The Toffee

My Mom is something else at Christmas time.  She makes about 20 different kinds of cookies and candies.   It is truly amazing to see the boxes of treats she puts together for her family and friends.  When I was in my twenties, I used to emulate her Christmas output and made large boxes of several kinds of goodies for friends.  But it was a lot of work!  Finally, I just asked my friends what their favorite treats were, thinking I would make just one thing for each of them.  Interestingly, they all named the same thing--the toffee.  In my family, we always call it "Filbert Toffee."  Filberts is another name for hazelnuts.  Oregon is famous for it's filberts but didn't start marketing them as hazelnuts until the 1980s when it became the trendy thing to call them.  My Mom found the recipe somewhere but doesn't remember when or where.  All I know is that she's made it for as long as I can remember.  And I've been making it for about 35 years, I think. I've spent the last two days making this year's batches of toffee.  The house smells of butter and sugar and filberts and chocolate. Mmmm....  I package it up and send it to friends in California or take it to friends in Oregon.  I used to send it to Paul all those years we were pen pals.  He says it is definitely his favorite candy and "one of the best things you can eat."  Making toffee is an important part of Christmas for me.  Some folks make fruitcake at Christmas.  I make toffee.