Monday, January 28, 2013

Toffee

I do most of our cooking with what I call basic ingredients.  It's really just things that don't usually have much for a trademark on them and probably don't make it into advertisement very often.   They are the things that are on the ingredient lists of other foods or food products.

Feeding this troupe is part of what I do.  Some days it's almost the only thing that I can actually get done.

Here's one of our favorite treats.  It's one we bring to Christmas gatherings.


Toffee


In a saucepan on medium heat, combine equal parts butter and sugar.  For a 9x13 pan, I usually use 1/2 cup or 1 cup of each. 

But - really - it's butter and sugar.  Can you go wrong?  Unless you burn it to an evil pseudo-enamel on your pan, no. You can't.

Stir this mixture constantly over medium to high heat.  The temp you choose depends on how confident and attentive you are.  This stuff could burn nasty and spit oil on you, too.  Keep it moving and you'll do fine.

That rich toffee color is the key for knowing when you are done.  It will separate into oil and sugary thickness at least once along the cooking time and you will be convinced that I've just made a mess, ruined the butter, and spoiled your plans - all from my own living room.  Keep stirring.  Watch the color and look for any hot spots in your pan surface and you'll do fine.

Pour the toffee into a prepared pan.  You can butter liberally -or- do as I do and line with aluminum foil.  If you like, add a layer of chopped nuts in the bottom of the pan.  I use pecans.  Level the toffee a bit and sprinkle with chocolate chips.  Cover the pan with a cutting board or something.  Just to keep the heat in.

Peek.  When the chips are melted, spread them over the top of the toffee.  Leave the cover off and let cool til hardened.  It's a winter treat usually here so I just set it in the garage for a while.  You can put it in the fridge.  Or you can wait nearly forever and just let it cool naturally on the countertop.  To me, that's boring.  And inviting fingerprints in the soft chocolate.

Remove from pan and break into chunks.

If I was a good, normal blogger I would have photos along the way of the method and then a final, tastefully displayed photo of the finished product.  THEN there would be a gadget thingy that would let you print off the recipe in either recipe card form or letter sized (with or without pictures).

I'm not that.

But you aren't surprised.



Editor's note: Are there other food questions that you have for me?  I have a bunch of ideas of my own but if you chime in, I can bump your suggestion up the queue.

12 comments:

  1. I'm a big fan of canning and know you do plenty of it. What is your favorite canning staple that you would just hate to do without?

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    1. OH! Canning deserves a few posts of its own.

      The two (because I don't want to pick just one) products that I can that I love the most are canned venison and canned tomatoes. One can be the basis for a quick meal. The other can be used in so very many things that I am at a loss without them. Really. To be able to know there are tomatoes in the basement means I can make soup, sauce or baked dishes with really good tomato flavors even in February in Minnesota.

      Do you have a fav, Beth? I'm sure you do.

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    2. definitely tomatoes! In any way they can be canned. as in Salsa, canned whole or pureed, cooked down or thickened with clear jel. You can do so much with tomatoes.
      Tim talks about his dad canning venison. I have actually never done that...and I always say I will. Just one of those things that don't get done.
      Another one of my faves would be green beans. So much so that Tim started calling me the green bean lady because I'd bring them so often to church dinners. They just grow so well here and I always grow more than I expect...so I can them.

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  2. i am, by no means, a pro at candy-making, but i found my recipe on allrecipes.com. i read about 20 reviews along with the tips and stuff. some said "stir alot" and others said "stir a little." i just wanted to let you know that i did what one suggested, i used cast iron (heavy bottomed pot). i barely stirred mine at all. worked great. i kept my stove dial at 4 which is like 7pm on the clock or med/low?? anyway, just thought you might like to know, because it makes life just a bit easier, when you don't have to stir constantly. :-D

    i also read, that adding water is what causes the foamy appearance you saw in my pic. i didn't add water, but i did add vanilla and salt. it was delicious.

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    1. I wonder if the water is actually in the butter....

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  3. Sounds yummy! I would love to know more about the types of dinners and such you make for such a large number of mouths.

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    1. That is on my list of things to post on! I think it will take up a few....

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  4. Tried the toffee tonight and it was a hit with Tim - who has a thing for toffee - but some of the bits tasted faintly burnt. I'll have to give it another try soon - Tim knows no recipe works for me the first time around! Canning: I can cubed chicken the same way my sister cans venison - same result, whip up mashed potatoes or rice and you have the basis for a quick meal. My request is for meal planning / grocery shopping directions. I find it way too time consuming. There has to be a simpler way? PS - we still make your version of wild rice soup at least once a month all winter.

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    1. COOL! I love that. I really do. The toffee & wild rice soup both! (Only now I make my own cream-of-whatnot soup for it but it's the same kinda deal. Another breakfast of champions, I say!)

      I'll copy that request in my idea file! Good one.

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  5. Just thought of another cooking question: Do you use pre-made homemade mixes for any standards? Cookies, pancakes, muffins, etc?

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    1. Nope. I don't have any pre-mades for these BUT I do have some very simple recipes using pantry staples. I have a 3 ingredient cookie that is really, really good! (It's not my standard issue chocolate chip but it is my second most popular here) I have 3 ingredient pancakes. Four ingredients if you like puffy ones.
      And I have some make-ahead varieties that I have used for muffins. It's not my standard muffin recipe but it is the one I use when I need fresh muffins w/o wanting to spend the time/mess making them with guests around. Make & freeze raw. Sounds crazy but they really are great w/o that 'oh-this-was-a-freezer-recipe' flavor/texture. I need to blog my muffins I think.
      I guess I have a couple more ideas for the hopper! Dandy.

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    2. Got my 3 ingredient cookie up!
      http://freetimeisoverrated.blogspot.com/2013/02/brown-sugar-shortbread-traveling-cookie.html

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