Poor Man's Toffee

Poor Man's Toffee

Alright boys and girls.... I don't know if you have ever heard of/had Poor Man's Toffee before but Ashley, her mom & I had a little holiday cookie get-together the other night and this is what we made.  I was super excited because I haven't had it in years.  The first time was when I worked for Chanel and my manager made me a batch... ok, she made a batch for the department but I ate it all, get off my back. 

I decided to share it BECAUSE it's not only the best chocolately/salty snack but it's inexpensive to make, makes a good amount considering how rich it is, and can make an easy gift for those people in your life that seem... what's the word... ungiftable.  I considered myself ungiftable - I love to give presents but nobody ever knows what to give me. 

Enjoy

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POOR MAN'S TOFFEE

- 1 sleeves of Saltines.  (THEY HAVE TO HAVE SALT! This is a treat, not a healthy snack)

- 2 sticks (1c) REAL butter

- 1c Sugar

- 1 bag of semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips (We used milk chocolate bc semi-sweet tastes like feet)

- 1c chopped hazelnuts

Step 1

Line an edged cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Make sure the foil covers all four edges & really press it into the corners and along the bottom creases of the pan - it helps your Saltines lay flat.  Lightly spray the alunimum foil with cooking spray & line the bottom of the pan, edge to edge, with a SINGLE layer of Saltines, salt-side up.

*OCDism - Obviously not every cookie sheet will allow you to have your Saltines line up perfectly edge to edge.  Because I felt like I had to, I actually cut a row of crackers by gently sawing back and forth across the tops with a butter knife.  You can see in the picture this gave me a totally covered bottom. *snicker

Step 2

Melt your butter on low-medium heat until you have a nice butter soup.  Mix in your sugar and let it totally dissolve.  Bring the mixture up to a boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Make sure not to turn your heat too high or you'll burn your butter.  It stinks & tastes bad.  This mixture get's fairly thick and bubbly... imagine a sugary-butter custard.  If it looks like butter pudding, you've done a great job.

Step 3

Pour your sugary-butter custard over your crackers & give it a good spread.  Do it up - edge to edge & cover those crackers.

Step 4

Pop this bad boy in a 300 degree oven for 15 minutes.  The butter mixture will seep down into the crackers & bubble up on top.  It's really, super hot so try not to stick your face in it...  I know it looks delicious but self-control can really come in handy here.  Place it on a flat surface - I prefer to use two large, cork trivets for this as opposed to trying to balance it across the oven burners.

Step 5

Pour the chocolate chips evenly across your candy while it is very hot.  They will immediately start to melt & you won't need to put it in the oven again.  Once you have covered the top with chocolate, carefully spread the melting-chips until it is a smooth layer of chocolate.

Step 6

Sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts across the top of your chocolate.  Use as little or as much as you'd like but 3/4-1c seems to do the trick.  Once covered in nuts, cool your pan in the refrigerator until it is TOTALLY cool.  Don't try to handle your toffee while it is warm.  Trust me on this - you'll just make a mess.

Step 7

Once your pan is cool you can go about breaking up the toffee by slicing it into squares or by lifting up one edge and breaking it with your hands.  I personally prefer breaking it because I think the irregular pieces look better...  more like toffee bark as opposed to Saltine Brownies.  Who knows... another OCDism?  Place your pieces into a tin lined in wax paper. 

DO NOT PUT IT IN A PLASTIC BAG!  Plastic bags hold in moisture and you'll end up with a sack full of soft... icky....  well, I think soft & icky about cover it.  You want these to be crunchy.

Step 8

Enjoy your Nom!  I mean it.  Let me know if you give it a try & what you think.  There is also a version with white chocolate & crushed peppermint that sounds pretty naughty.

Happy Holidays!