The Easiest Microwave Toffee Recipe (A Step By Step Guide)

Forget the stovetop! This easy microwave toffee recipe can be made in just 15 minutes. Your holiday goodie trays will never be the same!

Add this toffee to your treat plates along with some Gingerbread Cookies and Peppermint Bark. You can’t go wrong!

A plate with a pile of microwave toffee.

Toffee RECIPE For Amateurs (Like Me!)

First off, I’d like to tell you that candy making is not my forte. It’s finicky, messy, and frankly kind of stressful. So I usually avoid it like the plague, except for during the holidays. I’ve mastered a few recipes, including this almost fool-proof microwave toffee recipe. 

You heard that right. It’s made in the microwave. Forget having to boil in a pan on the stovetop to find the hard crack stage! This homemade Toffee Recipe is made in a big bowl and then poured onto a silicone baking mat. Toasted pecans and flaky sea salt make it extra amazing!

We devour this toffee every time we make it. It’s perfect for holiday dessert trays, Christmas gift giving or for Santa’s cookie plate. It has quickly become a favorite at our house, I hope it will become a favorite of yours too!

A lined baking sheet with easy microwave toffee poured on top to set.

Toffee Recipe Ingredient Tips

Just a few things to keep in mind for the ingredients…

  • Corn Syrup: Dark corn syrup has a richer flavor because it includes molasses, light corn syrup doesn’t have as rich of a flavor. For this recipe you can do either types of corn syrup, but if you’re worried about the molasses taste being too overpowering I would recommend using light corn syrup.
  • Chocolate: We recommend using chocolate chips for this recipe. In terms of what type of chocolate you can choose between milk, semi-sweet, bitter-sweet, or white. We love using the Ghirardelli chocolate brand, but you can always use your store brand of chocolate chips. 
  • Nuts: If pecans aren’t your thing, you could easily switch them out for almonds, cashews or even macadamia nuts (I’d highly suggest using white chocolate on top instead of semisweet for the macadamia nuts).

Easy microwave toffee broken into pieces

How to Make Microwave Toffee

It took me three painstaking tries to get this toffee recipe right. Like I mentioned above, candy making can sometimes be finicky. Humidity and altitude play a big part in it as well as temperature (or microwave wattage in this case).

The most important thing you can do is keep an eye on it as it cooks (watch for color cues) and use a thermometer.

LINE a baking sheet with silicone baking mat or parchment paper, set aside.

COMBINE. Grab a large glass microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter, sugars, salt, corn syrup, and water.

MICROWAVE. Microwave for 3 minutes on HIGH. Stir in toasted chopped pecans or stir and keep it plain. Microwave for an additional 8-10 minutes on HIGH or until it reaches 300 degrees F on an instant read or candy thermometer – pause the microwave cooking every 2 minutes and stir and check the temperature – do NOT overcook it, or it will burn.

SPREAD. Pour mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread into an even layer. 

TOPPING. Add the chocolate chips on top, let them melt then spread the melted chocolate over top. Sprinkle on nuts and sea salt.

SET. Chill until set, then break into pieces.

Pieces of broken up microwave toffee

Storing Your Toffee

STORE the leftover toffee at room temperature in an airtight container. You definitely want to keep the toffee in a cool and dry place so it doesn’t get sticky. If it is really warm in your house, you can keep it in the fridge. When stored at room temperature it will last for about 2 weeks. If you keep it in the fridge it will keep for a bit longer. 

You can also FREEZE pieces of toffee for up to 6 months in an airtight container.

An overhead view of this easy toffee recipe on a plate

For more homemade candy recipes, try:

 

Did you try this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ rating below and share it on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!

An overhead view of easy microwave toffee. No stovetop required!

Microwave Toffee Recipe

Forget the stovetop! This easy microwave toffee recipe can be made in just 15 minutes. Your holiday goodie trays will never be the same!
4.38 from 29 votes
Pin Rate
Course: Candy & Snacks
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 8 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
Additional Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 580kcal
Author: Andrea
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Ingredients

For the base:

  • 1 c. unsalted butter
  • 1 c. granulated sugar
  • 1/2 c. brown sugar - packed
  • 1 tsp. coarse kosher sea salt
  • 2 tbsp. water
  • 1 tbsp. light corn syrup
  • 1/4 c. chopped toasted nuts - pecans, almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts

For the topping:

  • 6 oz. chopped chocolate or chocolate chips - milk, semisweet, bittersweet or white
  • 1/4 c. chopped toasted nuts - pecans, almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts
  • pinch flaky sea salt

Instructions

  • Line a baking sheet with silicone baking mat or parchment paper, set aside.
  • In a large glass microwave-safe bowl (4 quart is best), combine the butter, sugars, salt, water, and corn syrup.
  • Microwave for 3 minutes on HIGH.
  • Stir in chopped nuts.
  • Microwave for 8-10 minutes on HIGH or until it reaches 300 degrees F on an instant read or candy thermometer - pause the microwave cooking every 2 minutes and stir and check the temperature - do NOT overcook it, or it will burn.
  • Quickly pour and spread onto a silicone lined baking sheet into an even layer about 1/8-inch thick. 
  • Add the chocolate chips on top and let rest for 3 minutes so they can melt. Using an offset spatula, gently spread the melted chocolate over top. Sprinkle on nuts and sea salt.
  • Chill until set, about an hour. Break into pieces.

NOTES

-My microwave is 1000 watts. If yours is lower, you may need to cook it for slightly longer (1-2 minutes). If yours is higher you may need to cook it for a minute less.
-I would not recommend doubling the batch, but instead making two separate batches.
Adapted from Genius Kitchen.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 580kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 308mg | Potassium: 182mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 58g | Vitamin A: 739IU | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 0.4mg

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About the Author

Andrea

Hi I'm Andrea!

Hotelier turned Food Blogger to help make your life simple, one recipe at a time.

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Comments:

  1. I followed directions and it totally burned. I am so angry.
    I will use the saucepan method for next batch.

    1. Hi Julia, so sorry to hear this. The only think I can think happened is that it got too hot. So, I have updated the recipe to stir every 2 minutes and check the temperature during the 8-10 minute cooking time.

  2. 3 stars
    This recipe did not work as written. I think either the butter should be 1 stick or the sugars increased. My first batch was swimming in butter. Had to soak it up with a paper towel. Since I had already started a second batch before I saw the results of the first, I added another half cup of white sugar and a half cup of brown. I also melted the butter first. The second batch came out perfect with those changes.