Make chewy, buttery, and crunchy pumpkin spice toffee on the stove with only 8 ingredients. Top with a layer of sweet white chocolate and add lots of flavorful toasted pecans for an irresistible fall treat..
Have you ever eaten homemade toffee before? Like REAL homemade toffee? A simple combination of butter and sugar, toffee is your sweet tooth’s dream. Unlike hard-as-rock brittle, toffee softens and melts in your mouth. There are dozens of ways to prepare it, and one of my all-time favorites is this toffee recipe. You can even make a shortcut version like this popular saltine toffee.
Today, we’re focusing on a seasonal variation. Thick, sweet, salty, pumpkin spiced, toasted pecan filled, white chocolate covered toffee. This is my favorite recipe in the entire cookbook and if you visited me on my book tour a few years ago, you likely tasted it!
I bet you didn’t know that you only need a few ingredients and a stove to make homemade toffee. Here are the basic toffee ingredients I use and why each is imperative to the final taste and texture:
For today’s pumpkin spice toffee, we’ll also add:
Cook the first 5 ingredients on the stove until the candy reaches 290°F (143°C), known as the Soft Crack Stage. Once it reaches 290°F (143°C), about 25 minutes (though that highly depends on your stove because on an electric stove in my old kitchen, it took 40 minutes and now on my gas cooktop—25 minutes!), you’ll stir in the pecans and pumpkin pie spice. If you have 10 minutes before you begin, I strongly recommend toasting the pecans in the oven. After you stir them into the cooking toffee, pour it all out onto a lined baking sheet, then let it cool for about 5 minutes before topping with melted white chocolate, more toasted pecans, and pumpkin pie spice. Let it cool and break into pieces.
I guarantee this will be the best pumpkin treat you taste the entire fall season because it’s not pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cookies, or pumpkin bread. Maybe even better than a slice of homemade pumpkin pie? It’s homemade pumpkin spice candy!
Such a unique treat.
Candy Thermometer: There’s no way to make old-fashioned toffee that (1) has a crumbly texture (2) has zero sugar graininess and (3) is literally bursting with the caramelized flavors of properly cooked butter and sugar… without a candy thermometer! This tool makes the entire candy cooking process EASIER- there’s no mistaking temperature. For ease, I recommend a digital candy thermometer that clips onto your pot like this one or this one. If calibrated, a candy thermometer is more accurate than using your eyes to detect candy’s doneness.
Heavy bottomed saucepan: I’ve ruined many batches of toffee by using a cheap pan. A deep and thick saucepan with straight sides is the ideal place to cook candy. Thin pans, which often have hot spots, do not withstand the heat required for toffee cooking. I burned 837258 batches of toffee before realizing this. These days I have a few pans I use for making toffee: here and here. Both pots are excellent choices. The Cooks Standard is a great option for beginners, while the All-Clad is ideal for controlling the temperature of your candy. Well-crafted, heavy, and maintaining precise temperature, copper cookware is the best for candy making.
Wooden spoon: Wood has a high heat tolerance. It also doesn’t conduct heat, so it won’t suck heat out from the cooking candy which causes crystallization. If you need one, here’s a wooden spoon set that I love for all my cooking!
Pastry brush: A pastry brush helps rid the saucepan of sugar syrup that may have splashed up around the sides. This syrup could burn and crystallize, ruining your batch of toffee. Wet it with water and wipe the sides of the pan clean. It’s ok if some water drips down into the cooking candy.
Silicone baking mat: A silicone baking mat makes your candy making experience much easier. Why? When you pour the toffee out onto the baking sheet, it is so much easier to spread onto AND remove from this slick silicone surface compared to a bare baking sheet, parchment, or aluminum foil.
Homemade candy, toffee especially, has the reputation for being difficult and finicky. The rumors are definitely true; candy making is legitimately chemistry. However, if you have the right tools and follow the recipe closely, you’re guaranteed success. I’ve made way too many mistakes to let your batch of toffee fail! For something easier, you can always try my pumpkin spice truffles or pumpkin spice puppy chow.
Pumpkin spice toffee only requires a handful of basic ingredients and will be your new favorite fall treat.
