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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.
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, 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.
SARAH SAYS: 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.
