Gram's Favorite Peanut Brittle

Peanut brittle is a classic homemade gift for the Christmas season. It’s one of those recipes where the ingredients become way greater than the sum of their parts. Who would think that sugar, syrup and peanuts could be transformed into something so divine?

Earlier this year, in June to be exact, we drove from Houston to New Iberia, Louisiana to spend a couple of days with my grandmother. She was in a rehab center, working on getting strong enough to go home again, after surgery to repair her broken femur.

Just before we left, I called my Aunt Nonnie. What can we bring for Gram? Her answer was all candy:  Peanut brittle, licorice and orange slices.  Never mind that Gram had been diabetic for years, she loved her sweets. When you reach the ripe old age of 99, screw the diabetes!

So, off we went on a candy hunt.  My mother, an integral part of the search team, said that she always bought Gram a tin of peanut brittle from Costco, or maybe Sam’s, each Christmas because that’s the only time of the year it was available. I must admit I was shocked. I had no idea that peanut brittle was a Christmas-season-only thing!  I guess I’ve lived outside of the US for too long, in places where peanut brittle is never available. Sadly, she was right.

We brought Gram orange slices and licorice and substituted something else for the peanut brittle. But I always regretted that I couldn’t find any. As I said to Mom, if I had known ahead, I’d have made some. So, Gram, this batch is for you. I am imagining that your heaven includes a daily supply of peanut brittle but I still wanted to make you some.

Gram's Favorite Peanut Brittle

Ingredients to make 1 lb+ or 475g of peanut brittle
1 cup or 200g sugar
1/2 cup or 120ml light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup or 60ml water
1 cup or 150g shelled raw peanuts
2 tablespoons butter plus more for greasing foil.
1 teaspoon baking soda

Method
Line a baking pan with foil and then butter the foil liberally.  Set aside.

Put the sugar, corn syrup, water and salt in a heavy 2-quart pot, and stir until all the sugar is dissolved.  Add in the peanuts and stir again.

If you have a candy thermometer, attach it to the pot now.  Cook over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the thermometer reaches 300°F or 149°C or until a small amount dropped into a glass of very cold water turns into hard and brittle threads as it sinks.

Remove from heat and stir in the two tablespoons of butter and the baking soda.

Pour the now frothy mixture immediate into your prepared pan.

My original instructions from Good Housekeeping suggested that I use two forks to stretch and spread the mixture in the pan but I found that jiggling the pan vigorously did the trick.

See how it has spread almost to the corners now.

When the peanut brittle is cool enough to handle, use your hands to break the brittle into smaller pieces.  Share with someone you love.

Enjoy!


Visit all the other Christmas Week Peeps for more Holiday Baking Goodness:

• How To Make Perfect Gingerbread People by Cravings of a Lunatic
• Slow Cooker Pumpkin Cobbler by Juanita's Cocina
• S'mores Fudge by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Cherry Noir Noel by Noshing With The Nolands
• Japanese Blondies by Ninja Baking
• Peanut Brittle by Food Lust People Love
• Elf Nibbles by Dizzy Busy and Hungry
• Cheesecake Chocolate Chip Cookies with Salted Caramel by Rants From My Crazy Kitchen
• Gingerbread Men Cookies by Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts
• Mint Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookie Bars by Mom's Test Kitchen
• Penuche by Cooking In Stilettos
• Triple Orange Biscotti by Liv Life
• Homemade Caramels by Jen's Favorite Cookies
• Kerstol (Dutch Christmas Bread) by The Dutch Baker's Daughter
• Dark Chocolate Orange Ricotta Tart with Honey Almond Crust by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Tropical Toffee Brittle by Home Cooking Memories
• Chocolate Raspberry Linzer Cookies by Pineapple and Coconut
• Lemon-Pistachio and White Chocolate Biscotti by The Little Ferraro Kitchen

Pin Gram's Favorite Peanut Brittle!

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Toffee with Chocolate and Almond Slivers

Toasted almonds on the bottom, salted toffee in the middle and more almonds and semi-sweet chocolate on top. Break this apart like peanut brittle with a little hammer. Buttery, sweet and salty, and delicious. 

So, my house-hunting trip to Cairo was indeed canceled.  We had been blessed by an invitation to share Thanksgiving with a family there on Friday and I was planning to make this to bring, to share, since I wouldn’t have a proper kitchen in the serviced apartment.  I decided to make it anyway, because, so rich are my blessings, I have been graced with another invitation to share Thanksgiving here in Kuala Lumpur.  Since I have an actual kitchen and oven, I will also make an apple pie.  And green beans, just like my grandmothers used to make, to bring as well.

May you all be blessed richly with friends and family who love you this Thanksgiving.  I am firmly convinced there is no greater blessing than friends and family who love you!  I am more grateful than I can express.  Surely, I do not have my family with me, but they are safe and I hope that they also know how much they are loved by me and how much I wish we could be together. 

Ingredients

2 rounded cups or 300g of slivered almonds

2 cups or 450g unsalted butter

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 cups or 450g sugar

1/8 cup or 30ml light corn syrup

1/3 cup or 80ml water

1 1/2 rounded cups or 290g semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method

Toast the almond slivers in a dry non-stick frying pan over a medium heat.  Stir or toss them frequently to make sure they brown evenly. 

It's hard to see how toasted these are but they were darker than the photo makes them appear. 

Line a baking pan with sides  (minimum 15 1/2in x10 1/2in or 40cm x 27cm) with foil.  Butter the foil liberally.

Sprinkle half of the toasted almonds on the foil.

Ah, see! They look more toasted in the natural light.

In a heavy saucepan, add butter, salt, sugar, corn syrup, and water. Cook over medium-high heat.

Cook the mixture until it reaches 290-300 degrees using a candy thermometer, which is the soft crack stage. Be really careful at this step, at 280 it goes really fast, and can burn in mere seconds. 

Pour the mixture immediately over the almonds. Set a timer for five minutes and let it cool until it is firm but still hot.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the toffee.  Set your timer for two minutes and, when it rings, spread the chocolate all over the toffee.

Sprinkle with remaining toasted almond slivers.  Chill in the refrigerator until it hardens completely.

Peel the toffee off of the foil and turn it over.  Gently break it into pieces with a small hammer. 

Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container, with waxed or parchment paper between the layers.  Or serve immediately!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who is celebrating this weekend!

Adapted from this recipe, but originally from Pinterest and The Idea Room.  I tried to find the original post on Pinterest but I don’t really understand how it works, I guess.