Hazelnut Toffee

A $100 prize-winning holiday candy from Better Homes and Gardens' December 1995 "Prize Tested Recipes" feature — hazelnut brittle-toffee finished with a chocolate-and-hazelnut top layer, entered in the magazine's Holiday Candies category.

Maureen Biro, Pleasant Hill, Calif. — $100 Winner, Holiday Candies (as credited in the clipping)

Ingredients

• 1 cup toasted chopped hazelnuts
• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp hazelnut liqueur
• one 6-oz package (1 cup) semisweet chocolate pieces

Method

Line a large baking sheet with foil, extending the foil over the edges. Sprinkle ½ cup of the hazelnuts in an 8-inch square on the foil; set aside. Butter the sides of a heavy 1-quart saucepan. Melt the butter in the saucepan; add brown sugar and water. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until boiling. Clip a candy thermometer to the pan; cook and stir over medium heat to 280°F (soft-crack stage), about 10 minutes. Remove from heat, remove the thermometer, and immediately stir in the hazelnut liqueur. Pour over the nuts in the pan. Sprinkle with the chocolate pieces; let stand 2 minutes, then spread the softened chocolate to cover. Sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup hazelnuts. Cool (chill briefly if needed to harden the chocolate). Holding onto the foil, lift the candy out of the pan and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

Makes about ⚠ not stated on the card — the final yield count is cut off, along with the nutrition facts panel.

Notes on the artifact

A magazine clipping, not a card — Better Homes and Gardens, "Prize Tested Recipes®" feature, December 1995 issue (the clipping references page 181 for contest rules, and notes the recipes can be collected into the "Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook"). The bottom edge of the clip is cut off, taking the final yield line ("Makes about ___") and the full nutrition-facts panel with it — neither is recoverable from this scan.