Pecan Toffee

One of the things I love about this season is that unexpected, good things arrive in the mail. I've never gotten over my childhood love of getting mail--even though it's bills that I receive more often than not. Back to the subject at hand. In this week's post a small box arrived from my cooking pen pal, Janet Harris. (Janet and I have never met face-to-face, but became cooking buddies when we were taking Jane Butel's on-line cooking class, "All About Chilies".) Earlier this fall, she sent some beautiful pecans and now she has sent some of the prettiest and best-tasting toffee I have ever experienced. Here is her recipe.

PECAN TOFFEE

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
  
• 1 cup granulated sugar
  
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
  
• 2 tablespoons water
  
• 1 cup broken pecans
  
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
  
• 3-4 ounces grated semi-sweet dark chocolate
  
• butter for preparing slab
  

Lightly butter a marble slab. Melt butter in heavy 2 qt pan, add sugar. When mixture boils add corn syrup and water slowly. Cook over medium heat to hard crack ( 290 degrees sea level) stirring frequently. Stir in broken pecans and pour immediately onto slab, spreading thin. (DO NOT SCRAPE PAN or may cause sugar to crystallize.) Sprinkle with grated chocolate followed by finely chopped pecans. Cool, break into pieces and enjoy.

Thanks, Janet.

Comments

[janet]

If you do not have a marble slab you may use a lightly buttered aluminum cookie sheet placed on a cool surface such as tile, granite, or concrete which will pull the heat out.