Peanut Brittle In A Jiffy Recipes

THE BEST PEANUT BRITTLE

Steps:

• Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and grease with nonstick cooking spray.
• Stir together the sugar, corn syrup and 1/2 cup water in a medium saucepan fitted with a candy/deep-fry thermometer. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, then continue to boil until it's golden brown and it reaches 340 degrees F, about 15 minutes.
• Working quickly, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter and baking soda until smooth (it will foam and bubble up). Stir in the peanuts until evenly distributed amongst the sugar mixture.
• Pour onto the prepared baking sheet and quickly smooth with a rubber spatula into a thin and even layer. Let harden uncovered at room temperature until cooled completely. Break into pieces and store in an airtight container.

MICROWAVE PEANUT BRITTLE

Steps:

• Butter a cookie sheet. Combine sugar and corn syrup in a 2 quart glass bowl and microwave on high 4 minutes. Stir in peanuts and microwave on high 3 1/2 minutes more, then stir in butter and vanilla and microwave for 1 1/2 minutes.
• Stir in baking soda until light and foamy. Pour onto cookie sheet and spread thin. Cool completely and break into pieces and serve.

PEANUT BRITTLE

Steps:

• Butter a rimmed baking sheet; set aside. Stir together sugar, 1/2 cup water, and the salt in a medium saucepan. Cook over high heat, without stirring, until sugar begins to melt and turn golden, about 3 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until sugar has melted and mixture turns golden amber, about 10 minutes.
• Remove pan from heat. Stir in peanuts. Immediately pour peanut mixture onto buttered baking sheet. Quickly spread mixture to 1/2 inch thick using an oiled metal spatula. Let cool completely, about 15 minutes. Break brittle into pieces. Brittle can be stored in an airtight container, up to 2 weeks.

PEANUT BRITTLE

Steps:

• Line a quarter sheet pan with a Silpat (parchment will not work here).
• Make a dry caramel: Heat the sugar in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. As soon as the sugar starts to melt, use a heatproof spatula to move it constantly around the pan-you want it all to melt and caramelize evenly. Cook and stir, cook and stir, until the caramel is a deep, dark amber, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Once the caramel has reached the target color, remove the pan from the heat and, with the heatproof spatula, stir in the nuts. Make sure the nuts are coated in caramel, then dump the contents of the pan out onto the prepared sheet pan. Spread out as thin and evenly as possible. The caramel will set into a hard-to-move-around brittle mass in less than a minute, so work quickly. Let the brittle cool completely.
• In a zip-top bag break the brittle up into pieces as small as possible with a meat pounder or a heavy rolling pin-we grind our brittle down in the food processor to the size of short-grain rice (you don't want anyone to chip a tooth on it!). Eat or cook with it at will. Store your brittle in an airtight container, and try to use it up within a month.
• hazelnut brittle
• Follow the recipe for peanut brittle, substituting hazelnuts for the peanuts.
• [makes about 250 g (1 3/4 cups)]
• cashew brittle
• Follow the recipe for peanut brittle, substituting 3/4 cup cashews for the peanuts and increasing the sugar to 1 1/2 cups.
• [makes about 375 g (2 1/4 cups)]
• pumpkin seed brittle
• This, obviously, is made from a seed, not a nut, but it works just the same. We use pepitas, or hulled pumpkin seeds. We've tried making them from raw shelled seeds scooped straight from a pumpkin, but to no avail.
• Follow the recipe for peanut brittle, substituting pumpkin seeds for the peanuts. When adding the seeds to the hot caramel, take care, they will "pop" a bit!
• [makes about 250 g (1 3/4 cups)]
• Elsewhere in this book
• Peanut brittle is used in Peanut Butter Crunch (page 185).

OLD-FASHIONED PEANUT BRITTLE

Steps:

• Butter a large baking pan; set aside. Combine peanuts, sugar, and corn syrup in a medium saucepan. Set over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
• Insert a candy thermometer. Continue boiling, without stirring, until temperature registers 295 degrees, about 6 minutes. When sugar begins to brown, stir nuts gently to ensure even cooking. Remove saucepan from heat, and stir in the butter and baking soda; the mixture will begin to foam up, so mix quickly. Pour onto the prepared baking pan.
• As soon as candy is cool enough to handle, use your fingers to stretch the brittle as thinly as possible over the baking pan. Allow the brittle to cool completely, about 45 minutes, then break into bite-size pieces.

1200 WATT MICROWAVE PEANUT BRITTLE

Steps:

• Line a baking/cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper and spray with cooking spray or grease with butter.
• Put 1 tablespoon molasses in a ½ cup measuring cup and then fill with corn syrup (spray cup with cooking spray first, so corn syrup will come out easier).
• Put corn syrup mixture and white sugar in an eight cup bowl and mix well then microwave on high for 2 minutes, remove and stir and then microwave for 1 more minute.
• Remove from microwave and add peanuts, stir into bubbling sugar mixture and microwave for 2 minutes.
• Remove from microwave and then stir in butter and vanilla and microwave for 1 minute.
• Remove from microwave and quickly stir in baking soda - it will get somewhat white and foamy - spread out onto baking sheet - you can let it cool at room temperature or cool in the fridge. Put mixing bowl cup in sink under hot running water to aid in cleanup.
• * I add the molasses because it gives the brittle a beautiful color - it is not required to make the recipe - if you don't want to use it, just use a full ½ cup of corn syrup. Watch out with sampling - this stuff is habit forming - if you want to bump it up a notch - add 1 teaspoon cinnamon to sugars at begining (my daughter and I like) or if you really want to kick up it up - add the cinnamon and 1/3 teaspoon caynne pepper - hot stuff. I love the sweet and spicy.

PEANUT BRITTLE

Steps:

• Lightly toast peanuts in a small pan to bring out their flavor.
• Mix the peanuts with cinnamon and cayenne pepper by tossing a couple times in the medium bowl.
• A bit of spiciness in sweets helps to heighten the flavors and punch of the other spices (like the cinnamon in this case).
• This is a "trick" well known to chocolatiers and made famous by the movie Chocolat.
• Over on the stove, combine the water and sugar in a saucepan.
• I used a nonstick saucepan, but if you're using a traditional pan, then you'll want to rub the interior surface of the pan down with vegetable oil.
• Over medium-high heat, dissolve the sugar into the water and brought it to a boil.
• While the syrup was coming to a boil, prepare cookie sheet, non-stick or use parchment paper.
• When the sugar turns a light amber color (if you're using a candy thermometer, look for 350 degrees, you're ready to introduce the peanuts.
• Working quickly, use a wooden spoon to mix in the peanuts and spices.
• It's important to work fast (and sure) from this point on because the syrup is rapidly cooling.
• While you are stirring, the syrup will foam up, but the high sides of your saucepan will save you from a mess.
• After the peanuts have been stirred in, pour the syrup parchment paper.
• Syrup will flow out from the peanuts, so just use a wooden spoon to fold the excess sugar back onto the peanuts.
• As it thickens it won't flow anymore.
• At the same time, use the back of wooden spoon to press the peanuts down flat so you only have a single layer.
• After the brittle cooled (about thirty minutes), wrap it in plastic wrap and broke it into 1 1/2 to 2 inch pieces with hands.
• Placed them in a air tight container.