread them (I use an offset spatula). Remove half of the chocolate with your offset spatula and put it in a bowl (you will use this on the other side of the toffee when you flip it. Top with the walnuts. Press the walnuts into the soft chocolate and once the pan is cool enough to touch, flip it over onto a cutting board. It's OK if the chocolate is still soft as long as it has a good covering of chopped walnuts. Once it's flipped over and out of the pan, you can wipe the oil off the toffee and spread the chocolate on it. Then top with walnuts and let harden overnight or for several hours. You don't want to break the toffee until the chocolate on both sides is hard. If you use this method, the toffee does the melting for you and you save a lot of time with not waiting until it's totally cooled. Professional candy makers may not approve of this approach, but it works great for me :)
Suggestion: set up a time-lapse video as you chisel and bag the toffee. Would be fun to watch:)
Jenny's 2019 notes:
Made 90 bags of toffee
4 triple batches and 3 single batches
10-11, 23-oz bags of chocolate chips
filled 11 regular sized cookie sheets and one small cookie sheet
Jenny's 2023 notes
2 Quintuple batches and 2 triple batches
10, 23 oz bags of chocolate chips
16 cubes of butter (4, 4-packs from Costco)
3, 3 lb bags of walnuts
5, 2 lb bags of pecans
