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!
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!
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).
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.
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.
For more homemade candy recipes, try:
- Homemade Peanut Brittle
- Mint Overload Bark
- Salted Caramel Peanut Clusters
- Microwave Salted Caramels
- 6 Ingredient Rocky Road Cups
Microwave Toffee Recipe
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.
What a brilliant recipe. I love the microwave method. So quick and easy!
Thanks. I will try it again and be more cautious.
Thanks for trying! It took me a few tries. You’ll get it 🙂
I followed the recipe and when I got to 7 min 24 sec on the final step I stopped the microwave and hD A FULL BOWL OF LIQUID CHARCOAL.i COULD FIND A CANDY THERMOMETER AND THOUGHT i MIGHT BE ALLRIGHT SETTING THE MICRO AT 8 MINUTES. i SHOULD HAVE CHECKED ON IT AT 4 MINUTES. mY WHOLE HOUSE SMELLS LIKE THE FIREMEN JUST LEFT AFTER PUTTING OUT A 4 ALARMER.
Hi Natalie,
I tried your recipe last night and have a quick question for you. I followed your recipe as written but when I poured the hot toffee on to my prepared pan, I noticed most of the butter had separated from the sugar mixture. Would you know why this happened? Is 1 cup of butter (2 sticks) the correct amount? Also, after 3 minutes, adding nuts, do we cook for 8-10 additional minutes or does one cook for only seven to eight more minutes? Tossing away the large amount of butter, sugar, and nuts was painful. I would really like to try this again with success. Thank you for any suggestions.
There might be a couple things that can make that happen. One is the heat being too high & the ingredients are melting at the same rate or too much humidity in the kitchen can cause separation. Sorry you had to throw that away. If that happens again, you can try removing it half way through & stir it, then return to microwave. You can also try adding a tablespoon of water to it, to help it come together. 1 stick of butter is 2 sticks & yes, after adding nuts, microwave for 8-10 min. Hope that helps! Good luck!
I love that you can make this recipe in the microwave! So simple and delicious. Turns out every single time!