Skip to main content

Peanut Brittle Two Ways


I have a confession to make. I've never made peanut brittle the traditional way. For the last few years, I've made it in the microwave. There. I'm a slacker candy maker. :)

Anyway, I managed to buy more peanuts than I really needed at the store yesterday, so after making a batch of microwave brittle, I thought why not try something new and make a batch on the stove. I wanted to see if I could actually pull it off, and I thought it would be fun to have a little taste test! We are iced and snowed in today (nothing like the blizzard some people are expecting, but bad weather for us!!), so I figured why not spend the day cooking (and blogging!).




I can remember being at my grandmother's house and "helping" her make the peanut brittle every year. She may have had a recipe, but I'm not entirely sure about that. I do know that she never used a candy thermometer. She tried to teach me how to tell what stage it was at, but I didn't trust myself, so I pulled out my thermometer (that admittedly I haven't even used before!). She hasn't been able to make any candy in several years, so that was one reason I searched out the microwave recipe in the first place. It's not Christmas without peanut brittle (or pecan pralines, but I haven't mastered that one...yet).


I will definitely say that the microwave recipe is the way to go if you're pressed for time. Quick and easy would be the words to describe that one. However, it was fun and satisfying to make it the traditional way, even if it did take a lot longer.

How did the taste test go? Sprout liked both versions (he ate some of the tiny pieces of candy without nuts in them). Munchkin refused to participate in the test. D and I both agreed that while the microwave brittle was good, the traditional brittle won hands down. I have to admit, I'm proud of myself!!


Microwave Peanut Brittle

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup raw peanuts
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
In a large microwave safe bowl add sugar, peanuts and corn syrup. Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Remove and stir. Microwave an additional 3 minutes. Remove, add butter and stir. Microwave 2 minutes longer. Remove, add vanilla and baking soda and stir. Pour onto a greased cookie sheet and spread with a spoon until thin. Let peanut brittle cool completely and break into pieces.

Note: cooking times will vary depending on your microwave. Mine is pretty powerful and I have to decrease the cooking time or it will overcook. Watch the color of the sugar mixture and how it smells, and you will learn exactly how long to cook it in your microwave.




Traditional Peanut Brittle

2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup water
2 cups raw peanuts
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda

Heat and stir sugar, syrup and water in a heavy 3-quart saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Cook over medium heat the soft ball stage (234'F). Add nuts and salt. Cook to hard crack stage (305'F), stirring often. Remove from heat.

Quickly stir in butter, vanilla and baking soda. Pour at once onto a well-greased sheet pan (or two, depending on the size of your pans), spreading with a spatula. Let cool and break into pieces.
Enjoy!!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Thick and Chewy Snickerdoodles

I admit, I love snickerdoodles.   Cinnamon and vanilla?   Yes, please.   What’s funny is that I never really had them much as a kid, just occasionally in the school cafeteria.   I know, ew. Anyway, snickerdoodles were one of the first cookies that the Munchkin helped make when he was little.   He could help dump everything in the mixer (or “loud noise” as he would call it!) and then it was fun for him to roll the balls of dough in the cinnamon sugar before putting them on the baking sheet. Even since then, my go-to recipe for snickerdoodles has been this one by Emeril.   It’s a great recipe, baking up a thin, crispy cookie (at least when I make them!).   However, I was looking for something different this time, something thicker and chewier.   I found this recipe from the blog How Sweet it Is .   I decided to try it, and while I did keep the ingredient list the same I changed up the method a bit to suit me better.   The result?   What I was looking for – thick and

Homemade Cinnamon Dolce Latte

I recently professed my love of coffee and fancy coffee drinks.  After the success of the Peppermint Mocha , I decided to tackle the Cinnamon Dolce Latte, another one of my favorites.  According to the Starbucks website, it has flavors of "cinnamon, butter and brown sugar".  Well, I covered the cinnamon and brown sugar components, but left out the butter.  And you know what, I think it turned out quite well, if I do say so myself!  I honestly wasn't sure if the cinnamon flavor in the syrup was going to be strong enough, but it was.  I will admit to being impatient and not letting it steep for very long, so the cinnamon flavor might develop more if you do actually let it sit and cool off first.  If you wanted it to be even stronger, you could always add a tiny bit of cinnamon oil to it as well.  But be careful -- a little of that goes a long way! How much to make depends on how much you'll actually use.  I just made a single batch this first time, but considering

Hello Dolly Cookie Bars

Several years ago, my mom gave me an old cookbook, it was hers but I'm not sure she ever used it, Favorite Recipes from Southern Kitchens:  Desserts .  I love this cookbook!  I thought it would be great to go through it and pick a recipe or two to use for this year's 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats series.  For this week, I chose a super easy one, Hello Dolly Cookies.  I have absolutely no idea where the name came from.  I'm really not sure I've ever eaten one before, though the ladies I shared the finished product with knew about them!  I did an internet search too, and it seems they go by a lot of names, including Magic Layer Bars.  Honestly, they are so easy to make.  There's no mixing required.  Kids could absolutely help with these.  The cookies smelled divine while they were baking, and I barely waited for them to cool before trying one. At first I thought "these taste almost like German chocolate cake", then "or definitely like a ca