#352's

Now that I'm back from Disneyland, it is time for another Christmas post. This is another one of my favorite traditions - Making TOFFEE!!! My step-mom Nancy introduced this to us when our families joined together and we do it every year. Each one of us likes to give it out to our friends or co-workers, so the rule is, if you wanna pass some out, you have to be here to help make it! Its only fair right? Right! Plus the more the merrier, because an assmebly line is needed. Everyone has their stations and then we have shifts, so everyone can take a break now and then. We need a "Stir-er," a "Clean-er," a "Prep-er," a "Chocolatier," and a "Runner." Luckily with our large family volunteers for each position are always available. I'm always a designated stir-er. Nancy is the best cleaner & prep-er. The youngest sister Jessica is the designated chocolatier and sometimes a runner. Everyone else kinda fills in where needed.

Toffee making is quite the process. Obviously there are many positions and parts to play, but you also have to stay on top of things. The weather has to be below 30 degrees outside or it takes longer for the toffee to set. The chocolate has to go in and out of the oven several times to stay warm, but not too warm. The toffee can't get too cold outside or the chocolate won't stick and the stir-er can't let the toffee stick to the bottom of the pan. Its a serious process!!!

I'm not going to include the entire recipe, because that would be giving out a family secret, but I'm going to post the step by step process, just because its so fun to watch! Here are my #352's - Christmas Toffee!

First here are a few key ingredients...

THEE spoon! I have no idea how many years we used it, but its got some serious wear & tear. Not to mention the pressure cooker we use!

 Butter!!

Sugar!!

And CHOCOLATE!!!

And here is the step by step process...

 Step one is to stir the sugar with your hands until the bottom of the pan is too hot for your fingers. This helps the sugar heat up without sticking to the bottom. Once its too hot, add the ingredients and start stirring!!

Once the stirring starts, it can't stop. This is the hardest process because its on going for over 10 minutes.

 This is when it starts to get sticky and VERY HOT! Bubbles pop up and burn your arm!! Wearing an oven mitt is best, but makes it hard to stir. I go without, because I'm hardcore! LOL

 Once the toffee is poured on a pan and set outside to cool, the chocolate is then spread on top. Mmm, when I was a kid, this was my FAVORITE part, because....

 YOU GET TO SPREAD IT WITH YOUR HANDS! :)  Of course a spoon or spatula is the more sanitary choice, but you can feel the eveness of the spread when you use your hands. We use our hands a lot when making toffee, so everyone is constantly washing thier hands...especially when you want to lick the chocolate off your fingers!!! Mmmmmm... (This also causes some chocolate fights. Jessica is prone to rubbing her chocolated hands on everyones face. This year Cory got it!!)

Then the last step is 'breaking' the toffee. Again both sides have to have chocolate and it can't be warm at all or else it doesn't break easily and we smear the chocolate. (We also do batches with crushed walnuts, but since some people are allergic to nuts, we do the plain first, then box it up and use the nuts on the rest of the batches we have done.)

The toffee has to cool and set for about 24 hours before we enclose it in bags and pass them out. A lot goes into making candy, so all our friends and family know its made with LOTS OF LOVE!!! My favorite part about making toffee is the chaos all around. People running everywhere, lots of talking and teasing. Also having Christmas movies play in the background. Tonight we watched "A Christmas Story" and "Elf." YAY CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE!!!