Terrific Toffee

The Christmas season is definitely in full swing now, and to me it's not Christmas without heaps of candies, cookies and other sweets. So, partly to be festive and partly for a hostess gift, I made this Southern Living toffee Friday night. It is pretty delicious, in my opinion, though I wish maybe there were vanilla in the sugar part. I am especially proud that the candy turned out so well even though I wasn't using a candy thermometer. They didn't have any at Walmart, so thank goodness for the cold-water test for measuring the candy stages.

Pecan Toffee

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, divided
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup water
5 (1.55-ounce) milk chocolate bars, broken into small pieces

1. Line a 15- by 10-inch jelly roll pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil; lightly grease foil. Sprinkle with 1 cup pecans to within 1 inch of edges.

2. Bring sugar, butter and water to a boil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, 12 minutes or until a candy thermometer registers 310 degrees (hard crack stage). Pour over pecans; sprinkle with chocolate pieces. Let stand 30 seconds.

3. Sprinkle with remaining pecans. Chill 30 minutes. Break up toffee using a mallet or rolling pin. Store in an airtight container.