Knäck, or Christmas Butterscotch, is a traditional Swedish toffee prepared at Christmas. Some prefer their knäck to be soft and chewy, which is easily attainable by simmering the mix for a shorter time.
🇸🇪 Sweden: Knäck—Swedish Christmas Butterscotch
Ingredients
- 1 ⅝ cups of sugar
- 1 ¼ cups light syrup like Lyle’s Golden Syrup
- 2 ½ cups heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup vanilla sugar or 2 vanilla pods
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup chopped almonds optional
Instructions
- Mix cream, sugar and syrup into a pot and bring it to a boil.
- Boil on medium heat for approximately 30 minutes (stir once in a while) or until the temperature reaches 257-266°F. There should be a lot of bubbles. Please note that the cooking time depends on the size of the pot and the heat of your stove.
- While waiting for the mixture to be ready, you can prepare a tray with tiny paper cups (knäckformar). If you decide to use almonds, fill the cups one-third full with the chopped almonds.
- Remove the mixture from the heat and stir in vanilla sugar and butter. Pour into a heat-safe metal container.
- Carefully pour the mixture into the small paper cups, making sure they do not flip over and that you do not get burned.
- Let cool and store in a dry, airtight container. If stacking, use parchment paper between each layer so they don’t stick to each other. Knäck will keep for about 3 months.
Notes
Note: Instead of almonds, you may replace with ¼ cup of saffron for a different taste. Saffron can be purchased in powder form or you can use saffron pistils and grind in a little sugar and alcohol. Add to the mixture with the sugar and butter.