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Brittle is a crunchy
hard candy with nuts in it often spread into sheets and broken into
smaller fragments. Peanut Brittle is one of the more popular varieties.
 Dusting
the brittle with a little powdered sugar before storing helps to prevent the
pieces sticking together.
Store brittle in an air-tight container between layers of waxed paper. |
Brittle, however, is much more than this simple
description -- it is buttery, crunchy and flavorful, a
result of this caramelization process
that occurs when melting sugar at high heat to make the recipes. Once I start
eating Brittle, it is so delicious that it's hard to stop!!
There are two ways of making Brittle. One is to caramelize sugar in a pan
over low heat until melted and golden brown, then add nuts. This
slow heating allows for the uniform "unsaturated polymer formation" or the right
crystal formation for Brittle, occurs best in a heavy cast iron skillet.
A second way is to make "foamy peanut brittle", which I
prefer. The sugar syrup is cooked in a pan to the hard-crack stage, then
butter is added along with a small amount of baking soda to make a tender, more
porous brittle. The reaction of the baking soda with the sugar
acids produces carbon dioxide gas which foams. (Use caution
that it doesn't overflow the saucepan.) Nuts are added when
cooking is completed.
In either method used for making Brittle, the cooked mixture is poured
immediately so that the candy is 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick; sometimes it is pulled
even thinner as it begins to harden. When hard, it is cracked into pieces.
Sometimes it is spread with chocolate and sprinkled with nuts and allowed to
cool until the chocolate firms up and then cracked into pieces.
 FOAMY PEANUT
BRITTLE RECIPE
(To
print). Here's a good example of
making Peanut Brittle. Remember to not make sugar-based candy on a humid or
damp day; it won't work.
Yields: 2 pounds (about 10 to 12 servings)
Ingredients:
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 | 3 cups sugar |
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| 1 cup light corn syrup -
Dark corn syrup can be
used for light in the recipe but, you'll end up with a dark brittle
with a flavor more similar to toffee. |
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| 4 1/2 cups salted, fresh roasted peanuts (about 1
pound, 7 ounces), skinned |
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| 4 tablespoons unsalted butter |
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| 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract |
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| 2 teaspoons baking soda |
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1. Coat two 12-by-17-inch baking pans (with low sides)
with vegetable-oil spray.
2. In a heavy 5-quart saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, combine sugar, corn
syrup, and 1/2 cup water. Cover the pot, and bring the mixture to a boil
over high heat, about 5 minutes. Swirl the pot often over the burner to
dissolve the sugar. Keeping the lid on will prevent sugar crystals from
forming inside the pot; however, should crystals form, wash down the sides
with a wet pastry brush.
3. Once steam begins to rise around the lid, remove it and reduce heat to
medium. Insert candy thermometer, and continue to boil until temperature
reaches 230 degrees (thread stage), about 1 minute.
4. Add the peanuts, and stir constantly with a metal spoon until the mixture
reaches 300 degrees (hard-crack stage), about 13 to 18 minutes. At this
point, the mixture should be a rich, golden brown.
5. Immediately remove from heat, and quickly add butter, vanilla, and baking
soda. Stir with a metal spoon until butter melts; mixture will become foamy.
Pour half of mixture down the center of each pan; spread it evenly with a
spatula. Allow to cool for at least 1 hour.
6. Turn brittle out of the pan, and snap it into shards. Peanut brittle can
be stored in an airtight container for several weeks. |
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