When you care enough to give the very best, this recipe for butter toffee cashew crunch candy should be at the very top of your gift-giving list.
I love toffee. I love cashews. I love chocolate. And I love candy! But this isn't about me!
If you do, too, then this easy to make homemade candy recipe for crunchy butter toffee cashew crunch is one you'll want in your recipe arsenal!
Not only will this homemade candy make a terrific and thoughtful gift from your kitchen, but it's also one that you'll make time and again throughout the year, if only because you love toffee, cashews, chocolate, and candy!
The ingredient list:
**Note - The following lists of ingredients plus kitchen tools and equipment contain affiliate links (highlighted in blue) for your consideration and shopping convenience. #CommissionsEarned
- Butter (I use salted)
- Granulated Sugar
- Coarse Salt
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- Roasted Salted Cashews
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Kitchen tools and equipment needed:
- Candy Thermometer
- Heavy Bottom Saucepan
- Wooden Spoon or Spatula
- Whisk
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper or Aluminum Foil
- Baking Spray
- Microwave-Save Bowl (for melting chocolate)
- Candy Bags or Candy Boxes for Gift Giving (optional)
Is a candy thermometer necessary to make this recipe?
Yes, it is!
In order to make toffee, you need to get the sugar and butter mixture to the "hard-crack" stage which is anywhere between 295 - 309 degrees Fahrinhight (146 - 154 degrees celsius).
The only way to do this with the utmost accuracy is to use a candy thermometer.
What happens if the toffee doesn't get to the hard-crack temperature?
It wouldn't be the end of the world, certainly. It's candy after all. LOL
However, the consistency would be more like a chewy caramel, or taffy, which is never a bad thing.
All that said, for this homemade candy recipe I was aiming for a crunchy butter toffee, so the recipe is written as such.
Caution! There is a danger of heating toffee over too high of heat.
Why? Because the mixture can "break" and separate leaving the butter and the sugar as two separate entities that never fully combine.
Always heat your toffee over medium or medium/high heat. Never over high heat for extended periods of time!
Remember...good things come to those who wait!
Can this toffee cashew crunch be stored in the fridge after it's made?
No. Don't do it!
Keeping chocolate in the refrigerator will cause condensation, which will make the dark chocolate turn hazy and spotty.
*Complete Disclaimer* - I tried to rush the hardening stage while making this recipe (for photography purposes) by placing my chocolate drizzled toffee cashew crunch outside when the weather was a tad too cold.
The results (as you can tell from the photos) are very small white blemish spots on my candy which shouldn't be there. The "spots" in no way affect the flavor of the candy, but they don't look quite as "pretty" as they should.
Take that out of the book of "do as I say, not as I do," and don't make the same mistake I did, thinking that only a few minutes won't matter. Take your time, and let them harden naturally, without the use of cold temperatures.
Can this candy be frozen after it's made?
YES! Odd right, don't refrigerate, but freezing is okay? What's up with that?
As long as the candy is wrapped very well, with all the air removed from the packaging, this butter toffee cashew crunch can be frozen for up to three months without harm to the appearance, or taste.
Since freezing happens relatively quickly, there is far less time for condensation to form so the chocolate should remain unblemished.
The easy step-by-step instructions for making butter toffee cashew crunch:
- Melt the butter in the heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the sugar and whisk to combine.
- Add the candy thermometer to the pan and cook the mixture over medium/high heat, stirring pretty much continually.
- Once the mixture is at a low boil, add the salt and stir.
- Continue stirring over medium/high heat, cooking the toffee until the mixture reaches approximately 300-degrees (hard-crack stage) on a candy thermometer.
- Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and spray liberally with baking spray.
- Once the toffee reaches the hard-crack stage, remove from the heat and immediately stir in the vanilla extract, and the cashews.
- Once the cashews are thoroughly coated in the toffee, spread them out into an even layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Cool completely.
- Once cooled, break the candy into bite-sized pieces.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the semi-sweet chocolate on low/medium power (stirring often) until smooth and creamy.
- Drizzle the melted chocolate liberally over the butter toffee cashew crunch, and allow the candy to harden at room temperature.
- Break again into bite-sized pieces, if desired.
Additional homemade candy recipes:
- Coconut-Pecan Praline Candy (pictured below) from (yours truly) Kudos Kitchen
"You can either thank me for this recipe of coconut pecan praline candy or curse me out! They’re so good and so addicting you may eat them all by yourself! Sorry. Not sorry!"
- Double Chocolate Graham Cracker Toffee (pictured below and featured in the video) from (yours truly) Kudos Kitchen
"This Double Chocolate Graham Cracker Toffee wins my (self-proclaimed) blue ribbon award for the best and easiest candy I have ever made. Since I’ve made it twice in the past week, that’s proof positive! When you make it, you’ll understand why! Trust me."
- Colossal Homemade Candy Roundup (pictured below) from your favorite Food Bloggers all around the web
"Today’s best Homemade Candy Recipe Roundup is for those of us who enjoy giving, making, and eating delicious homemade gifts of love during the holidays. Sweet!"
- Homemade Butter Toffee Cashew Crunch (pictured below) This is the place!!
When you make this recipe, and I hope you do, I'd appreciate it if you'd take a moment to leave a star rating on the recipe card and briefly comment on why you rated it as you did. FYI - Google appreciates recipe ratings and, in turn, will share my recipes with more people. Thank you so much!!
Printable Recipe Card
Butter Toffee Cashew Crunch Candy
Ingredients
- 2 sticks 1 cup butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1½ cups roasted salted, cashews
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels melted
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a medium-sized heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the sugar and whisk to combine.
- Stir in the salt.
- Increase the heat to medium/high and, using a candy thermometer, continue to cook and stir the mixture until the toffee reaches the hard-crack temperature on the candy thermometer of 300-degrees Fahrenheit. *Note - this can take up to 10 minutes or more. Do NOT walk away from the stovetop, and stir very frequently.
- **Special Note - NEVER heat the toffee over high heat as this will cause the candy mixture to break and separate.
- Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it liberally with baking spray. Set aside.
- Once the toffee has reached the hard-crack temperature, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract, and the cashews until evenly coated.
- Spread the butter toffee cashews in an even layer onto the prepared baking sheet and cool completely.
- Once cooled, break the candy into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
- Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl (on medium/low power) and stirring frequently, until smooth and creamy.
- Drizzle the melted chocolate over the butter toffee cashew crunch candy and allow the candy to set until firm. Do NOT refrigerate.
- Store in an airtight container in a dark location.
Notes
Nutrition
I sincerely hope you've enjoyed today's homemade candy recipe for butter toffee cashew crunch as much as I've enjoyed bringing it to you!
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Until we eat again, I hope you have a delicious day!!
Peg says
I made this 3 times and each time it burned. I have a gas stove and the third time I only cooked it on low and I all 3 times stirred it constantly and the last time I took it off at 280 degrees. But as soon as I took it off the burner, the temp jumped over 300 and it tastes burnt. Not as bad as the other two times though. I’m wondering if my pan was a little too big which kept the mixture from being as high in the pan as it should have been. Not sure if I’m going to try again. Any advice I’d appreciate.
Renée says
Hi, Peg.
I'm very sorry to hear that you've been having problems.
I'm glad you knew to lower your heat (a good first step) but the fact that it's still burning is a stumper.
Let me ask you this...do you think your candy thermometer could be off?
If not, is there any chance you live in a high-altitude area?
I've read that cooking sugar for candy making in higher altitudes should be cooked to 10-degrees lower than what the recipe calls for, so 290-degrees would be your target temperature for this particular recipe.
Other than that, I'm afraid you've given me something to ponder, and I'll try and come up with other answers for you.
Again, I'm sorry you're having such problems as I know that this candy is not exactly on the thrifty side to make.
I'll comment again if I come up with anything else for you.
Until then, I hope these two suggestions are helpful.
Take care,
Renee
Nadine Carey says
I am going to make the Butter Toffee cashew crunch but it calls for roasted, salted cashews. Do I need to roast the bag of salted cashews before putting them in the toffee?
Renée says
Hi, Nadine!
If the cashews you have are already salted, then I'm guessing that they've already been roasted.
However, if you have raw cashews then I suggest roasting and salting them first to bring out all that wonderful flavor.
Roasted cashews are a deeper color (a dark tan) and raw cashews are a light tan, almost the same color as the inside of an almond.
I hope this information helps.
Please let me know if I can be of further assistance.
Enjoy the recipe.
Renee
Peggy says
Can you just pour chocolate over the nut mixture then break? Thanks!
Claudia Lamascolo says
There is no way I would share this with anyone its mine all mine! Yummy have a blessed season xo hugs
Jen says
Delicious and addicting for sure!