This is it: the toffee mom made every year around Christmastime. Little bits would show up in my lunch bag in the last week before school let out. Then there would be a few pieces at all times on a saucer in the kitchen in the days leading up to Christmas. Finally, during our annual Christmas Eve tamale party, huge plates of the stuff would appear. Heaven.
These days she mails it across the country to me. It makes a great gift, either to yourself, or someone many zip codes away.
Mailing Toffee
makes 4 pounds
1 lb. butter
3 Tbsp. water
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 12-oz. pkg semi-sweet chocolate pieces or 1 (10-oz) bar cut into pieces
1 cup chopped or slivered almonds
In a large cast iron skillet, melt butter, water, sugar, and salt over medium high heat. Stir constantly and rapidly with wooden spoon, keeping sides of pan clean. Boil, stirring rapidly, until mixture starts to turn a deep golden tan. Quickly remove from heat so as not to burn the mixture. Stir in the vanilla.
Pour mixture into rimmed cookie sheet or baking pan, lined with foil or waxed paper. Allow to cool slightly, about 5 minutes, then sprinkle mixture with chocolate. When chocolate looks glossy, spread with an offset cake spatula or a wooden spatula, and sprinkle with nuts. Press nuts into chocolate by covering pan with wax paper and pressing with palm of hand.
Cool 8 to 12 hours, then break toffee into chunks. Wrap in foil or plastic film for giving away.
Sounds amaaaaazing. Do you need to butter the cookie sheet or line it with parchment/foil?
if i don't have a cast-iron skillet, is it better to use non-stick or stainless?
sarahB,
It sure helps, and I think mom always did, so I will update the recipe to reflect that. Thanks!
Abby,
Non-stick will make your clean-up a lot easier.
you had a xmas eve tamale party?
I want a xmas eve tamale party!
Every year, Guido my friend. Tamales from a little place in Eagle Rock I believe - everything else homemade by mom. Margaritas and tamales are year 'round in LA.
There really is no need to use a nonstick pan. Toffee is just carmelized sugar and will disolve in hot water. To clean up just run hot water in the dirty pan until all of the sugar has disolved.
Actually, the best tamales aren't year round, esp. the sweet ones. The best places have seasonal specials.
Here's some great sources:
Mama's Hot Tamales Café. The season's featured tamale is shredded turkey with Oaxacan black mole, wrapped in banana leaves. But you can choose from among 15 tamales on each day's menu or from more than 60 variations available to order. $2.25 to $3 each. 2124 W. 7th St., Los Angeles. (213) 487-7474. Takeout orders, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Tamales Liliana's. Flavors include pork with red or green chile, chicken with vegetables, chile strips with cheese, fresh corn, and sweet raisin and pineapple. $1.25 each; $14 a dozen. 4629 E. Cesar E. Chavez Ave., East Los Angeles. (323) 780-0989. Open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Closed Christmas.
Tamara's Tamales. The special this Christmas is a Sinaloa-style chicken tamale with potatoes, zucchini, carrots, jalapeños, raisins, tomato and a mild red chile sauce. $2.25 each; $25 a dozen. Other tamales range from $1.45 to $6.25 (king crab). Order at least two days in advance. 13352 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles. (310) 305-7714. Open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Open Christmas Eve. Closed Christmas Day.
O SURE, rub it in, Angelenos!
Good tamales are just beginning to show up in NYC, sold out of coolers and black garbage bags at select subway entrances . . . YOU on the other hand have all those incredible cooks from Oaxaca hanging around.
Yes, I'm jealous.
I've had to make do with an invented tradition of ravioli (gorgonzola walnut, except it's gone out of production since last Xmas, with sage butter), green salad, and champagne. This is a friends only event - no muss, no fuss and fabulous - before people head off to their relatives on xmas day.
Girlfriend and I were just yesterday talking about having a tamales New Year's Day, to lure good tamales energy into 2006 . . .
Rachel is right. The tamales are great around Christmas - the margaritas are year 'round affair (although the limes aren't as soft - but it's one of the few exceptions I make to my seasonal-only food rule)
I made the toffee last night and it was divine. It was very easy. I never worked with sugar like that before and got a work out with the constant stirring. It recieved rave reviews from co workers already. Will be making tons more. Thanks again!
Dani - Glad you liked it. Did you take any photos? Send them in!
The tamales were from Yucca Hut in Los Feliz. Yucatan style ... flatter, firmer and wrapped in banana leaves instead of corn husks.
I didn't take pics. The evidence is gone already :). They weren't as beautiful as your photo, but just as enticing. Next time.
making toffee and candy is a lot easier if you use a candy/deepfrying thermometer -- waiting until the candy turns a color is a little vague. You should cook the sugar syrup until it hits 310 degrees F for a hard toffee. Depending on your pan, this can be anywhere from a lighter golden brown color to a darker one.
Me, what temperature should you arrive at when making peanut brittle. Mom's recipe just says "honey colored" and I have managed to overcook two batches already.
Tamales. If only I had someone to make them with. Oh yummmmmm
Abbe, it depends how hard you want the peanut brittle. I'd go fro 310 degrees (hard crack stage) but its a personal preference.
To really make candy well you must (1) have a thermometer and (2) understand the different levels of sugar syrup and crystallization. I'd say try a website like baking911.com -- they do a good job of explaining the different stages of boiling sugar. The Joy of Cooking also has a good one.
I made this toffee yesterday and it turned out amazingly well! The butter/sugar mixture boiled steadily (and I stirred it vigorously) for about 10 minutes before I started seeing little wisps of golden color developing. From there it was maybe 2 or 3 minutes until I declared it "done" and poured it onto the cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. I didn't use a thermometer and it still turned out divine! Thanks for the recipe.
SK - Many thanks for this great recipe! I tried it last night to use for office-mate gifts and it worked beautifully. I used a heavy Teflon-lined sauce pan and did not dig out the candy thermometer. The recipe description of the color change was spot-on for me. I used pecans instead of almonds & a few more chocolate chips than 1 bag (had a bit leftover from a baking project). I got 4 nice-sized gift containers from the batch (plus lots of little broken bits for family enjoyment). Appreicate your sharing this in time for us last-minute gift-makers.
I have been looking for a peanut brittle recipe using a cast iron skillet, but will try this one first as it seems very easy, I have a candy thermometer, etc. Thanks much for the heavenly sounding recipe.
this recipe does sound divine! anyone know how long it'll keep? if i make it tomorrow will it still be good to give out as gifts on christmas?
Thanks!
okay, i just made a batch, using a stainless skillet, which is now soaking in hot water. i'm sure it will be a pain to clean, but teflon is toxic!
anyway, it was really easy, looks gorgeous, and smells delicious. the hardest part of the recipe at this point will be waiting 8-12 hours before sampling it! i definitely plan to make more for gifting!
thanks for the awesome recipe!
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