Mesilla Valley Chile Brittle
rec.food.recipes/Ali Whitfield/2003

2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar; packed
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup chiles*
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup soft butter or margarine
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cup nuts**

*You decide how hot to make it. What's mild to me may be hot to you or vice versa. (A combination of habanero and dried ground chipotles works well.)

**Whole piqones, peanuts, cashews, pecans, walnuts or Brazil nuts.

Boil together the sugars, corn syrup, water, chiles and salt until the mixture reaches 300 degrees F. on a candy thermometer (hard crack stage). Stir the mixture only until the sugar is dissolved, watching so it doesn't scorch. Add the butter and soda, stirring until the mixture foams up. Add nuts and quickly stir them in.

Pour the mixture onto a greased heatproof flat pan. Spread the mixture until it is very thin. Loosen from the sheet before it cools and hardens. Break into crude pieces.