The Only 2 Ingredients Needed For Homemade Toffee Bits

Toffee bits are a treat that are as equally sweet and buttery as they are crunchy, making them perfect on their own or sprinkled on top of cakes, cookies, or ice cream. The deep caramelized flavors make toffee quite moreish, with each satisfying crunch better than the last. You might be a fan of store-bought toffee bits, but making them at home is cheaper, simpler, and just as tasty. Odds are you even have the two ingredients needed to make them: brown sugar and butter.

It's as easy as melting the butter and sugar in a saucepan for 10 minutes and cracking into pieces once poured out and fully cooled. One essential tip when cooking your butter is to pick either American-style or anything with 80% or less butterfat. Otherwise you risk your toffee separating or not setting properly. Butter and sugar make up the simple toffee base, but you can also melt in additional flavors like salt, vanilla, or rum essence. You could also mix in some almonds or peanuts for an additional crunchy element.

Toffee bits is just the term for toffee which has been broken into smaller pieces, but you might be wondering if it's the same thing as butterscotch or caramel. The short answer is, no. These three sweets differ in method and the type of sugar used — so they shouldn't be used interchangeably. Toffee requires brown sugar and butter to be melted for a longer duration, to allow the sugar to reach the hard-crack stage. This is what gives toffee its signature brittle texture. Butterscotch uses the same ingredients as toffee, but is only melted long enough to reach the soft-crack stage. That's why butterscotch is more pliable and chewy. 

Conversely, caramel requires using white granulated sugar instead of brown. Sugar is the only ingredient needed for caramelization, resulting in a golden color and intense flavor. Both butterscotch and caramel have ingredients added like butter, milk, or cream to get the right consistency for candies, sauces, or toppings. So, if you're wanting a bold crunch on top of your sticky toffee buns or your go-to cookie recipe, you're definitely better off sticking to toffee.