# Any candymakers? Toffee Question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 16, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-candymakers-toffee-question/574938 "2011-03-16T17:38:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![amaguri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-candymakers-toffee-question/574938/1 "2011-03-16T17:38:17Z")
The recipe for toffee is incredibly simple, comprised mostly of sugar and butter. Is there an ingredient or something particular to the cooking process that distinguishes between a toffee that has a clean, crunchy, almost flaky texture and the kind that is slightly stickier and has a tendency to get stuck in your molars? ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-candymakers-toffee-question/574938/2 "2011-03-16T17:44:32Z")
It nearly all comes down to cooking time and temperature. You can use the exact same ingredients and come out with a differently-textured batch every time. The rule of thumb I use is to cook it until it’s about the color of a brown paper bag and is smoking a bit (but not too much!) The longer you cook it, the harder it will be. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-candymakers-toffee-question/574938/3 "2011-03-16T23:03:19Z")
Yup. It’s pretty much the difference between 295F (borderline soft-crack/hard crack) and 310F (hard crack).