Twelve Days of Cookies, Day 9

Today I decided to make the wonderful toffee that I had overindulged on at the latest cooking club meeting, using this recipe that had been handed down in my friend Maggie's family. The ingredients and instructions are quite simple. But to me, making toffee felt more like a chemistry experiment than baking cookies. Per Maggie's recipe, I was supposed to stir the butter and sugar until the goo (which is an apt description by the way) is the color of brown sugar -- um, light or dark brown sugar I wasn't sure, nevertheless, I put the (light) brown sugar by the pot to compare colors. Here is the changing of the colors:

Right after I take the second picture, my dad hears me sprinting up the stairs, and hearing the alarm in my footsteps wants to know if there was a crisis. "Yes -- Separation!!" I yelled! At the same time the color became the perfect brown sugar caramel color, so that I was ready to pour and spead the goo -- I had separation!! I ran to the computer to re-read what Maggie had written about her own issues with separation.

Ultimately, I think what went wrong is that butter and sugar behave differently here in South Carolina because I am so much closer to the equator. Its the only logical explanation I can think of.

Minutes later, the goo had re-formed, and was ready to be poured. Only now it was a much darker color than light brown sugar. My toffee turned out not as fabulous as Maggie's -- its darker, harder, and with a different consistency -- but it still tastes good! I guess with butter, sugar, and chocolate it is hard (for even me) to ruin something entirely. :)