A to Z Challenge 2014: A is for Almond Toffee

A is for Almond Toffee:

It's Lent and I'm avoiding all alcohol and most sugars and hanging in there pretty well, but in a brainstorm with my culinary BFF today on WHAT am I going to write about for the 2014 A to Z challenge she practically begged me to do desserts and sweets. So while you were going to get a city by city guide to typical foods kicking off in Ankara, now you get candy, cake and pastry. Win/win??

Toffees are about the easiest thing in the universe to make.
Prepare a large (11" X 14") jelly roll pan by either spraying it with non-stick cooking spray or lining it with buttered parchment paper.

Melt together  4 sticks of butter and 2 cups of sugar (I know, REALLY??). Cook on low, stirring often but gently, until a candy thermometer reads 240 degrees F. Add 3 cups of Almonds to this mixture and continue to stir gently until it reaches 290. Pour the candy into the pan and spread with an offset non-stick spatula.

While this is cooling, chop up 12oz of the best chocolate you can find. I'm liking the Perugina Luisa bar for this. Its 51% cacao so its not too dark and has a lovely smooth consistency. Cover the toffee with the chocolate bits and let them melt a little. Spread the chocolate evenly over the toffee and sprinkle with about 1 cup of chopped almonds.

Let cool an hour or two in the fridge. Remove from the pan. Break into edible-size pieces. You can play around with this as much as you like. Add cocoanut, pretzels, dried cherry etc.