Day 12: Chocolate Hazelnut Toffee
The 12 Days of Vegan Christmas Cookies
Guys! Day 12…. We made it. It was touch and go there for a while, but we did it. 12 days of vegan Christmas cookies… now I need someone to come over and eat all of these cookies. I was debating what to share/bake for day 12 and settled on these. I know they aren’t cookies, but I still consider them apart of my cookie platter. What I love about these is how fast they are to make. The prep time is actually pretty low. If you can chop nuts and boil sugar you’re pretty much good to go. Speaking of boiling sugar, you will need a candy thermometer for these. I know, I know, but you can find them pretty much everywhere, and for pretty cheap. Having one takes the guesswork out of making toffee or caramel. This toffee needs to boil for a few minutes so you can’t judge by color, as it will turn dark amber pretty quick and stay there. Typically I make this recipe with sliced almond, but I thought the rustic look and crunch of almonds and hazelnuts would be so much better. Who doesn’t like chocolate and hazelnut, right? These remind me of these little packages of Chocolate Hazelnut Toffee they sell at the local book store, right near the cash register with the exception that they are vegan and free of mystery ingredients.
- 1 cup almonds
- 1 cup hazelnuts
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- ½ cup (1 stick) vegan butter, such as Earth Balance
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅔ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Spread the almonds and hazelnuts on a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and transfer to a clean dish cloth, bundling up the sides to keep in the steam. Let the nuts sit for 5 minutes.
- Begin to massage the nuts through the dish cloth, gently rubbing them together to loosen the skins from the hazelnuts. Don’t worry if not all the skins are removed.
- Coarsely chop the nuts and set aside.
- In a medium sized pot, heat the vegan butter, water, sugar, molasses, and salt over medium heat.
- Once melted and beginning to bubble, clip a candy thermometer to the pot and allow to boil until the mixture reaches 295°F.
- While the toffee is cooking, measure out the vanilla and baking soda into two separate bowl and set aside.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat and spread half of the chopped nuts covering the surface.
- Once the toffee mixture has reached 295°F, remove from the heat. Add in the vanilla and stand back as it may splatter. Add the baking soda and whisk to combine. The mixture will foam and lighten in color and begin to solidify. Working quickly pour the toffee over the layer of chopped nuts. You can use an offset spatula coated in oil to spread the toffee if required.
- Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the toffee and let sit for 3-4 minutes. The heat of the toffee will melt the chocolate. Using an offset spatula spread the melted chocolate to cover the surface of the toffee.
- Sprinkle the remaining chopped nuts over the melted chocolate and allow to harden and cool completely.
- Once hardened, break the toffee into shards and store in an airtight container.
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