Grandma Nash S Best English Toffee Recipe

For the past few years, I have made 8 or more batches of this fabulous butter almond English toffee to go on plates of goodies (along with this Rocky Road Fudge) that we take around to friends and neighbors in our area, along with Christmas cards. And I always make a batch to be lovingly packaged up and shipped off to Paul’s grandma (our girls’ great-grandma), from whom this recipe comes. She is in her 90’s now and no longer makes her famous toffee herself, so I have taken over making it for her and making sure she has a supply to share with her friends who come to visit during December. This toffee always reminds us of Grandma Nash, along with her creamy apricot pork chops and poppy seed dressing. If you love making homemade edible gifts for the holidays, be sure not to miss any of my easy Christmas candy recipes! My Classic Southern Pecan Pralines and Old-Fashioned Homemade Peanut Brittle are always popular this time of year! Also, if you have been to Disneyland and tried their famous Churro Toffee, I have a recipe for that now too! Even though you could technically make this butter almond english toffee recipe without a candy thermometer (affiliate link), I highly recommend investing in a good one. They aren’t too expensive and it’s a great stocking stuffer for anyone who might like to cook but hasn’t done much candy-making! And it almost makes toffee-making a foolproof endeavor since all you have to do is get the toffee up to the right temperature. Paul’s Grandma Madge clipped the recipe for this Butter Almond English Toffee from the San Jose Mercury Newspaper in 1962 and she made multiple batches of it every year after that. Her toffee is famous in the Nash family, so one Christmas a few years back I asked her if I could get a copy of her recipe so that I could learn to make it since we don’t live close by and Paul always raved about her toffee. She pulled out a box of recipe cards and had the original newspaper clipping taped to a card with her handwritten notations “Delicious ’62” and “Christmas Candies” over the top, along with recipes for “Creamy Caramels” and “No-Bake Holiday Orange Balls”. I haven’t tried either of the other two recipes from those newspaper clippings, but can attest to this “Butter Almond Toffee” being particularly delicious. The only change I have made is to double the amount of chocolate called for in the original recipe. And I can’t imagine who is going to complain about an adjustment like that. I also rewrote the instructions a bit to include some steps that I have found helpful. Grandma Nash is such a wonderful, interesting lady. She goes by her middle name, Madge, instead of Gwendolyn, which is her first name. My dad does the same thing so when our Rose was born, we decided to do the same for her and have her go by her middle name as a nod to each of them. Grandma Nash was born in Mona, Utah in December, 1924 but raised her family in San Jose, California. Paul grew up in the house next door to her and she was his piano teacher, as well as a 4th grade teacher at an elementary school for decades. She is still really sharp and loves to discuss books and politics (she’s a staunch democrat) and classical music. And she makes the best toffee ever. [UPDATE: Grandma Nash passed away in 2017 but her memory lives on in many ways, the least of which is her wonderful toffee recipe.] I have used a large pot and quadrupled the recipe with great success, since I usually make between 8-12 batches. I still divide the chocolate and almond into separate bowls, and pour the toffee out into individual baking sheets to set, but I cook all four batches at the same time with no problem.

How to Make English Toffee

Troubleshooting this English Toffee Recipe

Generally speaking, this recipe gets rave reviews because it’s such a great, easy one to follow for candy success. The biggest question I get from some people is “why did my toffee separate?”. And there are three possible reasons (that I’m aware of).

Tips for the Best English Toffee Recipe in the World

Yes, I’m serious, this really is the BEST. I know it’s a bold claim, but I think it’s the addition of the baking soda which changes the texture just enough to make it really truly amazing. You want to make sure that this butter almond English toffee is completely set before breaking it into pieces. I find that it is easiest to let the toffee set overnight, then use a butter knife to jab firmly down into the toffee, which cracks apart into scrumptious buttery, chocolatey, almond covered shards. While the recipe calls for semisweet chocolate, I have used milk chocolate in the past instead and it is also delicious. Totally go with whatever is your personal preference. I’m so glad to have this cherished butter almond English toffee recipe in my collection, along with my mom’s Chicken Cordon Bleu and my aunt Becky’s Black Forest Cake. I’m sure your family will love it as much as ours does! Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.