"toffee" news and stories

Happy English Toffee Day!

by Alexa Weibel, Posted Jan 8th 2011 @ 1:15PM

Chocolate almond buttercrunch toffee. Photo: Come Undone, Flickr

Happy English Toffee Day!

For a simple base of butter and sugar, it's incredible what a decadent dessert toffee forms, with its initial -- but not cloying -- sweetness followed by a pleasantly lingering buttery flavor. One could argue that the only thing holding back this dulcet sweet from perfection is its pesky ability to cling to teeth.

Imperfections aside, we're amazed at how simple it is to make your own tray of the buttery delicacy. Aside from a few ingredients, the main apparatus needed is just a candy thermometer. If you're feeling ambitious on this National Toffee Day, try making some yourself -- and who better to learn from than Paula Deen, the reigning culinary queen of butter? (Heck, in addition to heaping it copiously into the vast majority of her recipes, she's even been known to drink it straight!)

So get cracking on her alluringly simple recipe -- it's divine, y'all.

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Filed under: Holidays, How To

Sensual Toffee, Hard-to-Find Fruitcake and Pastry Geometry - The Charlotte Observer in 60 Seconds

COMMENTS 0

by Hanna Raskin, Posted Dec 4th 2009 @ 12:00PM

Photo: Randy Son of Robert, Flickr.

Charlotte's leading toffee maker tells Kathleen Purvis it's "nice to be able to provide that much happiness without having to have sex."
Southern fans of Jane Parker fruitcake no longer have to make pilgrimages to Connecticut to buy their favorite Yuletide treat -- the cake's for sale online.
When holidays collide with salad days, bring an affordable shrimp and black bean salad to the potluck. If money's tight, omit the shrimp.
At Brazilian bakeries like Tropical in Matthews, N.C., a pastry's shape is a clue to its filling.

Filed under: In 60 Seconds

Super Bowl Week: Heath Bar Blondies

COMMENTS 2

by Sarah J. Gim, Posted Jan 31st 2008 @ 7:49PM

Nothing about these blondies makes them particularly special for the Super Bowl. They're just your basic blondie recipe with the substitution of chopped Heath bars for chocolate chips. However, because they're so easy to make, can be made the night before, and are easy to serve and eat, they work for a Super Bowl party, or any party for that matter.

Heath Bar Blondies
Preheat oven to 350. Grease 9x9 baking pan. (You can use an 8x8; the blondies will just be slightly taller.)

Into a large mixing bowl, sift together: 1 c. all-purpose flour, ½ tsp baking powder, 1/8 tsp baking soda, and ½ tsp salt.

In a large bowl, beat together 1 c brown sugar with 1 stick melted butter. Add 1 large egg and ¼ tsp vanilla.

Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture along with 1 c. coarsely chopped Heath bars. (Add nuts if you feel so inspired, but don't tell me about it. I hate nuts in cookies and brownies). Pour batter into pan.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool (if you have the patience) before cutting into squares.

Filed under: Super Bowl XLII, Ingredients, Methods

Coconut almond toffee crunch cookie

COMMENTS 8

by Marisa McClellan, Posted Nov 8th 2007 @ 10:31AM

I realize that I've posted nearly every day this week about one or another dish that appeared at the Philly Food Blogger Potluck last Friday. I hope I'm not boring you with all these posts, it just doesn't seem right not to share all the wonderful things that I got to taste that night. And with that introduction, let me tell you about what may be one of the best cookies I've ever tasted (and I've eaten more than my share of cookies over the years).

Elizabeth, who is also responsible for the Elvis and Fluffer Nutter cakes I've posted about in the past, brought a large container of her famous Coconut Almond Toffee Crunch cookies to the potluck. She describes them perfectly in her post as a cookie that has evolved into a treat "that combines chewy, crunchy, sweet, salty, and buttery." People who loudly announced that they didn't like coconut devoured them. Folks sneaked stacks of them out in napkins. One blogger said she was going to take the cookie in her hand home to her boyfriend but was then spotted eating it a few moments later. They are just that good.

Source

Filed under: On the Blogs, Ingredients, Methods

Vodka Notes: Imperial Exclusive Vodka

COMMENTS 4

by Jonathan M. Forester, Posted Jul 6th 2007 @ 7:31AM

Imperial Exclusive Vodka from Emperor Brands L.L.C., made in France, is 40% abv. / 80 proof. This super premium vodka is made from a secret recipe that has been handed down for generations. This is a very clean and clear vodka made from the finest French grains and ultra pure and smooth Normandy water, then distilled five times. Many vodkas have as much taste as a glass of pure medicinal grade alcohol. In other words, none. They have had every trace of taste filtered out until there is no character left. That is not the case with Imperial Exclusive Vodka.

When I first tried this spirit I immediately noticed the aroma. Faint but very evident hints of butter, sweet caramel or toffee, the slightest trace of vanilla. I was trying to place the exact scent when it struck me. It was like the faintest touch of the best part of the aromas from the gorgeous movie theaters I vaguely remember from my childhood. Not the cookie cutter places that have two dozen tiny theaters crowded under one roof that you find today. Perpetually grimy and lacking soul. No, I mean the grand old places that only played one movie for a week or two before the next came along. The ones that were spotlessly clean, had comfy, red velvet chairs to sink deep into; and ushers to help you to your seats. Walls decorated with hand-painted murals and thick velvet curtains thirty feet high that spread across the walls right before the lights dimmed to soften the acoustics of the room.

Filed under: Lush Life, Raves & Reviews, Trends, Liquor Cabinet, Drink Recipes, New Products, Drinks