Old-Fashioned Peanut Brittle

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan
• •Candy thermometer (clip-on style)
• •Wooden spoon or heatproof silicone spatula
• •Rimmed baking sheet (half-sheet pan)
• •Silicone baking mat or parchment paper
• •Offset spatula or two forks for spreading

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare your workspace

   Line a large rimmed baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper lightly greased with butter. Set it near your stove. Measure the butter, vanilla, and sifted baking soda into separate small bowls and arrange them beside the cooktop in the order you'll use them. Once the candy reaches temperature, you'll have no time to search for anything.

   A silicone mat releases brittle more easily than parchment. If using parchment, butter it generously or the candy will stick.
2. 2

   Combine sugar mixture

   In a heavy-bottomed 3-quart saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula until the sugar is evenly moistened. The mixture will look like wet sand. Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pot, making sure the tip doesn't touch the bottom.

3. 3

   Dissolve the sugar

   Place the pot over medium heat. Stir gently and continuously until the sugar dissolves completely. You'll feel the grittiness disappear as you stir. The liquid should turn clear with no visible crystals clinging to the spoon or the sides of the pot. This takes five to seven minutes. Do not rush it.

   Undissolved sugar crystals cause the entire batch to crystallize and turn grainy. Patience here prevents heartbreak later.
4. 4

   Cook to soft crack stage

   Once the sugar dissolves, stop stirring entirely. Increase heat to medium-high and let the syrup bubble undisturbed. The temperature will climb slowly at first, then accelerate. When it reaches 275°F, the syrup will be a pale golden color and smell faintly of caramel. This is the soft crack stage. Add the peanuts now.

5. 5

   Add peanuts and continue cooking

   Pour in the raw peanuts and begin stirring constantly with your wooden spoon. The temperature will drop momentarily when you add the nuts. Keep stirring, scraping the bottom of the pot to prevent scorching. The peanuts will toast as the sugar continues to cook, releasing their oils and turning the syrup from pale gold to deep amber. The kitchen will fill with the intoxicating smell of roasting nuts and caramelizing sugar.

6. 6

   Reach hard crack stage

   Continue stirring until the thermometer reads 300°F to 305°F. This is the hard crack stage. The color should be a rich amber, the peanuts visibly darkened. Trust your thermometer, but also trust your eyes and nose. If the mixture smells acrid or looks dark brown before reaching temperature, remove it from heat immediately. Better slightly soft brittle than burnt candy.

   The difference between 295°F and 310°F is the difference between chewy and burnt. Stay vigilant in these final minutes.
7. 7

   Remove from heat and add butter and vanilla

   The moment you reach 300°F, remove the pot from heat. Working quickly, stir in the butter pieces until melted and incorporated, about fifteen seconds. Add the vanilla. It will sputter and steam. Keep stirring.

8. 8

   Add baking soda

   Immediately add the sifted baking soda all at once. The mixture will foam dramatically, nearly doubling in volume, turning from amber to a lighter golden color as thousands of tiny air bubbles form throughout. Stir vigorously for five seconds to distribute the soda evenly. Do not overstir or you'll deflate the foam.

   The baking soda creates the characteristic light, porous texture of good brittle. Without it, you'd have hard candy, not brittle.
9. 9

   Pour and spread

   Pour the foaming candy onto your prepared baking sheet immediately. Using two forks or an offset spatula, spread it as thin as possible, working quickly before it sets. Aim for about 1/4-inch thickness. The thinner the brittle, the more satisfying the shatter. You have perhaps forty-five seconds before it becomes unworkable.

10. 10

    Cool completely

    Let the brittle cool at room temperature for at least forty-five minutes to one hour. It will harden as it cools, becoming completely rigid and releasing easily from the pan. You'll know it's ready when tapping it produces a sharp, glassy sound rather than a dull thud.

11. 11

    Break into pieces

    Flip the cooled brittle onto a cutting board and break it into irregular shards using your hands or the handle of a wooden spoon. The pieces should snap cleanly with a satisfying crack. Irregular shapes are traditional and charming. Don't fuss over uniformity.

Chef Tips

• •Raw peanuts are essential. Roasted peanuts will burn by the time the sugar reaches temperature. Spanish peanuts with their red skins add color and depth of flavor, though blanched peanuts work if that's what you have.
• •Humidity is the enemy of brittle. Make this on a dry day. In humid conditions, the finished candy will absorb moisture from the air and become sticky within hours.
• •A heavy-bottomed pot distributes heat evenly and prevents hot spots that scorch the sugar. Thin, cheap pots make candy-making unnecessarily difficult.
• •If you don't have a candy thermometer, use the cold water test: drop a small amount of syrup into ice water. At hard crack stage, it will form brittle threads that snap cleanly.
• •Salted roasted peanuts can substitute for raw in a pinch. Add them at 295°F instead of 275°F and watch carefully. The salt adds flavor but the peanuts will darken faster.

Advance Preparation

• •Peanut brittle keeps beautifully for up to three weeks stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Layer pieces between sheets of wax paper to prevent sticking.
• •For gift-giving, wrap individual portions in cellophane bags tied with ribbon, or layer in decorative tins. The brittle travels well and makes a thoughtful homemade present.
• •Do not refrigerate or freeze. The temperature change causes condensation that will make the brittle sticky and soft.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 45g)