The Top Toffee of 2023 and Awards Winners Announced

We are proud to present the results of the 2023 TOFFEE AWARDS Competition.

The International Chocolate Salon Awards for the 2023 TOFFEE AWARDS are based on the combined total number of votes received by each entrant from the Judging Panel.

The Judging Panel consists of National and Regional Magazines, Newspaper and Blog Editors, plus Topic Experts, Local Chefs and Food Gurus.

The award winners below have the honor of being able to display and use the Official Award Winner title and award logos, as well as use items (such as the Award Product Stickers, Award Winner lapel pin), as well as use Custom Award Certificates, and logo award merchandise.

St. Croix Chocolate Co. Chili Pistachio Toffee
The Toffee Merchant Limoncello Toffee
Jensen Toffee Espresso Toffee
Rosie Rae's Toffee Churro Toffee
wildtoad toffee dark chocolate covered toffee with pecans
Belle Toffee Roasted Hazelnut Espresso Toffee in Dark Chocolate
Rosie Rae's Toffee Peanut Butter and Jelly Toffee
St. Croix Chocolate Co. Hazelnut Coffee Toffee
Stella's Confectionery Butter Pecan Toffee
Belle Toffee Almond Toffee in Dark Chocolate
Robinson Confections Lime Fresco Margarita Toffee
The Toffee Habit Milk Chocolate Toffee
Stella's Confectionery Toasted Almond Toffee
wildtoad toffee milk chocolate covered toffee with pecans

FAVORITES

Many of the nut toffees were just excellent, as my stars indicate! But the most intriguing of all the submissions were Robinso Confectionsf Lime Fresco Margarita Toffee and the St. Croix Chocolate Co. Chili Pistachio Toffee because in each of these, every main ingredient stood out. I could taste the essence of tequila and loved the tart-sweet balance in the Margarita Toffee, and not only was the heat was just right fith the chili pistachio in the Chile-Pistachio toffee, but the pistachios tasted fresh and so perfect with the combination.
Limoncello/The Toffee Merchant
I really enjoyed Bella Toffee Bourbon Pecan Toffee in Gold Chocolate
All the Tomos were fabulous! Unique, flavorful, tops! Bella Toffee Bourbon in Gold Chocolate had a distinctive and desirable flavor. the Stella Pecan Toffee was rich and surprisingly great. Wildtoad is new to me. Instructions said to freeze. I was skeptical at first, but it really made a difference. Thanks, Wildtoad, for your advice!
Frozen wildtoad dark chocolate was delicious out of the freezer or a room temperature.
Rosie Rae's PB &Jelly Toffee was a delightful surprise and I finished it right away. Great flavor balance! The Toffee Merchant Limoncello Toffee was another nice surprise. Smooth lemon flavor and not too sweet.
Belle Toffee Dark Chocolate Almond - smooth, rich, buttery, not too sweet.
Big Al’s was an excellent version of Southern style toffee
Jensen Espresso
Wildtoad dark-chocolate covered toffee with pecans
The Toffee Merchant Triple Chocolate Toffee
The Toffee Merchant Limoncello Toffee

QUOTABLE COMMENTS FROM JUDGES

Loved the expresso in Jensen's Espresso Toffee -- just right!
Bella Toffee's neat little squares of toffee enrobed in chocolate have a great texture and flavor and are visually elegant.
Frozen wildtoad dark chocolate was delicious out of the freezer or at room temperature. I liked all of the toffee from Tomo. Each one was a satisfying bite. With a glass of port they are even better. The Belle Toffee in Gold chocolate peaked my intereset. Rosie Rae's P,B and J was most unusual and most delcious. I wish my mother had made sandwiches that tasted like that when I was a kid. The Toffe Merchant Limoncello was quite different and tasty. Stella's had a deep and long lastiing flavor. The Toffee Habit Milk Choclate paired well with a glass of milk.
Rosie Rae's PB &Jelly Toffee was a delightful surprise and I finished it right away, taking a break from other tastings. Great flavor balance! The Toffee Merchant Limoncello Toffee was another nice surprise. Smooth lemon flavor and not too sweet.
Bella Toffee rates as most improved toffee in my book. I rated their 3 toffees 4 or 5 for the first time in these competitions. I hope they keep up the good work.
All the Tomo toffees were exceptional. Other favorite brands were St. Croix (excellent flavor combinations & texture) and Jensen (also excellent flavors & crispy but not sticky or too hard texture).
They were all so good that it was very hard to choose favorites.

INDIVIDUAL JUDGES' RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHOCOLATIERS

This was a challenging judging because the general quality of the submissions was outstanding! So many delicious, well-made toffees!
Some of the entries failed to balance the flavors (or used less than optimum ingredients) and the ideas outshone the results.
The idea of eating frozen toffee at first seemed to rub counter to my thinking, but I really enjoyed the flavor and texture of the frozen wildtoad toffee
Stella makes fun eye-catching toffees that are also delicious. Big Al’s thin toffee was a big bite of nostalgia. I like that repeat competitors like Tomo and Bella continue to improve their toffees.
Many of them were too sweet, too hard, or too sticky. The best ones had a crumbly texture that didn't stick in your teeth.
For St. Croix, Nana's Kettle and Jensen: The plastic boxes in which the toffees are packaged are not fully sealed, so they leak tiny crumbs. I would recommend using better-sealed (or completely sealed) packaging. And for Belle Toffee: The opaque bag seals in flavor, but obscures the product. Customers will want to see the delicious candy inside!
Some of the toffee tasted stale, salt helps to balance the sweetness
The use of citrus was exceptional as it provides a contrast with the richness; the double-coated products prevent the toffee from sticking in your teeth and they have made me a toffee fan, ingredient purity is vital to perfection, the use of hydrogenated fats and ingredients that don't emulsify do detract from the perception of quality, producers that take their toffee to the darker stages are creating complexity and downplaying sweetness.
Belle Toffee Almond Toffee in Dark Chocolate almond pieces in toffee, chocolate has more flavor, softer bite, sweet M intensity Belle Toffee Bourbon Pecan Toffee in Gold Chocolate no evidence of bourbon flavor, more like butterscotch, vanilla, commercial tasting chocolate Belle Toffee Roasted Hazelnut Espresso Toffee in Dark Chocolate tender, coating falls off, covature chocolate doesn't have great flavor, Tomo Toffee Dark Chocolate Toffee tender, delicate, M intensity Tomo Toffee S’mores Toffee sweet Tomo's White Chocolate Macadamia Nut rich, fatty Rosie Ray's Churro quite sweet but nice cinnamon toast quality Rosie Ray's Chocolate dark chocolate nice almost burnt complex flavor, balanced tender Rosie Ray's PB & J tender, best use of powdered raspberry, balanced double-sided coating, exactly like the sandy Virtuoso almond buttercrunch just OK, not intense, buttery, atrificial tasting Robinson Lime Fresco Margarita tastes artificial, citric acid, not enough flavor, single note The Toffee Merchant Milk very fresh, tender, M intensity, balanced The Toffee Merchant Triple Chocolate chalky texture from cocoa powder, M intensity The Toffee Merchant Limoncello White Chocolate superb flavor and balance, M++ intensity, rich and light Big Al's Best Dark Chocolate Almond thin, single coat, sticky Wild Toad Dark tender, buttery, good nut coverage, rich M++ intensity Wild Toad milk tender, buttery, coating detaching, fresh nuts Toffee Store Signature roasted salted, crushed, fine nut coating, very nice! Thin, tender, very rich, unasuming look, wow taste due to salt balance, ratio of toffee to topping superb Toffee Store birthday suit purist, good balance of sweet and salt, tender Stella's Confectionery Toasted almond Toffee chopped nuts embedded in the toffee, crushed nut topping, bit sweet not as complex or rich Stella's Confectionery Butter Pecan pecan halves in toffee, delicate, richer crushed nut topping Nana's Kettle English toffee very tender, chocolate not intense, has hydrogentaed fats Nana's Kettle Sea Salt Dark Chocolate very tender, sweet/salt contrast, has hydrogenated fats St. Croix Chili Pistaschio great combo, perfect intensity for chili, honey adds complexity to sweetness, H intensity, double sided St. Croix Bourbon Pecan tender, honey and bourbon nice pairing, M intensity, double sided St. Croix Hazelnut Coffee light on the coffee, glazed hazelnut topping, tender double sided Jensen espresso thin, single-sided, dark roast espresso, more bitter than sweet, nice finish Jensen milk thin, tender, on the sweeter side, crushed and chopped nut topping rather sparse Karamella marble gritty, grains of sugar texture Karamella coffee almond tasty coffee ground topping, gritty texture, finish, too sweet Karamella Macadamia finely chopped macadamia nut topping, too salty, gritty toffee still shows through the white chocolate