Homemade toffee bits are one of the greatest ways to elevate any dessert! They’re buttery, crunchy, and packed with delicious butterscotch flavor. They taste amazing in cakes, cookies, brownies, you name it!

As an added bonus, this recipe only uses 3 ingredients and comes together in about 10 minutes. It doesn’t get much easier than that!!

Toffee is technically considered a candy, but I promise it’s not hard to make all!! However, the process is a lot easier if you use a candy thermometer and a heavy-bottomed saucepan.

It ensures you cook the toffee to the right temperature, so you end up with perfectly crunchy, caramelized toffee bits.

What is Toffee?

Toffee is like the zany, quirky aunt of caramel.

While caramel is usually made with butter, granulated sugar, butter, and salt, toffee is typically made with brown sugar, American-style butter (80% butterfat or less), and salt, and is heated to the hard crack stage (295 F-309 F).

This is what gives it that incredible, crunchy texture!

It’s similar in flavor to butterscotch because it’s made with brown sugar, but butterscotch sauce usually is made with heavy cream and cooked to a lower temperature than toffee.

How to Make Toffee Bits from Scratch

Let’s walk through each step of this recipe to make sure it turns out as amazing as possible. I’ve also shared the equipment I recommend using below:

• Heavy-bottomed saucepan
• Large, flat baking sheet
• Silicone mat or parchment paper
• Candy thermometer
• A heavy object (mallet, hammer, wine bottle, rolling pin, etc.)

I’m a visual learner, so I’ve also shared a video tutorial below for anyone who’s like me:

Step 1: Prep the Pan

Line a small rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.

Note: Do NOT use wax paper – the heat from the toffee can melt it!

Step 2: Cook the Toffee

Melt 1/2 cup of unsalted butter in a heavy-bottomed, small saucepan over medium heat.

Add 1 cup of packed light or dark brown sugar and 1 tsp fine salt and stir vigorously until combined.

Continue to stir the mixture constantly as it cooks with either a whisk or rubber spatula. If you don’t, it can burn quite quickly!

If the mixture separates while it’s cooking, remove it from the stovetop and whisk vigorously until it comes back together. Then return it to heat and continue cooking it.

Cook the mixture for about 7-9 minutes, or until it reaches 295°F or 146°C.

Step 3: Pour the Toffee and Let It Cool

Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking pan as soon as it reaches the right temperature. It should spread out into an even layer.

If it seems a bit thick, you can use a silicone spatula to spread it out a bit more.

If desired, sprinkle 1/2 cup of toasted, finely chopped nuts and 1 Tbsp flakey sea salt on top of the toffee before it sets.

Set the toffee aside to cool for about 15-20 minutes, or until it reaches room temperature.

Step 4: Break the Toffee Into Small Pieces

At this point, the toffee should be hard to the touch and have reached room temperature.

Place the toffee in a Ziplock bag and use a rolling pin or heavy object to break it into small pieces.

I like to break them into pieces that are roughly the size of large chocolate chips, but you can make them whatever size you want!

Smaller pieces are great for mixing into desserts like cookies or cakes, and bigger pieces are great for snacking on.

I recommend placing a towel underneath the toffee to protect your counters. If you make this in advance, store it in an airtight container/bag for up to 2 weeks.

Substitutions & Swaps – Toffee Bits

While this recipe only uses a few ingredients, I know you might not have all of them on hand.

Below are some swaps and substitutions that can be made in this recipe.

• Unsalted Butter – This recipe turns out best with American-style butter. I don’t recommend using European butter like Kerry Gold or Plugra! It has a higher fat content which will cause the toffee to separate as it’s being heated. Salted butter can be used in place of unsalted butter, just omit the salt that the recipe calls for.
• Light or Dark Drown Sugar – Light or dark brown sugar can be used to make this recipe, but I prefer using dark brown sugar for added depth of flavor. If you only have granulated sugar on hand, it can be used in place of the brown sugar. However, the flavor won’t be quite the same.
• Toasted Nuts – These are totally optional, they just add to the texture and flavor of the toffee bits. However, they can be omitted.
• Fine Salt – Also known as table salt! A bit of salt helps balance out the sweetness in the toffee. If you want to use kosher salt, use 2 tsp.

How Many Toffee Bits Does This Recipe Make?

Yield will vary a bit based on how small you make the toffee bits and whether you add in the chopped nuts.

With the nuts, you should end up with about 2 cups. Without the nuts, you should have about 1 1/2 cups of toffee bits.

Making This Toffee Recipe in Advance and How to Store it

These toffee bits can be stored in an airtight container or ziplock bag at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

They can also be frozen for up to 3 months once broken into small pieces. Store them in a ziplock bag, and let them thaw to room temperature before using.

If any of the bits stick together, they can be broken up with a fork.

What Recipes Can I Add Toffee Bits To?

Like I mentioned above, toffee bits taste good in just about any dessert! I love sprinkling them into my brownie recipes, folding them into cookie dough, or sprinkling them into my layer cake recipes.

They’d also taste amazing on ice cream, in rice krispies, streusel, or even in macarons!

I use them in my butterscotch crunch cake and they totally make it!!

Tips for Making the Best Toffee Bits

• Use a candy thermometer if possible!!! It’s important that you cook the toffee to the hard crack stage, which is between 295F and 309F. However, if you don’t you can go off of visual cues. Cook the toffee for 7-9 minutes over medium heat, and remove once it has thickened.
• In this recipe, it’s super important that you use a heavy-bottomed saucepan! Thinner, cheaper pans have a tendency to burn the toffee.
• Line the pan before you start cooking the toffee. It needs to be poured onto the pan as soon as it reaches the right temperature, and it’s nice to have the pan ready to go so that you can immediately pour it out.
• Make sure the toffee is at room temperature before you break it into smaller pieces. If it’s still warm, the pieces can stick together as they cool.
• Normally I say use the best ingredients possible, but in this recipe, you want to use American-style butter rather than fancier European butter like Kerry Gold or Plugra. They have a higher fat content and will cause the toffee to break as it cooks.
• This is optional, but I love to sprinkle toasted nuts and flakey sea salt on top of the toffee before it hardens to make these even more delicious. It gives it a praline/English toffee vibe and it’s so good!
• You can use light or dark brown sugar to make these toffee bits, but I prefer using dark brown sugar because it gives the toffee bits more depth of flavor.

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