Bread and Wine: A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes

by Shauna Niequist

Dark Chocolate Sea Salted Toffee Every toffee recipe I’ve read says you need a candy thermometer. I don’t have one. I meant to borrow one, but I got impatient late one night and tried the toffee anyway. You know what? We were fine without that pesky candy thermometer. Just keep an eye on the toffee. Keep stirring like you’re tending to a very finicky risotto. For a while it’s melted butter yellow, sort of popcorn-colored, but then there’s a very definite turn, right around the 8- or 9-minute mark, when the soft yellow blooms into amber. That’s your moment — when it turns caramel-colored, like cappuccino almost. Turn off the heat and pour. And don’t try to eat it off the spoon at that point, whatever you do. I speak from experience, of course. I find that the toffee gets a little melty if you leave it out on the counter, so I keep it in the fridge and serve a little plate of it after dinner with vanilla ice cream and coffee. Ingredients 1 cup butter (2 sticks) 2 cups sugar 1 cup dark chocolate chips 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt Instructions In a saucepan, combine butter and sugar, and bring to a boil. Over medium-high heat, keep stirring until it turns a deep amber color. Remove from heat and pour onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or until cool and solid to the touch. Melt chocolate chips in a glass bowl over a pot of gently boiling water. When the chocolate is smooth, pour it over the toffee and spread with a spatula. Spr...