I have to admit, I have been rather fascinated with making candy lately.  It started a while ago, but any chance I get, I seem to be making more candy.  First of all, everything I have made so far has been super easy, if you know how to use a candy maker.  Which reminds me…I remember years ago – I was deathly afraid of using a candy thermometer.  If I came upon a recipe that called for one – I would just skip it.  I didn’t own a candy thermometer, and had no desire to.  I was in serious denial.

I am not sure when I actually broke down and bought one, somehow I have blocked that out of my memory – but all of a sudden I ran out of excuses.  I knew that I couldn’t put it off any longer, I had to start using the candy thermometer.  One of the first really successful candies I made were these…and boy did these give me the bug.  Now, I look for reasons to make candy.  Mostly I have been focused on the hard candy – aside from those caramels.  I can’t wait until I have some time (someday), and I can start making things out of this cookbook that I got a few months back.  Everything looks so darn good.

I saw this recipe in Cooking Light (yes, I know, seriously??) and couldn’t wait to give it a try.  I finally made it to go with a special tart – just to put it over the top – which hopefully it did.  I know that these candies were to die for.  I was eating the scraps, and I almost didn’t want to call the girls down to share – yes, these were that good.  They were not to hard, but just perfectly crisp – with that nice thick layer of chocolate, and then the slivered almonds.  My mouth is watering now.  Good thing I was making these for an event, or I would have eaten the entire batch.

Sometimes it is good to do something that scares you – I take that back – it is always good to do something that scares you – just like change, it helps you to grow.  So, why not do something that scares you – and end up with this in the end?  Come on…I dare you.

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Dash of salt
• 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped or slivered almonds, toasted

Preparation

Combine first 3 ingredients in a small, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring just until combined; bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 325° or until syrup begins to caramelize. Stir in vanilla and salt. Working carefully and quickly, pour sugar mixture onto a baking sheet covered with parchment paper; spread to desired thickness. Let toffee stand 5 minutes. Sprinkle chocolate over warm toffee; let stand 5 minutes. Spread melted chocolate in a thin, even layer over toffee; immediately sprinkle with chopped or slivered almonds. Let stand 1 hour or until completely cool. Break toffee into pieces.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, please click here:  Chocolate-Almond Toffee