by Catalogs.com Info Guru Elizabeth Sobiski

Sugar, butter and water are the makings of toffee bliss.

Toffee can be the main attraction, poured over something ordinary to make it extraordinary, or incorporated as an ingredient. When heated to a very high temperature, it becomes a hard candy. Otherwise, it stays soft and gooey. Either way, it’s an amazingly sweet and delectable treat. Take a look at our top ten gourmet toffee flavor dessert list to inspire your next candy adventure!

10. Toffee Sweet Potatoes

As a Taiwan-inspired treat, thick-cut sweet potato fries are drenched in a warm toffee. The dessert is served with a bowl of ice water so that diners can quickly cool the sauce and give the potato a hard candy shell.

9. Candied Pretzels and Pretzel Pieces

Here you have the salty crunchiness of a favorite snack: pretzels covered in caramel toffee and chocolate. For even more crunch, sprinkle some crushed nuts over them. It’s perfect for TV marathons or for a unique party treat, and a great snack gift to send by mail to kids away at college, or anyone who appreciates a sweet bit of encouragement.

8. Toffee Apples

Some food historians believe that toffee is a variation of taffy. In either case, they both work well on an apple. For the traditionalist, have some warm toffee in a pot, dunk a clean apple into it, then remove the apple and let it cool. To kick the flavor up a notch, roll the freshly covered apple in crushed toffee candy before coating is able to firm up. It’s a great substitute for crushed nuts. You can order any number of toffee-coated jumbo apples from a gourmet confections store – dare to dream.

7. Easy Sticky-Toffee Dessert

This recipe from UK chef Nigella Lawson couldn’t be more British. With carefully selected ingredients and a wonderful technique, the result is a dessert that is sure to impress. At the top is a cake that is spongy and springs back when touched. Underneath lurks a rich and sticky layer of toffee. Cake and sauce all in one – yum!

6. Toffee Popcorn

Popcorn is lightly tossed with a toffee glaze then baked in a low temperature oven for an hour. Once cooled, the popcorn is broken apart and is ready to serve. For those who want to get their chocolate fix, toss the pieces with mini chocolate chips or candies.

5. Boozy Trifle

Layers of flavor make up this dessert. Date-studded vanilla cake pieces form the base, with a layer of toffee sauce drizzled on the cake. Whiskey infused butterscotch pudding is added next, followed by a piping of whipped cream. Candied nuts top it all off.

4. Tiramisu Toffee Dessert

Crushed toffee pieces in this traditional Italian dish of espresso soaked lady fingers and marscapone filling add an interesting crunch and burst of flavor. During assembly, sprinkle the candy on each marscapone layer and top off the dish with a final layer of crushed toffee.

3. Decadent Monkey Bread

Elevate monkey bread with toffee sauce and the use of brioche dough for more rich buttery goodness. This sweet pull-apart dessert loaf is made with small balls of dough tossed in spiced sugar and sprinkled again with sugar in the pan just before cooking. Slip in a drizzle of toffee sauce between the layers of dough and again at the top. The sweet fusion of flavors will be well-complimented by the decadent glaze.

2. Dark Chocolate Toffee Truffles

Chocolate truffles are perfectly sized bites of chocolate that have been melted and mixed with cream and other flavors, such as vanilla and coffee. For a toffee twist, bits of toffee candy can be added to the mixture. Or, as the truffles cool, they can be rolled in crushed toffee to create a crunchy shell.

1. Traditional Toffee

Toffee candy covered with a layer of smooth melted chocolate and dusted with crushed nuts is a traditional treat that dates back many years. For that traditional flavor, be sure to use pure butter, cane sugar, vanilla and salt for your toffee ingredients. Chocolate chips work well for the melted chocolate layer. Simply sprinkle them on the warm toffee layer, wait about a minute, and gently spread the melted chocolate. Dust the chocolate with your favorite crushed nuts, or stick to crushed almonds for that true traditional style.