Recipe: Peanut Brittle

Hi Toni,

Maybe the pulled thin version of this recipe will be close...Peanut Brittle
rec.food.cooking/Kara L. Robinson (1994)

Below is the peanut brittle recipe my grandmother and I use. You can pour it out and crack it, but we pour it out on a buttered board and stretch it thin. It's a bit of work, but my dad refuses to eat the thick stuff :) - Kara

2 cups raw Spanish peanuts (remove any bad ones)
1 "nut" of butter (a generous tablespoon-roughly the size of a walnut)
salt
2 cups white sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
2 rounded teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

In a pie pan, place the two cups of raw peanuts. Put the butter and salt on top. Set aside.

Place the baking soda in a teacup or another type of small container.

Place the vanilla in a separate teacup or small container. This allows you to add these ingredients rapidly.

In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and water. Over medium high heat, bring to a boil. Boil to 150 degrees (this is the soft ball stage - I think - if you don't have a candy thermometer you'll need to test the consistency to determine the temp.)

At 150 degrees, add the peanuts, butter and salt. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT to stir CONSTANTLY after adding the peanuts. The brittle scorches easily at this stage. Cook to 300 degrees (I always take it off the burner at about 290-295; it continues to cook off the heat).

Remove from burner. Add the soda and vanilla. Stir well and rapidly.

Pour onto buttered marble or board (we have an enameled countertop for peanut brittle, it works beautifully.) If you are going to crack it, let cool completely. If you are going to pull, let it cool about 2 minutes, cut the outer edge off and stretch to desired thickness.

A word of warning: don't try making this when it is either too warm or too humid, it gets REALLY sticky. Cold and clear days are the best.

Happy Cooking!

Betsy
www.recipelink.com