One more thing: you will want to hide this toffee deep inside your freezer.
Did you know that Purim comes out on Sunday this year? Yup. Read on. Mishloach Manos doesn’t need to be a last-minute-stay-up-all-night ordeal, not with this freezable toffee. Who knew.
This toffee lives up to its name. It’s not something you want to have lying around if you are trying to watch your waistline. No amount of self-control will get you past this temptation. You’ll need to trust me on this.
If you happen to know me, you’ll definitely recognize this candy. It’s the one that I’ve been sending for mishloach manos for years now. Actually, one Purim, I changed things around a bit and sent basil-infused olives and chatzilim instead. It worked with my Yerushalmi theme. But, nobody cared about the Yerushalmi theme. They wanted the toffee. People were waaaaaaiting for toffee, staying milchigs for it even.
Neighbors were disappointed. Friendships tested.
I hate disappointing people. So we are back with the toffee. Every. Single. Purim.
One of the (many) reasons why I like love this toffee is because it is so forgiving. Need it for tomorrow? Store it on the counter. Need it for next week? Keep it in the fridge. Want to prepare it, now, for Purim? You can. Just stick it in the freezer. It will be just as perfect.
See this post on ways to wrap and store this toffee so that it is all ready for Purim.
- 2 sticks (1 cup) butter, cut into pieces
- 1½ cups sugar
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 16 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped, divided
- ½ cup shelled pistachios, chopped
- 1 (3.5-ounce) bar good-quality white chocolate (I use Choco Blanc), chopped
- nonstick cooking spray
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, covering the sides too. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, sugar, water, and corn syrup. Mix with a wooden spoon from time to time, until butter melts. Once butter has melted, increase heat to medium-high and insert a candy thermometer.
- Cook mixture until golden brown and registering 300F on a candy thermometer, about 10 minutes. Do not stir. (I strongly recommend the use of a candy thermometer. However, if you do not own one, you can tell when the toffee is ready by its color. Wait for it to turn a warm beige.)
- Remove saucepan from heat; carefully stir in the chopped pecans.
- Quickly pour toffee onto prepared baking pan. Spread to the edges, using a spatula, working quickly to prevent hardening. Let stand for 30 minutes.
- Melt half the bittersweet chocolate (see Note); spread over cooled toffee. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
- Once firm, flip entire bar over and peel off the parchment paper. Let toffee come to room temperature for 5 minutes or so. (This will help you with the next step and prevent chocolate from hardening too quickly.)
- Melt the remaining bittersweet chocolate. Spread over toffee bar; immediately sprinkle with pistachios. (Once the chocolate hardens, pistachios won’t stick.)
- Melt white chocolate (see Note). Cool a bit; then pour into a resealable plastic bag. Snip off a corner of the bag; drizzle white chocolate over the entire bar and pistachios. Freeze until firm.
- Once chocolate is firm, break bar into bite-sized pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the freezer. Toffee will stay fresh for about a month at room temperature.
Note:
I own a dairy microwave exclusively for melting chocolate. I’m not kidding. When melting regular bittersweet chocolate, start by chopping the bar into chunks then microwaving for 1 minute. Give it a quick stir; then return to the microwave for another 30 seconds. Stir again, and, only if necessary, return for another 30 seconds.
White chocolate is more delicate and can scorch easily. It’s best to chop the white chocolate into very small, even pieces before microwaving. Start with 30 seconds, then melt at 15-second intervals, stirring between each. Microwave the chocolate for as short a time as possible. Stir vigorously to get to get the chocolate smooth rather than returning it to the microwave again.
This recipe doubles, triples, and quadruples (!) well. Just pull out your largest dairy pot.
How much do you get from one recipe? How many batches do you make for Purim?
One recipe yields one full 9x 13 pan. I usually calculate that one pan will fill approx. 9 mishloach manons. Obviously, it all depends on the box/jar you will be putting them in. I use these boxes http://www.nashvillewraps.com/candy-boxes/presentation-boxes/sku-bfb4pc.html
Aslo, check out this post from last week https://betweencarpools.com/mishloach-manos-boxes/
What can I top it with instead of nuts ( to keep it nut free)
I think that just white chocolate is enough. It is so pretty and delicious. Be aware, the toffee itself contains pecans as well
Can u use margerine to make it pareve?
A few people have told me that they made it parve and it worked well. I never tried. I am a big believer in butter 😉
Was this the toffee given out by Zichron Shlome event?
Yes!! It is super addictive. Just saying’…..
Renee- thx! Can I leave out the pecans or substitute it with something else- (no nuts)
I would just leave it out. Mainly because I never tested anything else….. and the toffee is delicious as is too.
Been making these ever since they were printed in ami, it’s a hit every time!! Thanks
Wondering how you fill 9 of those 5×5 boxes from 1 9×13 pan? Do you just put one layer in your boxes?
Was also wondering how much you put in each box
I don’t put too much. Just about 3-4 pieces of toffee, if I remember correctly. the boxes are pretty small and I also line them with a layer of tissue paper. Best would be to prepare a bit more than you think necessary and you can always enjoy the leftovers, if any. It keeps in the freezer indefinitely and its not chometz either, so you can save it for after pesach too..
Can’t wait to try this tomorrow when (if) we’re snowed in!
yes! perfect activity! let me know how it worked out
So excited to make today! Trying to estimate how many to make – it makes one flat baking sheet (11×17) and when cut into pieces it fills an entire 9×13 correct?
Correct!! I see there was some confusion here and I apologize for not explaining myself better. Yes, one recipe fills a baking sheet (11×17) and cut up, it fills a 9×13 pan. I know that because that is how I store them until I am ready to pack them into individual boxes. Each filled 9×13 will give me an approx 8-9 mishloach manos. But, If you want them fuller, obviously make some more. I generally quadruple the recipe each time. Its not such a big job, more time consuming with the cooling and waiting time… Happy cooking!! perfect day for this!
I just did it but didn’t get a full baking sheet of toffee. Did I do something wrong? I would say got more like a 9×13 size pan sheet of toffee
It all depends on how quickly you are working. Whilst the toffee is hot it spreads well. It starts cooling immediately and then it gets thick and harder to spread. But, again, no need to agonize over the size of the pan etc. there are no rules. Everything works. It is delicious and thick or thin doesn’t matter all that much.
Help! I made these, but as I’m braking em, the chocolate is coming off the toffee. What am I doing wrong?
PS. these are sinful!!
That can happen sometimes if the toffee is too cold when you break it. Try waiting a bit, but not too much otherwise you will end up with a mess. Also, use gloves when breaking the toffee.
When do you use the non stick cooking spray???
I use it to spray the knife for easy cutting
Not sure if I got the texture of the inside right. What is the inside supposed to taste/ be like?
mmm… Crunchy but still chewy. Addictive. Super delicious.
I still can’t seem to get the texture right- it’s only chewy in some spots. Does it make a difference what brand corn syrup you use.
I don’t think so. I have to admit that also by me they are slightly different each time (sometimes more crunch sometimes more chewy) but that never bothered me in the least and there’s never a crumb left. They are delicious either way. As long as you can crack them easily into pieces I say you shouldn’t worry about it
They are in my freezer now 🙂 how far in advance can I put them in my non air tight boxes for Purim??
You can really do it already today, as long as you keep them in a cool and dark spot (like a garage). The trick is not to expose them to direct sunlight or heat. Happy Purim!
Hi! These look amazing! I’d love to see a picture of your completed mishloach manos, if possible.
Thanks so much!
Don’t have one on the site, maybe an idea for a future post!
Yes please!! Would love to see the completed look. Purims round the corner
Hi, can I melt dairy chocolate over a double boiler or it has to be done in a microwave??
Of course you can! that is the preferred way to do it. We just like the practical aspect of the microwave…
Dark Chocolate is Dairy or Parve?
Parve
Hi I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for a while. It looks really good. How do you chop the pistachios and pecans?
I like to put them into a resealable bag and pound them with a heavy object like a glass bottle or a rolling pin. Don’t over do it tho
could the bittersweet chocolate be replaced with milk, or part of it? or would that make it too rich? Also can you tell us what else you out in you mishloach manos with it 🙂
Seems to me that cooking the toffee until a candy thermometer registers 300F is too long. I just tried these and they came out crunchy, almost like a hard candy bar. Am I cooking it for too long?
That is how we like them! with some bite! they soften as you chew. But, by all means, you could make them chewier by pouring them out earlier.
The texture is definitely hard, I literally break them to cut them. Its like a crunchy candy.
Thank you. I took it off the flame just slightly before it reached 300 and it was perfect! The bars were still crunchy, yet easy to chew. I topped them with chopped pecans and drizzled white and brown milk chocolate. It was all so easy to prepare and I got rave reviews! This was a real winner!!
totally divine! cant wait to give them out on purim
Can I skip the pistachio nuts on top and the taste will be just as great without it?
This is beautiful!
When you give it as Mishloach Manos, what else do you give it with? Meaning, what’s your second food? Or do you have any ideas of another food to pair it with?
Thanks!
Hi! Some years I paired it with Sea Salt Caramels, other times a small chocolate liqueur. Also nuts or whole pistachios are pretty.