Mom's Chocolate Nut Bark Candy

A Christmas favorite from our childhood. Walnuts or pecans could be used in place of black walnuts, although the black walnuts make this special. The sugar base is a type of toffee.

Note: Most recipes use a 1:1 sugar-to-butter ratio for toffee. This recipe uses a 2:1 ratio. This leans towards a harder, less buttery, and potentially more brittle candy. Using more sugar (like 2 parts sugar to 1 part butter by weight/volume) creates a candy that's closer to a hard candy or brittle, which might be too sugary and lack the signature chewiness or deep flavor of traditional toffee. Potential for Burning: With less butter to temper the sugar, it might brown faster, requiring careful temperature control.

Toffee:
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)

Topping:
chocolate chips, about 6 ounces (I used 8 ounces last time and it was too thick)
black walnuts, chopped fine, [toasted] (about 3/4 cup)

Prep: Grease a 13x9 inch baking pan. Toast the black walnuts, cool, and chop fine. [It would be easier to get the toffee out of the pan if it was lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil.]

Mix the sugar, salt, water, and butter in a heavy bottomed sauce pan with a candy thermometer attached. [Continue to stir until the butter and sugar have melted. Don't stir once it boils to avoid crystallization, which makes it grainy.]

Without stirring, cook [over medium heat] to 285 degrees on a candy thermometer.

[It will turn a dark amber color. If starts smoking as it reaches 285 degrees, take it off and pour in pan. You could also drop a dot of toffee into some ice water. If it is brittle, it is done.]

Pour into a greased 13 x 9 baking pan.

Melt chocolate chips in the microwave and spread on top of the candy with a table knife or frosting spatula. [I remember just sprinkling the chocolate chips on top (give it a second to start to harden) and spreading once they have melted a bit.]

Sprinkle with black walnuts and press them into the warm chocolate.

Once the candy has cooled and hardened, break into pieces. Start by running a knife underneath the candy to loosen it from the pan. Alternatively, you could line the pan with aluminum foil and coat with butter.