Homemade toffee bits are so easy to make, and they taste so much better than the store bought bag ‘o bits. Use them in cookies, in muffins or on ice cream.
Here’s how to make homemade buttery, sugary goodness in less than 15 minutes.
You can break them up into smaller pieces for cookies, or you can break them into larger chunks to eat as a snack. Go ahead and dip them in chocolate. It’ll be our secret.
Start by placing butter, sugar, water and salt in a saucepot, and bring it to a boil.
After it boils for about 8 minutes, it will begin to caramelize. It’ll be tempting by don’t stir it.
If you stir it, the sugars will crystallize and you’ll end up with grainy toffee.
This is an important point of the process.
You want it to brown to a dark golden color for rich homemade toffee bits, but if you cook it too long, it will burn and become bitter.
It’s better to pull it off the heat a little early, just make sure it reaches 300F degrees with a candy thermometer. That will ensure it hardens when cooled.
Pour the mixture onto a Silpat-lined cookie sheet, and allow it to cool until hardened.
It smells so good, it’s going to be really tempting to taste it. Don’t do it! I speak from experience.
This candy is screaming hot, and will burn you. Be patient. It’s almost ready.
Once cooled, break it into bits and enjoy it in cookies, muffins or on ice cream.
You can store it in an air-tight container for a week or so. But they’re so good, it probably won’t last that long.
Recipes Using Homemade Toffee Bits
Homemade Toffee Bits
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- pinch kosher salt
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a saucepot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat (about 5 minutes.)
- Continue cooking for about 8 more minutes, until the mixture reaches 300 degrees and begins to turn brown.
- Pour onto a silpat-lined baking sheet and spread thin.
- Allow to cool. Place in a plastic bag and break the bits with a can or measuring cup.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I can’t seem to get this recipe right. Not sure if it’s the pot I’m using but my sugar and butter keep separating. Any suggestions?
Are you using real butter? Margarine and spreadable butter probably will not work because they have oil in them.
I used real butter and it separated. After it cooled, I just poured off the excess oil and patted down the toffee with a paper towel, then broke it up. Tastes delicious!
Yum is a understatement! I needed toffee bits for a cake recipe & came across this recipe. I don’t have a candy thermometer but gave it a crack & it came out a treat! Not sure I’ll have any left to make the cake, lol! Guess I’ll just have to make some more 😉
I LOVED YOUR COOKIES. My mom and dad loved them and so did my sister. I put them into a cookie and it tasted amazing. THANKS FOR THE RECIPE SOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!
A very big thanks from The Netherlands for this recipe. I’ve just tried it and made my kids (and myself) very happy.
Just made some now and the whole family loved them! I added chopping almonds on top though and it taste the same as the herserys skor bits won’t be buying those anymore. Thanks for the recipe!
Oh plus I couldn’t figure out how to vote or I would have and I would have giving you a 5.
I make this and have never had to grease or line a pan with anything. There is enough butter in the recipe that it doesn’t stick. I also sprinkle chocolate chips on top while it is still warm and spread with a knife. Tastes just like a Heath Bar.
What a great idea Patty. I love Heath Bars.
ok I didn’t want to buy a silpat. maybe just parchment so I don’t have to clean.
You can actually just use foil as a liner. That’s what I did. Because of all the butter, the finished toffee doesn’t stick to the foil at all, & it makes clean up so much easier! ☺
Reynolds No-Stick Aluminum Foil is fabulous!
Thanks so much for this recipe. I just made it and will add the toffee bits to my Almond Toffee Sandies I make every year at Christmas. I have always used store bought so your bits will make them extra tasty!!!
Thanks Wende. Almond Toffee Sandies sound wonderful.
Thanks so much for sharing this.
I had a recipe that called for toffee bits and the commissary and wal-mart , where we live at the moment, do not carry either, almost gave up till I saw this 🙂
It was super easy and tastes YUMMY!! So butter smooth, my daughter and I could have eaten the whole thing, before we even made the cookies .
Never will I buy toffee again!!!
Wow. Thanks DeDe. I’m so glad you and your daughter enjoyed these. As you know, with Army life it can be hard to find the essentials. It’s fun to improvise…especially when things turn out better.
Yum! After years of buying bits, I decided to tryout a recipe. Thank you so much for the recipe and pictures, they really help.
For anyone without a heavy pot (like the author’s Le Creuset), start out with the ingredients over low-med low heat, just hot enough to melt the butter and begin dissolving the sugar. Once that’s done, begin raising the heat up to medium so it can come to a boil. Keep it boiling while you stir, stir, stir and watch the temp with a thermometer. The coloring instantly darkened close to 300 degrees.
I made the bits to go in a cookie recipe. Can’t wait for them to come out!
Dawn,
Thanks so much for the thorough instructions using other pots. I hope you loved the cookies!
Do you have to use butter or can you use marg?
I’ve never tried it with margarine. It may work, but margarine is usually made with oil, so I’m not sure it would develop the right consistency.
Margarine is 1 molecule away from plastic, so you never want to cook or even eat with it at all. It doesn’t bake things that well, can ruin a lot of baking, butter is better for you, margarine is hydrogenated oil, sticks to your arteries and your kids will suffer years later with plaque on veins, no good! All these oils should be banned already. So many people do not realize. They actually thought margarine was better then butter at one time, but that probably was someone trying to sell their product. Steer clear of anything hydrogenated and make your own candy and cookies, your kids will be eating healthier.
FYI…that is actually NOT true. People believe everything they read on the internet…hahaha