Chewy Toffee

This is one of those recipes that started off as one thing and ended up as another. I was actually trying to make homemade Rolos. These are not homemade Rolos at all. But they are fantastic!

Chewy Toffee

by Sandra Simmons

1 cup butter, plus extra for lightly greasing your dish

1 cup sugar

1 cup dark corn syrup

1 - 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

You will need a candy thermometer, aluminum foil, and an 8"x 8" dish.

Lightly grease the 8"x 8" dish with butter and then line that dish with aluminum foil. Make sure you press out all of the creases carefully with your fingers. Then lightly grease the aluminum foil with butter. Set aside.

Add the first three ingredients to a saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium-low heat. Let cook without stirring for 7 minutes. Add the condensed milk and stir it in. Bring the mixture to a boil and affix the candy thermometer to the side of your saucepan and cook, stirring constantly for about 11 1/2 minutes or until the mixture reached 245 degrees. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Pour the mixture into the  8"x 8" dish and let stand for 8 hours at room temperature.

Pull the candy from the dish and remove the aluminum foil. If you didn't press out the creases well enough, the foil won't remove easily as seen here. (Yes, this was about 1/4 of my chewy toffee!) Cut the toffee into 1/2- inch strips and then into 1/2- inch squares.

Cut parchment paper into 3 1/2- inch by 5- inch pieces and wrap each piece of toffee individually. The toffee makes a great gift. You can also set some out in a bowl or a piece on your guests' pillows before bed!