Dia De Los Muertos Treat: Copycat Disneyland Churro Toffee Recipe!

Feliz Dia de Los Muertos! Today we’re taking a look at the Disneyland Resort’s Day of the Dead celebrations plus sharing our copycat recipe for Disneyland’s delectable Churro Toffee! In Hispanic culture, today (November 1) is a special celebration of the loved ones that have passed from this life. Ofrendas (alters created in commemmoration of departed family members) are lovingly created and are filled with with food, flowers, and photographs in remembrance.

Disney-Pixar’s 2017 film “Coco” explores a young boy’s search for the meaning of family history and gives audiences a unique view of this colorful holiday. In previous years, the Disneyland Resort has adapted Coco to offer special activites during this celebration. “Coco” is one of my favorite movies because of its themes of family and heritage and has inspired me to share a copycat recipe of one of Disneyland’s hit treats: Churro Toffee! I know it sounds difficult, but trust me, you’ll be just fine. I’ll walk you through it!

Dia de Los Muertos at Disneyland

Beginning back in 2007, Disneyland started to decorate for Dia de Los Muertos. It initally began with sugar skull decorations, a skeleton mariachi band, an ofrenda, and displays of marigolds in Zocalo Park in Frontierland. A few years later, you could even get free face painting!

Then, in 2017 to add excitement for the debut of “Coco,” Disney California Adventure changed Paradise Gardens into Plaza de Familia during the Halloween season. There, you could find a colorful display of traditional Dia de Los Muertos celebrations like live entertainment inspired by “Coco,” arts and crafts themed to the holiday, special foods, and even a giant ofrenda where you could write the names of your own family members. During this seasonal transformation, boldly colored banners are strung throughout the trees and marigolds cover the arches. 

Below, you can see the charming Coco show that made its debut in 2017!

Disneyland Copycat Churro Toffee

Disneyland offers the perfect sweet treat for the holiday . . .  Churro Toffee! In 2018, a new candy sensation was born at the Disneyland Resort. It was first available for the holiday season and has stuck around ever since— and for good reason! It’s a beautiful pairing of the famous Disneyland Churro (that you can buy at home!) and delicious English Toffee you can find at the resort’s candy stores. Below, I’ve got a video walking through the process of making the delicious treat at home and a recipe to share!

There are a few things you’ll want to have on hand when attempting making Churro Toffee, namely a candy thermometer (very important!) and having a prepared work station. Since you’re working with molten sugar, you’ll want to be safe and cautious. Take a look at the video for a step-by-step walkthrough for making Churro Toffee!

See? It’s not so hard once you’ve seen someone do it! Now you’re ready to make it yourself. Here’s the recipe you’ll need:

Churro Toffee Copycat Recipe

Ingredients

• • 1 lb.butter (4 sticks)
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 8 oz- 24 oz. Melting white chocolate- melted
  • Cinnamon sugar mix
    • ½ cup of white sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Directions

• • In a heavy saucepan, heat butter, sugar and salt over medium heat.
  • Stir constantly and cook until toffee mixture is golden brown and between 285-300º F. Having a candy thermometer is crucial here! Otherwise, you run the risk of burning your toffee.
  • Carefully pour toffee mixture into 13×18 half-sheet pan* lined with foil and sprayed with cooking spray, or lined with parchment paper. Cool in refrigerator for 20 minutes.
  • While toffee is cooling, melt white chocolate. If you’re making one large pan and breaking it apart later, you can use 8oz of chocolate to spread on top as a single layer. If you’re making individual toffee squares, you’ll need to use at least 24 oz.
  • After spreading white chocolate on top of the slab of toffee/dipping toffee in white chocolate (carefully shake off any excess if you’re dipping your toffee!) generously sprinkle cinnamon sugar onto white chocolate before it dries.
  • Cool cinnamon sugar-covered toffee in the refrigerator for 40 minutes or until the white chocolate has set. If you’ve made individual toffees, then this is your last step! 
  • If you made a large slab of toffee, once the white chocolate has set, use the butt-end of a dinner knife to break toffee into bite-sized pieces. Be sure to “sample” liberally before sharing!

Tips and Tricks

• • If you don’t have a pan, you can bend non-stick foil into roughly the same shape and size of a 13×18 pan.
  • If you want individual small, bite-sized toffees, use a silicone divided pan and carefully scoop toffee mixture with a medium cookie scoop into sections
  • For Disney-sized toffee squares, allow toffee to cool for 2 minutes and cut the 13×18 half-sheet pan into 12 squares using a plastic. You’ll need to go over the lines at least 4 or 5 times in order to get a clean line.
  •  I recommend keeping your workspace covered with parchment paper. It makes it easy to remove the toffee after its hardened and it makes cleanup a breeze! There’s nothing quite as difficult as cleaning spilled cinnamon sugar off your kitchen floor or any unfortunately opened drawers…
  • I like to package my toffee into cellophane bags and add some colorful yarn pom poms to deliver to friends, family and neighbors.
  • Enjoy!

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Let’s Hear From You

Are you a fan of Disneyland’s Dia de Los Muertos celebrations? Looking forward to making your own Churro Toffee? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

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