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Dark Chocolate Buttercrunch
This recipe requires few ingredients and little effort, but the result is superb, making it appear you slaved over a hot stove all afternoon. What's more, this candy is so rich that a few pieces go a long way, making it ideal for holiday gift bags. For those of you unfamiliar with buttercrunch, it's a lot like a Heath Bar. And, like a Heath Bar, not only is it tasty candy; it's delicious crunched up and stirred into ice cream, or mixed into whipped cream and spread between layers of a chocolate cake.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional; for enhanced flavor
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon baking soda, optional (see "tips," below)
- 2 cups diced pecans or slivered almonds, toasted
- 2 2/3 cups semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped; or chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a large, deep saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the salt, sugar, espresso powder, water, and corn syrup, and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil gently over medium heat, without stirring, until the mixture reaches hard-crack stage (300°F on an instant-read or candy thermometer). The syrup will bubble without seeming to change much for awhile, but be patient; all of a sudden it will darken, and at that point you need to take its temperature and see if it's ready. (If you don't have a thermometer, test a dollop in ice water; it should immediately harden to a brittleness sufficient that you'll be able to snap it in two, without any bending or softness). This whole process should take about 10 to 12 minutes. Pay attention; too long on the heat, and the syrup will burn.
- While the sugar mixture is gently bubbling, spread half of the nuts, in a fairly closely packed, even single layer, on a lightly greased baking sheet (a half sheet pan works well here). If you're unfamiliar with making buttercrunch, it may be easier to use a 9" x 13" pan lined with greased foil or parchment. Top the nuts in the pan with half the chocolate.
- When the syrup is ready, stir in 1 teaspoon baking soda; it'll foam up, so be careful. Pour the syrup quickly and evenly over the nuts and chocolate. Immediately top with the remaining chocolate, then the remaining nuts.
- Wait several minutes, then gently, using the back of a spatula, press down on the chocolate-nut layer to spread the chocolate around evenly.
- While the candy is still slightly warm, use a spatula to loosen it from the baking sheet. When cool, break it into uneven chunks.
- Store cooled candy tightly wrapped; it'll stay fresh for a couple of weeks at room temperature. Freeze for longer storage.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 53g
- Servings Per Batch 24
Amount Per Serving:
- Calories 269
- Calories from Fat
- Total Fat 19g
- Saturated Fat
- Trans Fat
- Cholesterol
- Sodium 2mg
- Total Carbohydrate 5g
- Dietary Fiber 2g
- Sugars 22g
- Protein 2g
* The nutrition information provided for this recipe is determined by the ESHA Genesis R&D software program. Substituting any ingredients may change the posted nutrition information.
Tips from our bakers
- Adding baking soda to the hot sugar syrup forms microscopic bubbles, which serve to enhance the candy's light, crunchy texture.
- For buttercrunch that's more toffee, less chocolate and nuts, use just half of the latter ingredients. Place 1 1/3 cups (8 ounces, 227g) chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips in the bottom of the pan (or on a baking sheet); top with the hot syrup; then spread with 1 cup (4 ounces, 113g) diced toasted nuts, carefully pushing them into the hot syrup so they adhere.
- See our blog for more handy tips.
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Reviews
At first when the toffee cooled it seemed very hard and I was concerned I would not be able to share this for fear someone may break a tooth. I used a candy thermometer and took toffee off the heat at 300 degrees and thought maybe I should have taken the toffee off the heat at a lower temperature. Remarkably after one night in a Tupperware container they came out perfectly as toffee should be. Loved the espresso flavor and dark chocolate combo. I made half with almonds and half with pecans. Tasty.
This turned out perfectly. Everyone who tried it over the holidays loved it. The only thing I would change is the amount of espresso powder I added. I doubled the recipe, and also doubled the espresso powder when making my toffee. In the future, I would keep to a single teaspoon of espresso powder, even when doubling the toffee recipe, because I got a distinctive whiff and taste of coffee in the finished candy. I am not sure others noticed it, but I could. Otherwise, it was a perfect candy to go with coffee during the holidays and I will make it again for gifts and treats.
Just finished breaking my Butter crunch into pieces. Recipe very simple and straight forward, easy to follow. Not a lot of ingredients. Turned out just as the recipe said it would, and I like the free form technique. Makes a large amount of candy. Excellent taste. The dark chocolate helped reduce the over sweet taste usually found with toffee. I will definitely make this again.
This is my mom's favorite candy so after years of purchasing it from the store, I wanted to try this recipe. I'm so very glad I did - it was delicious and my mother LOVED IT. I used Guittard bittersweet chocolate baking wafers (74% cacao) and pecans. The recipe was easy to follow - I used a candy thermometer as suggested which ensured a perfect outcome. I left it overnight in the refrigerator and the next day broke it into pieces. The good news about this recipe is that there is a terrific yield - plenty to munch on, tuck into cookie plates for friends and bring along for Christmas Eve. This will be a permanent part of my Christmas line up - thanks!
Love this! But my chocolate stayed soft and sloppy. I used chips. Should I be using some other form?Irene, we're not sure why your chocolate stayed melted even after cooling. Chocolate chips should work fine, provided you're using semi-sweet or bittersweet chips. Milk chocolate chips might not set correctly. If that's not what caused your issue though, we'd encourage you to call our Baker's Hotline at 855-371-BAKE (2253) so that we can troubleshoot your buttercrunch in more detail. Happy baking! Kat@KAF
I've made this recipe several times this month and have had wonderful results. Love that it's easy and dependable.
Five stars definitely! I have made this recipe, exactly, for many years - never fails! One slight change this year: once the hot sugar mixture was in my 9X13 pan, i added the chocolate chips on top to melt. While still The chocolate was still hot, I then used an offset spatula to spread the chocolate over the top. I then added the nuts. Once a bit cool, i pressed the nuts in. More professional look, same great taste, and cleaner fingers when eating!
I would go 4.5 if it were an option only because I wasn't 100% sure how to handle the chocolate. The toffee part is delicious!
Made this tonight. When the recipe says low and slow it means it. I Immediately burned the first batch. Successful batch = in 5 qt dutch oven, on back/lower BTU burner on LOWEST setting. FYI: I subbed out pumpkin seeds bc of nut allergic kiddo works nicely! KA: are you really not supposed to stir? I had trouble getting it to cook evenly spots were hotter than others. I ended up stirring to equalize temp. My final product was more cloudy than syrup & also my baking soda didn't make it bubble. Is it bc I stirred??Kelly, we're sorry you struggled with this! Your issues were indeed a result of the stirring. We know it's very counterintuitive! If you're getting uneven spots (whether due to an uneven burner or a warped pan), you can try gently swirling the pan a little bit to even things out. It's really best to avoid it altogether if possible, though. We think you'll see a real difference if you're able to avoid stirring next time. Happy baking! Kat@KAF
These were absolutely delicious. I used chocolate chips and sliced almonds that I toasted in the oven. I decided to use less of both kind of last minute when reading the note on the bottom and I have no complaints. I will make these again, and again.
