Dark Chocolate Almond Toffee Recipe (Without Corn Syrup)
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Dark chocolate almond toffee is a delicious treat blending rich, buttery toffee, crunchy almonds, and decadent dark chocolate. This toffee has the perfect balance of sweet and slightly bitter notes. It’s sure to satisfy any sweet tooth at first bite.
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Updated December, 2025. Rewritten for clarity with new tips.
Dark Chocolate Toffee Recipe Highlights
This is the Best Toffee recipe! It is similar to almond roca and was inspired by an old family recipe that my parents used to make for gift/gifting during the holiday season. Their version was made with highly processed ingredients like refined sugar, corn syrup, and margarine. I played around with their recipe and came up with this less processed version. It’s made with sweet cream butter, coconut sugar, dark 70% chocolate, and organic almonds and pretty close in flavor.
Ingredient List
- Unsalted butter
- Cocont sugar or organic cane sugar
- Almonds (walnuts and pecans will work too)
- Dark Chocolate – about 70% cacao – you can use lighter chocolate too.
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Here’s How to Make Dark Chocolate Almond Toffee
- Toast the Almonds: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the almonds on top of the parchment-lined baking sheet to make the toasted almonds. Let them roast in teh oven for aobut 10 minutes.
- Chop the chocolate: While the almonds are in the oven, place the chocolate pieces into a food processor bowl and pulse a few time to break the chocolate into small pieces.
- Chop the almonds: Once teh almonds have been toasted and are cool enough to handle, add them to the food processor and pulse them a few times until they are broken up.
- Prepare the base: Sprinkle half of the crushed almonds in a single layer on the parchment-lined large baking sheet, and then sprinkle half of the chopped chocolate on top to form the base for the toffee.
- Start the toffee: Use a heavy-bottomed saucepan to melt the butter over medium-high heat. Once melted, reduce the heat to medium, add the water and granulated sugar, and cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.
- Let it cook: After a few minutes, the sugar will dissolve and turn into a bubbly, dark caramel. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir occasionally while monitoring the temperature until it reaches 290°F (soft crack stage). Reaching 290–300°F is key to good toffee and can take 30–40 minutes.
- Pour it over the base: Once the candy thermometer reaches 290 degrees F, carefully and quickly pour the hot syrup mixture evenly over the nuts and chocolate on the baking sheet to form the Dark Chocolate Almond Toffee and smooth it out with a rubber spatula.
- Final layer: Top the toffee mixture with an even layer of chopped chocolate and nuts. Store it in the refrigerator until the toffee is set and the chocolate hardens. Once cooled, break the finished toffee into pieces or shards, or break into pieces/shards for serving and storage.
Tips for the Best Toffee
- The steps for this toffee recipe move quickly once the toffee mixture is ready. Be sure to have all of the ingredients ready and the sheet pan lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat with nuts close by for smooth toffee making.
- For successful toffee making, use a high-quality heavy-bottomed saucepan to prevent the butter and sugar from burning.
- The size of the saucepan may seem too large for the butter and sugar; however, as the mixture heats up, it will bubble up and expand in the pot.
- Test your candy thermometer in boiling water before making the toffee. Adjust the temperature if the water boils at a temperature other than 212 degrees F.
- Drop the candy thermometer in a glass of warm water after removing it from the toffee mixture for easier clean-up.
- Allow the final layer of melted chocolate to fully harden before breaking the chocolate toffee.
- Advanced cooks might consider tempering chocolate for a glossy finish and better shelf stability.
Try these healthier, sweet treats, too! Peanut butter blossoms, old-fashioned butter cookies, and healthy buckeye balls.
How to Store Dark Chocolate Almond Toffee
Store the toffee in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks or at room temperature for one week in a pyrex or glass container.
Recipe Variations
This toffee is perfect for Christmas holiday gifting or enjoying at home. Here are a few ways to add variety.
- Spicy: Add a pinch or two of cayenne pepper to the chocolate in the food processor.
- Salted: Sprinkle sea salt over the melted chocolate layer before it sets. The addition of salt complements the sweetness of the toffee and creates salted dark chocolate.
- Milk chocolate almond toffee: Use milk chocolate instead of dark.
- Add-ins: Mix in other ingredients to the toffee just before pouring it onto the baking sheet, such as shredded coconut, dried fruit, or even a hint of espresso powder for a coffee-infused flavor.
This toffee is made without corn syrup or margarine. It uses coconut sugar instead of refined white sugar and real sweet-cream butter instead of margarine. The candy is topped with 70% dark chocolate and organic almonds, so it has a rich flavor with a balance of sweet and slightly bitter notes, and uses less-processed ingredients than a traditional almond roca-style recipe.
Yes, you can make this recipe without nuts by leaving them out completely. For a nut-free version, you can use seeds instead of almonds. You can also swap the almonds for other toasted nuts, such as walnuts, pecans, cashews, macadamia nuts, or hazelnuts. Toasting the nuts before adding them to the recipe gives the toffee better flavor and crunch.
A thermometer gives the most reliable results for this recipe. The toffee should reach about 290°F (soft crack stage) so it hardens but does not burn or turn rock hard. If you do not have a candy thermometer, you can use any kitchen thermometer, such as a meat thermometer. As a backup, you can also use the cold water test by dropping a small amount of hot mixture into cold water and checking that it hardens right away.
Butter can separate if the heat is too high or the mixture cooks too fast. If you see the butter separating, take the pan off the heat and stir constantly to bring it back together. If that does not work, slowly add a spoonful or two of hot water, stirring until the mixture comes back together. If it separates as it cools, let it harden, wipe off excess oil, and use the candy pieces in cookies or as an ice cream topping.
If the butter separates from the toffee, remove the pan from the heat and stir it constantly to bring it back together. If this doesn’t work try gradually adding a spoonful of water or two at a time. If the toffee separates during the cooling process, let it solidify and wipe off any excess oil. You can break it up and use it in cookies, or on top of ice cream.
This can happen when the toffee has not been stirred properly. While it’s cooking, the toffee needs constant attention and stirring to hold the ingredients together.
Store the cooled toffee in an airtight container, such as a Pyrex or glass container. It keeps for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator and up to 1 week at room temperature. Freezing is not recommended for this recipe, since the texture can change and may not stay crisp.
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Easy Dark Chocolate Almond Toffee Recipe
Ingredients
- [1 cup whole almonds]
- [6 ounces 70% dark chocolate]
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- [1/2 cup coconut sugar]
- 1 1/2 tablespoons of water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the almonds on the baking sheet and bake them for 10 minutes.
- While the almonds are baking, place the dark chocolate pieces into a food processor bowl and pulse a few times to break the chocolate up into small pieces.
- Once the almonds have been toasted and are cool enough to handle, add them to the food processor and pulse a few times until they are broken up.
- Sprinkle half of the crushed almonds in a single layer on the parchment-lined baking sheet and sprinkle half of the chopped chocolate on top.
- Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a heavy saucepan Once the butter melts, add the sugar and water; cook stirring occasionally.
- After several minutes of cooking the sugar will start to dissolve. Once the sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture transforms into a bubbly dark-colored syrup watch the temperature closely until it reaches 290 degrees F (soft crack stage).
- Once the temperature reaches 290 degrees (this can take up to 45 minutes) carefully and quickly pour the hot syrup mixture evenly over the nuts and chocolate on the baking sheet. Use a spatula after it's been poured to smooth it out.
- Sprinkle the hot toffee mixture with an even layer of the chopped chocolate and then the nuts. Place the pan in the refrigerator until the toffee hardens.
Notes
- Use a high-quality saucepan with a heavy bottom to prevent the butter and sugar from burning.
- The size of the saucepan may seem too large for the butter and sugar, however, as the mixture heats up it will bubble up and expand in the pot.
- The last stage of the syrup cooking can seem like it takes forever, be patient and don’t pour the syrup until it reaches 290 degrees.
- If the toffee separates during the cooking process, carefully stir in up to ¼ cup hot water a tablespoon at a time. Stir constantly until the mixture goes back together.
- You can make a big batch of this homemade toffee by doubling all of the ingredients in the recipe and you will need a large baking sheet.
- Test your candy thermometer in boiling water before making the toffee. If the water boils at a temperature other than 212 degrees f, adjust the temperature.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and can vary based on cooking methods and ingredients used
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What size of cookie sheet did you use?
Hi Louise I use a small or medium-sized cookie sheet. The candy will most likely not fill the pan up so you can use any size you want!