Toffee Christmas trees
Makes: 16-20
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Martin Poole
Toffee Christmas trees
Dark brown sugar brings a wonderful depth of flavour to fruit and nut studded toffees, which are perfect for gifting
Makes: 16-20
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
See more recipes
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
229Kcal
Fat
16gr
Saturates
9gr
Carbs
21gr
Sugars
20gr
Fibre
0gr
Protein
1gr
Salt
0.3gr
Sarah Akhurst
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
See more of Sarah Akhurst’s recipes
Sarah Akhurst
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
See more of Sarah Akhurst’s recipes
Ingredients
- 225g salted butter
- 225g dark brown sugar (we used Billington’s)
- 1 tbsp liquid glucose
- 75g pistachio kernels, roughly chopped
- 50g dried cranberries
- 100g dark chocolate, chopped
You’ll also need
- a sugar thermometer or cooks’ thermometer
Step by step
To store
The toffee trees keep for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container, at room temperature. Layer up with baking paper in between them.
- Line an 18 x 28cm baking tray with baking paper, leaving some overhang on the long sides so you can easily lift out the toffee when set. Put the butter, dark brown sugar, liquid glucose and 4 tablespoons of water in a medium saucepan and heat gently until the butter has melted. Continue to cook over a medium heat, until the temperature reaches 230°F/110°C. Stir in the pistachios and cranberries then continue to cook until the sugar reaches 295°F/145°C. Remove from the heat as soon as it reaches temperature and pour into the tin, making sure that the fruit and nuts are evenly distributed (using the back of a spoon or spatula – the toffee will be very hot). Leave to set for around 3 hours.
- Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.
- Lift the sheet of toffee out of the tray and slice into 4 x 7cm-wide strips, then cut these into triangles.
- Put the triangles on a piece of baking paper and drizzle each with a ribbon of chocolate to look like tinsel. Leave to set.
