Ever wonder what the difference is between Buttercrunch and Toffee?

Buttercrunch is American-style toffee. English toffee uses just butter and sugar and sometimes nuts. Buttercrunch has chocolate and nuts added to the toffee.

I’ll eat them all! But, I must say that chocolate, dark or otherwise, is always welcome.

Dark Chocolate Buttercrunch is simply divine. Crisp and buttery toffee covered in bittersweet chocolate and nuts knocks me over every time. It must be boxed up and shared with friends or I will eat the entire tray myself!

I had never used chocolate chips in place of chopped chocolate when covering toffee before. It’s a nice little time saver.

If you don’t have a candy thermometer, you can try this Easy 4 Ingredient Toffee recipe, which I guess is really a buttercrunch.

Dark Chocolate Buttercrunch

Ingredients:

1/2 pound butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 cups diced pecans or slivered almonds, toasted
1 pound semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped or 2 2/3 cups chocolate chips

Directions:

1. In a large, heavy saucepan, melt the butter.

2. Stir in the sugar, water and corn syrup, and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil gently until the mixture reaches 300°F on a candy thermometer, about 12 minutes. Pay very close attention as it can go from perfect to burned in a flash. (If you don’t have a thermometer, test by dropping a small amount of mixture in ice water. It should immediately harden so that it can be snapped in two, without any bending).

3. While the sugar mixture is cooking, spread half of the nuts, in an even layer, on a lightly greased or non-stick foil lined 15 x 10 inch baking sheet. Top with half the chocolate.

4. When the sugar mixture is ready, pour it quickly and evenly over the nuts and chocolate. Immediately top with the remaining chocolate, then the remaining nuts. Wait a few minutes, then gently, using the back of a spatula, press down on the chocolate-nut layer to spread the chocolate around evenly.

5. When cool, break buttercrunch into uneven chunks.

Makes a ton (or about 2 pounds)

Recipe from King Arthur Flour

Buttercrunch makes a perfect gift. Just tuck it into a gift box or bag and tie on a ribbon. I love these boxes from King Arthur Flour.

When you chop up your buttercrunch you are going to end up with lots of delicious crumbs. Eat them up while listening to delicious ‘Crumbs’ of the auditory sort.

One of the highlights of the 2014 Contrast Podcast Festive Fifty was listening to Jonnie introduce his song ‘Shark’, which came in at number 28. He’s hilarious. Listen here.

Check out Jonnie Common on Facebook and his Website, where you can learn of upcoming gigs in Scotland and buy the music.

Cheers!