Peanut Brittle

Ahh peanut brittle. It’s crunchy, it’s sticky and it tastes like peanuts!:-) I’ve had my share of peanut brittle over the years, and they were mostly so sticky, that I always felt I could only eat one piece...until now:-)

This recipe I found on AllRecipes is simply the best peanut brittle I’ve ever had. For this recipe to succeed, you’ll need a candy thermometer. I can’t stress this point enough! With this tool, you’ll make irresistible, perfect brittle. Also, make sure your baking soda is “fresh”. To do so, mix ¼ tsp baking soda with 2 tsp vinegar, and the mixture should bubble immediately. With fresh baking soda, you should have a light brittle, full of little “bubbles” in the center. See the bubbles??

What you’ll need:

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup water

1 cup peanuts

2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

Grease a large cookie sheet and keep warm in a 300 degrees F oven.

In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, over medium heat, bring to a boil sugar, corn syrup, salt, and water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and stir in peanuts. Set the candy thermometer in place, and continue cooking. Stir frequently until the temperature reaches 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), or until a small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water separates into hard and brittle threads.  *note* The mixture will take a while to reach 250 degrees, but after that it will go much faster to reach 300 degrees, so keep a close eye on the thermometer from that point on.

 Remove from heat and immediately stir in butter and baking soda. Pour at once onto cookie sheet, trying to cover as much of the cookie sheet as possible at this point. Tilt the cookie sheet to spread the mixture as much as possible and cool. Snap candy into pieces and enjoy!!