Peanut brittle

[love4food]

Does anyone have a recipe for a softer peanut brittle? Mine is hard and gross......

[Badiane]

Can you be a bit more descriptive than 'hard and gross'? Perhaps we can help you tweak your recipe...do you think something went wrong? How thin did you spread it? Did you add the baking soda?

If you go to google, and search for 'soft peanut brittle' you will get some interesting hits...depending on what you are looking for, of course.

Would be happy to help you tweak if you like

And I see this is your first post...welcome here!

Edited December 7, 2005 by Badiane (log)

[love4food]

Can you be a bit more descriptive than 'hard and gross'?  Perhaps we can help you tweak your recipe...do you think something went wrong?  How thin did you spread it?  Did you add the baking soda? 

If you go to google, and search for 'soft peanut brittle' you will get some interesting hits...depending on what you are looking for, of course.

Would be happy to help you tweak if you like 

And I see this is your first post...welcome here! 

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I dont think something went wrong. I am following my moms recipe. Its about 1 cm thick and i did put baking soda in. I am not sure what I did wrong. The peanuts taste burnt and I am looking for more of a toffee texture.

[Badiane]

Ahhhhh....looking for a toffee texture...I would venture the guess that you a) overcooked it slightly and b) added the peanuts too early, which may account for the 'burnt' taste. Fortunately the ingredients don't cost the earth and you can try again! I would imagine your mother has made it successfully, which is why you are using her recipe. When I make straight peanut brittle, I don't add the nuts until the last minute of cooking because I use already roasted ones. Are you testing the mix in a glass of cold water, using a candy thermometer or just guessing? I use a glass of cold water, test every minute after it comes to a boil and when it's just a shade off what I want, I toss in the nuts, stir and then remove from the heat and wack in the soda. Works most of the time

If you want something that is actually chewy, this is a recipe that I have for peanut toffee...I'm sure it came off the internet and I tweaked it a bit.

2 c. brown sugar

1/2 lb. butter

3/4 c. golden syrup ( I use whatever corn syrup I have in the house)

1 300 ml tin Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk

Peanuts - some people like lots, some not so many, so you decide how much.

Bring to boil in heavy pot. Boil hard, stirring constantly until toffee threads in cold water (about 20 minutes). Stir in nuts. Pour onto buttered baking sheet. Cool. turn sheet upside down and break into pieces. Nuts may be added to pan before toffee is poured.

Good Luck!

[andiesenji]

I will post a favorite recipe for peanut (or almond, or ??) made in the microwave.

Easy and pretty much foolproof.

[Tweety69bird]

Badiane - Would you use salted peanuts or non salted? The reason I ask is because the recipes I have looked at call for salted peanuts, and of course, I have non roasted, non salted. Can I add salt during the roasting process? How would I go about that? I'm assuming I would have to coat the nuts in some form of oil or something so that salt would stick to the nuts. Thanks.

[Kim Shook]

This is the recipe that I use. It turns out a fairly thick, light, crunchy and pretty airy brittle.

Peanut Brittle

2 c. shelled raw peanuts

2 c. sugar

1 c. light corn syrup

1/3 c. water

2 T. butter

1/4 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

1 t. vanilla

Spread nuts in a 15x10 pan, bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring once - set aside.

Combine next five ingredients in a dutch oven, cook over medium heat stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until it reaches hard crack stage (300 degrees). Remove from heat. Stir in nuts, soda and vanilla. Working rapidly, spread mixture in a 15x10x1 jelly roll pan. Let cool. Break into pieces.

VARIATION: To make chocolate brittle, spread 6 oz. chocolate on the brittle while still hot and then spread when the chocolate melts.

Peanut Brittle

[CurlySue]

Ooh! I meant to ask a peanut brittle question too... I made some the other night and was busy doing something else at the same time and lost track of the sugar and cooked it to about 330 degrees. Since it was only supposed to cook to 300 I dumped a little water in it to cool it down (to about 220) then let it warm back up to 300 then finished it. The brittle is not so brittle, more "pull your teeth out" than brittle. Do you think that it was a problem with overcooking it then cooling it, or did I not reheat it to the proper temp the second time around (my thermometer is a bit wacky that way)? Thoughts?

[Badiane]

Badiane - Would you use salted peanuts or non salted? The reason I ask is because the recipes I have looked at call for salted peanuts, and of course, I have non roasted, non salted. Can I add salt during the roasting process? How would I go about that? I'm assuming I would have to coat the nuts in some form of oil or something so that salt would stick to the nuts. Thanks.

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I would toast the nuts in the oven and then just add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the brittle when you throw in the nuts...much easier than trying to get salt to stick.

Curly Sue...I wish I had an answer for you...but there are some real sugar experts here that no doubt will be able to tell you what kind of chemistry you created there I personally love the pull your teeth out stuff!

[Wendy DeBord]

Ooh!  I meant to ask a peanut brittle question too... I made some the other night and was busy doing something else at the same time and lost track of the sugar and cooked it to about 330 degrees.  Since it was only supposed to cook to 300 I dumped a little water in it to cool it down (to about 220) then let it warm back up to 300 then finished it.  The brittle is not so brittle, more "pull your teeth out" than brittle.  Do you think that it was a problem with overcooking it then cooling it, or did I not reheat it to the proper temp the second time around (my thermometer is a bit wacky that way)?  Thoughts?

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Ah, when you added the water you were creating caramel actually. That's why it was chewie and not crunchy. If you had added more liquid you'd get caramel sauce.

I probably would have used your cooked sugar as is....it should have been fine........just a bit darker.

[Steven Blaski]

I will post a favorite recipe for peanut (or almond, or ??) made in the microwave.

Easy and pretty much foolproof.

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andiesenji--I'd love to see your recipe, if you have time to post it. Thanks.

[CurlySue]

Ooh!  I meant to ask a peanut brittle question too... I made some the other night and was busy doing something else at the same time and lost track of the sugar and cooked it to about 330 degrees.  Since it was only supposed to cook to 300 I dumped a little water in it to cool it down (to about 220) then let it warm back up to 300 then finished it.  The brittle is not so brittle, more "pull your teeth out" than brittle.  Do you think that it was a problem with overcooking it then cooling it, or did I not reheat it to the proper temp the second time around (my thermometer is a bit wacky that way)?  Thoughts?

←

Ah, when you added the water you were creating caramel actually. That's why it was chewie and not crunchy. If you had added more liquid you'd get caramel sauce.

I probably would have used your cooked sugar as is....it should have been fine........just a bit darker.

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Ah, thank you Wendy! I just thought that sugar reached temperature because of the water that was being boiled out of it, so I figured adding water to cool it then letting it get to temp again would be fine. I should know more about the science of what I'm doing before I do it!! I'll try again.

[cookman]

I will post a favorite recipe for peanut (or almond, or ??) made in the microwave.

Easy and pretty much foolproof.

←

andiesenji--I'd love to see your recipe, if you have time to post it. Thanks.

←

Here's a good recipe for microwave peanut brittle from Bon Appetit:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/2122

[Steven Blaski]

I will post a favorite recipe for peanut (or almond, or ??) made in the microwave.

Easy and pretty much foolproof.

←

andiesenji--I'd love to see your recipe, if you have time to post it. Thanks.

←

Here's a good recipe for microwave peanut brittle from Bon Appetit:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/2122

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Thanks, cookman!

[andiesenji]

Here's mine.

Nuked Peanut Brittle

In a 2-quart Pyrex measure combine:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup (If you can get Lyle's Golden syrup, it makes a much better brittle.)

(Use a wooden spoon, this is very thick.)

Microwave on high for 4 minutes.

Add:

1 cup roasted, salted peanuts or almonds or pecans or broken macadamia nuts. Your choice.

Stir well and microwave on high for 3-5 minutes until mixture is tan to light brown.

Add:

1 teaspoon butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir well.

Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes more:

The nuts will be lightly browned and syrup very hot.

Add:

1 teaspoon baking soda, sprinkle over the top of the syrup.

Stir briskly until light and foamy.

Immediately pour onto lightly oiled foil or use Release foil and no oil is needed.

Spread out to about 1/4 inch thickness.

Cool 30 minutes to 1 hour.

When completely cool, it should now be brittle. Break up and store in an airtight jar.

You can use raw peanuts, however, add them at the beginning and add 1/4 teaspoon salt.

[cookman]

I will post a favorite recipe for peanut (or almond, or ??) made in the microwave.

Easy and pretty much foolproof.

←

andiesenji--I'd love to see your recipe, if you have time to post it. Thanks.

←

Here's a good recipe for microwave peanut brittle from Bon Appetit:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/2122

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I forgot to mention my favorite thing to add to this recipe: If you like spicy things, try adding 1/2 tsp (or more!) hot pepper flakes, when you stir in the baking soda at the end. That spicy kick is a good foil to the sweetness of the brittle.

[Steven Blaski]

Here's mine.

Nuked Peanut Brittle

In a 2-quart Pyrex measure combine:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup (If you can get Lyle's Golden syrup, it makes a much better brittle.)

(Use a wooden spoon, this is very thick.)

Microwave on high for 4 minutes.

Add:

1 cup roasted, salted peanuts or almonds or pecans or broken macadamia nuts.  Your choice.

Stir well and microwave on high for 3-5 minutes until mixture is tan to light brown.

Add:

1 teaspoon butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir well.

Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes more:

The nuts will be lightly browned and syrup very hot.

Add:

1 teaspoon baking soda, sprinkle over the top of the syrup.

Stir briskly until light and foamy. 

Immediately pour onto lightly oiled foil or use Release foil and no oil is needed.

Spread out to about 1/4 inch thickness.

Cool 30 minutes to 1 hour.

When completely cool, it should now be brittle.  Break up and store in an airtight jar.

You can use raw peanuts, however, add them at the beginning and add 1/4 teaspoon salt.

←

andiesenji - I made your brittle last night, with salted, roasted Virginia peanuts - it was fantastic! Just as good or better than stovetop brittle and WAY easier. Never imagined I could make great peanut brittle in 10 minutes. I used the minimum suggested minutes for microwaving at each step. For the corn syrup I substituted King golden syrup. Thanks for the tip on using golden syrup, and for sharing the recipe.

[yourmyboyblue]

here's the one i always use, i think its one of torres' recipies

100 g sugar

50 g corn syrup

40 g honey

150g butter (unsalted)

250 g peanuts, granulated or halves (unsalted)

3 g salt

just stir over med high heat until medium golden brown, pour onto parchment, cover with parchment and roll out thin

of course you can add any nut you want, just a good basic brittle....

[andiesenji]

Here's mine.

Nuked Peanut Brittle

In a 2-quart Pyrex measure combine:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup (If you can get Lyle's Golden syrup, it makes a much better brittle.)

(Use a wooden spoon, this is very thick.)

Microwave on high for 4 minutes.

Add:

1 cup roasted, salted peanuts or almonds or pecans or broken macadamia nuts.  Your choice.

Stir well and microwave on high for 3-5 minutes until mixture is tan to light brown.

Add:

1 teaspoon butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir well.

Microwave on high for 1-2 minutes more:

The nuts will be lightly browned and syrup very hot.

Add:

1 teaspoon baking soda, sprinkle over the top of the syrup.

Stir briskly until light and foamy. 

Immediately pour onto lightly oiled foil or use Release foil and no oil is needed.

Spread out to about 1/4 inch thickness.

Cool 30 minutes to 1 hour.

When completely cool, it should now be brittle.  Break up and store in an airtight jar.

You can use raw peanuts, however, add them at the beginning and add 1/4 teaspoon salt.

←

andiesenji - I made your brittle last night, with salted, roasted Virginia peanuts - it was fantastic! Just as good or better than stovetop brittle and WAY easier. Never imagined I could make great peanut brittle in 10 minutes. I used the minimum suggested minutes for microwaving at each step. For the corn syrup I substituted King golden syrup. Thanks for the tip on using golden syrup, and for sharing the recipe.

←

I'm so glad that you enjoyed it.

I demonstrated it here at the office a couple of years ago and now the "girls" make it every so often for a treat (usually when the popcorn is absent).

We have a SS surgical tray on a stand on which the Release foil is place. The SS always seems to be really cold so the stuff cools very rapidly on it.

At one of the local department stores I demonstrated it a few years ago and they still do it when they are demoing a new microwave. It always impresses the customers.

P.S. And speaking of popcorn, you can, if you have good heavy rubber gloves that are well buttered, use the stuff for popcorn balls - or in some cases when it sets up really fast, popcorn slabs.

Edited December 13, 2005 by andiesenji (log)

[emilyr]

I was recently reading a recipe for brittle from Kate Zuckerman of Chanterelle, and she describes making a caramel that you let harden, then crushing it, mixing it with the ground peanuts and then re-baking it til its a brittle consistency. I'm wondering what this does to the consistency. Would you still get the light frothy texture you get from any of the other techniques. Does the cream of tartar take the place of the baking soda? I kinda like the idea of this because the peanuts are incorporated and not a separate part of the brittle.

Here's the link to the article I was reading. It's a review for her "the Sweet Life" cookbook, and from what I read, that book may explain what I'm looking for. I'll look there too.

[Sugarnspice]

Hi!

The ground and then rebaked brittle will have the consistency of a Tuille (lace cookie), very thin, not airy at all.

This technique is used very frequently in France. It allows for better control in regard to the shape of tuilles which tend to spread a lot when freshly baked. Working with the powder instead, one can dust it over templates, remove those and bake just to remelt the previously caramelized sugar.

I had that dessert during a fabulous demo from her - delicious!

[JBN]

I was just searching the board to see if anyone had posted results from Kate Zuckerman's new book and came across this thread. Regarding the use of cream of tartar in the brittle recipe she says, not in the recipe itself but in her Note About Ingredients, that she "often calls for a pinch of cream of tartar as a way of introducing acid into a recipe, but 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar can easily be substituted."

OT, but I made her Meyer Lemon Tart for a dinner party last night and it was simply outstanding.