These chocolate covered toffee pecans, AKA, Copycat Trader Joe’s Milk Chocolate and Honey Toffee Pecans, are quite possibly one of the most addicting holiday treats of all time.
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If you have never had Trader Joe’s Milk Chocolate and Honey Toffee Pecans, you are missing out. I didn’t know these things existed until one of my patients introduced them to me. Evidently, she stocks up on them every time she visits Trader Joe’s. Sadly there is not a Trader Joe’s near us. She also warned me that they are very addicting and eating just one was not a possibility.
She wasn’t kidding.
When I made a batch of Holiday Candied Pecans, it occurred to me that I could have a copycat version at my fingertips. I already had the toffee pecan base, now I just needed to dip them in melted chocolate and powdered sugar. And…
OH MY GOODNESS.
It was amazing. I now have another recipe to add to my ever growing list of holiday must-haves.
How to make Chocolate Covered Toffee Pecans
Throw the pecans, brown sugar, water, butter, and salt into a heavy sauce pan. Bring the sugar mixture to a boil over medium to medium high heat and continuously stir with a heat proof spoon to keep the caramel from burning.
The caramel consistency will continue to thicken, but remember to keep stirring! If the color starts to get a little too dark, you may want to turn the heat down slightly. When the caramel looks like this, it is ready to remove from the heat.
Continue stirring off the heat for about 1 minute or until almost all of the caramel has coated the nuts.
Pour onto a heat proof, parchment lined surface (not wax paper). Careful as the nuts are EXTREMELY HOT!
Quickly spread the nuts out.
Let the nuts cool completely.
These nuts are amazing on their own. However, it’s the holidays so why not take them up a notch?
Melt chocolate chips (any variety you want, I used milk chocolate) in a small, shallow bowl. In another small, shallow bowl add confectioner sugar.
Dip the cooled nuts in the melted chocolate. You can use a couple forks or 2 tooth picks to remove them from the chocolate.
Place the chocolate covered nuts on a wire rack that has been placed on a baking sheet. Allow the chocolate to harden. You can place them in the refrigerator to speed the process up.
Once the chocolate has hardened, dip the nuts in the powdered sugar.
Enjoy!
Chocolate Covered Toffee Pecans
Ingredients
- 2 cup pecans whole
- ½ cup brown sugar firmly packed
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoon butter salted
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups milk chocolate chips
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Place the first 5 ingredients (pecans, brown sugar, water, butter, and salt) into a heavy sauce pan.
- Cook over medium to medium high heat for about 5 minutes or until the liquid is thick and mostly coating the nuts, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and continue stirring for another minute or until the toffee completely coats the nuts.
- Transfer the nuts to a parchment lined, heat proof surface and spread out the nuts. Careful, as the nuts are EXTREMELY HOT!
- Let cool about 5 minutes (until just cool enough to handle) and then break apart any nuts that are stuck together.
- Cool completely.
- In a small, shallow, microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips at 30 second intervals (stirring after each 30 seconds) until the chocolate chips are completely melted.
- In another small, shallow bowl add the powdered sugar.
- Dip the candied nuts in the chocolate and then place on a wire rack that has been placed over a backing sheet (to catch the dripping chocolate).
- Allow the chocolate to harden. You can place the trays into the refrigerator to speed up the process.
- Once the chocolate has hardened, coat the chocolate covered toffee nuts in the powdered sugar.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
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