National English Toffee Day

Brown sugar and butter are cooked together to create that delicious toffee flavor that is then doused in a decadent layer of chocolate. Yum!

National English Toffee Day is here to celebrate all of the beauty, tradition and deliciousness that this special treat has to offer!

History of National English Toffee Day

Starting around the early 19th century, sugar became a much more accessible resource in Europe which meant that candies and sweet treats such as English toffee were developed. Some historians believe that the candy-making recipes for toffee may have actually originated in Wales and then moved over into England as both were part of Great Britain by this time.

Made from butter and brown sugar that are caramelized together, toffee is rather simple to make and only requires a few additional ingredients, such as vanilla extract and salt, as well as milk chocolate to spread on top of the toffee.

Traditionally, English toffee is made without nuts, whereas American and other types of toffee may use nuts. Even so, with or without nuts, making and then munching on some delicious toffee in honor of National English Toffee Day is a delightful way to celebrate and enjoy!

This event is now celebrated in alignment with the National Confectioners Association.

How to Celebrate National English Toffee Day

Find a ton of different ways to enjoy and celebrate National English Toffee Day! Come up with some of your own ways to celebrate, or get started with some of these great ideas:

Enjoy Eating Some English Toffee

Of course, the first point of order in celebrating National English Toffee Day is to find a source for some and enjoy eating it! English toffee (or it may just be called ‘toffee’ for those in England) can be purchased in a variety of shops that sell candy. Or, if some of the brands can’t be found locally, they can often be sourced online and shipped almost anywhere.

Check out some of these delicious brands of English toffees:

• Heath Bar. Made from toffee and almonds and then covered in chocolate, the Heath bar is an original that has been made in the United States since 1928. It was first manufactured by the Heath Brothers Confectionary and is now owned by the Hershey Company.
• Daim. A crunchy toffee center with almonds is surrounded by caramel. This Swedish and Norwegian brand started in the 1950s and is now well known around the world.
• The Toffee Merchant. This signature gourmet company makes award winning English Toffee that is handcrafted in small batches. Their toffee is offered in a variety of flavors such as Bourbon Pecan, Salted Espresso, Sicilian Orange, Key Lime and many others.
• Karamella Toffee Company. Located in Oklahoma City, this coffee company uses the finest ingredients for their unique flavors such as Pecan, Pretzel, Spicy Almond and Coffee Almond toffee.

Try Making English Toffee

Although it does require a bit of attention, making English toffee at home from scratch only requires a few ingredients and can be a great deal of fun! Plus, since National English Toffee Day falls in the middle of winter, it happens to be the perfect season to spend time in the kitchen making yummy creations.

Start by gathering the ingredients, including butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract and chocolate, as well as chopped nuts (if desired). Melt the butter together with the brown sugar and then add vanilla and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 15-20 minutes until the mixture turns a dark amber color. This should measure around 285 F on a candy thermometer.

Pour the toffee mixture onto a baking sheet and allow the mixture to harden for about 20 minutes, then cover with melted chocolate. Allow the chocolate on top to harden and then break the toffee into bite sized pieces. Serve and enjoy!

Give English Toffee as a Gift

What could be a better gift for a toffee lover on National English Toffee Day than a box or basket or bag full of English toffee?! Whether picking some toffee up from a local candy store or making some from scratch and gifting it, this is a perfect time to pass some toffee around.

Perhaps bring a big plate full of it to the office and share with coworkers. Or wrap pieces of toffee up in individual packages and send them to school with the kids for a snack. Of course, it would make a delicious treat for teachers as well!

Try Baking with English Toffee

Once made, English toffee can be crunched up into tiny bits that can be used in all sorts of different delicious recipes. Or, for those who don’t want to make their own, Heath is one brand that sells bags of toffee bits in the baking section of most American grocery stores.

In celebration of National English Toffee Day, perhaps try out some of these creative ideas for baking with the unique flavor of English toffee bits:

• English Toffee Cheesecake. Start with the basic ingredients of cheesecake, like cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and a graham cracker or cookie crust. (Or, for a super easy cheat, buy a premade New York style cheesecake!) Add crushed up Heath bars or Heath English Toffee bits to the top and drizzle with delicious caramel sauce. 
• Chewy Salted Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies. Use a typical chocolate chip cookie recipe by also adding toffee bits in when adding the chocolate chips. After baking, immediately sprinkle with sea salt flakes. 
• Pumpkin English Toffee Donuts. Make donuts that contain canned pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. Dip the baked donuts into powdered sugar glaze and then dip the top immediately in English toffee bits. 
• English Toffee Brickle Brownies. These blonde brownies have a batter similar to chocolate chip cookies, but include English toffee bits as well. Spread them into a large pan and bake to gooey perfection with a crispy toffee crunch!