Maggie's Toffee - Scottish Tablet Recipe

Maggie's Toffee - Scottish Tablet

This is a wonderful recipe for the sweet tooth (and children, if you'll let them have it!)

I don't know who Maggie is, but my mother brought the recipe with her from Scotland, and my dad used to make it occasionally, when I was a kid, on the Summer holidays.

It's nothing like toffee or fudge - when done right, it is hard but crumbles easily, and it melts on the tongue! (It dries hard if you leave it overnight, which is the way we've always done it, if I don't pinch a couple of pieces first!)

Good stuff for a treat! (I've never tried it with non-fat milk, but tell me how it goes, if you want a 'diet' version!)

2 lbs of White Sugar
1 Cup of Milk
2 oz of Butter
1/2 a 400g Tin of Sweetened Condensed Milk

Put into the sugar, milk and butter into a pan and bring to the boil slowly for 5 minutes.

Add the 1/2 a tin of condensed milk and boil (still slowly). Turn the boil to a simmer, on the lowest possible heat, and stir it slowly. Never cook this fast - don't be impatient, as it must be done slowly!

Test a teaspoonful in a cup of cold water. If it forms at the bottom of the cup, it is ready. This will take a while. Be careful that it doesn't burn.

Take off the heat and beat until it thickens and is sugary.

Pour into a greased tray and cut into squares when dry (leave it overnight, at least, before cutting).

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

The name 'Tablet' is first mentioned among the purchases in 'The Household Book of Lady Grisell Baillie' 1692-1733, as 'taiblet for the bairns'*. One of the special skills of the Scots kitchen has always been sweetmaking.
- Great Glen Fine Foods

* Translation: 'tablet for the children'

Want to try something else sweet? French Chocolate Candies

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