Easy Toffee Almonds Recipe

I still remember the first time I tasted butter toffee almonds - I was babysitting and the bag was sitting on the counter.  They were so good.  So addictive.  I spent most of that evening just trying to not eat them all!

This recipe gives a coating on the almonds that is soft, but not sticky.  The flavour is deep, sweet, and buttery - similar to sponge toffee, but with almonds!

This recipe uses a simple method to make the toffee coating, no candy thermometer required!

The recipe is based on my moms caramel popcorn one - try quadrupling the recipe and swapping the almonds for popcorn!  (12-24 cups of popped popcorn for the 4x caramel recipe, depending on how thick you want your caramel to be.  I usually go with 24 c popcorn). My mom used to make a big batch or two of the popcorn for our Christmas parties and my sisters and I would snack on it all month.

Recipe for Toffee Almonds

For easy reference, see the snapshot above!  BUT - before starting, please do read through the detailed recipe below!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tbsp corn syrup
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups raw or roasted almonds

Instructions:

1. Prepare a baking sheet by covering it with parchment paper or a silicone mat. 
2. Preheat the oven to 250° F. 
3. In a medium saucepan, mix the brown sugar, butter, and corn syrup.  Heat it on medium heat, stirring often, until the sugar and butter are melted and dissolved together.  When it comes to a boil, set a timer for 2 minutes.  DON'T walk away!  Don't stir the pot, but keep an eye on it.  If it threatens to boil over, quickly and carefully take it off the burner till the bubbles dies down some, lower the heat, and place it back on the burner.  After 2 minutes, remove the pot from the heat. 
4. Stir in the baking soda and vanilla. 
5. Mix in the almonds in (the first time around, add in about half the almonds and then mix them in.  From there, decide if you want more or less almonds once you can see how thickly they are coated). 
6. Dump the toffee almonds on the prepared baking sheet, and use a spatula to spread them out.
7. Place them in the oven, and set a timer for 15 minutes.  After the timer goes off, mix the almonds, then place them back in for another 15 minutes, and so on for 1 hour (4 15 minute sessions, stirring each time).  You will notice that the caramel coating thickens as it cooks, sticking better to the almonds rather than pooling on the pan. 
8. Allow to cool, and enjoy!
9. Store in a cool place - if they last that long, they should still be good after a couple weeks!

Variations:

• 4x the toffee and swap the almonds for 12-24 cups popped popcorn.  Note that the popcorn will absorb the butter, and the sugar will leave a delightful crunchy layer on the outside.  If you prefer soft caramel on your popcorn, cook it less time in the oven.
• Add in 1/4 tsp cinnamon (or cayenne) with the vanilla and baking soda 
• Add in dried fruit and/or popcorn with your almonds
• Try different nut varieties 
• After the nuts come out of the oven, quickly press them into bite-size clumps.  Once they are cool, dip the clumps in chocolate ganache.
• use more or less almonds to taste

Ingredient Swaps:

• Corn syrup and golden syrup (from sugarcane) are interchangeable here.
• I used Melt brand margarine so mine are dairy free.  Butter is also delicious - but my family never noticed a significant difference between butter and various margarine's we’ve tried in this recipe.