Grandma's Peanut Brittle Recipe • A Tasty Treat! | Club Foody

 

Once in a while, I have a craving for something sweet. David and I don’t have children and our families live in other provinces. Unless we have friends coming over for dinner, it’s just the two of us therefore making dessert like a cake 🍰 or a pie is a lot to consume for us… The other option is to make candies!
 
Any major holiday such as Halloween, Christmas 🎄, and Easter give me an excuse to make homemade confectionaries. It can be Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Divinity, Paçoca, Potato Bonbons, Mendiants, Cherry Blossom, etc.
 
One we both enjoy a lot is my Grandma’s Peanut Brittle! This homemade buttery candy is such a delicious treat! It’s a lovely classic sweet to serve during Thanksgiving, the Holidays and also for Easter! It can be wrapped or placed in little tins as a gift 🎁 for your family and friends.
 
When I was a child 👧 and went visiting my grandma, she always made some. She knew I loved this confection. Although peanuts were my favorite, she surprised me with other nuts like pecans and almonds. When I was in my teens, we made it together – that’s a lovely memory I’ll always cherish!
 
Making my Grandma’s Peanut Brittle is a simple process as long as your “mise en place” is ready. This French term means prep all your ingredients before starting! Although it takes a good 35 minutes ⏳ to cook, everything has to be ready for the next step. It’s all about timing!
 
On the video 🎥, I mention a step I forgot to do and it’s to place my baking sheet and silicone mat in the oven at low temperature (170ºF) while making the brittle. By warming it up, it makes spreading the mixture easier. It was still spreadable but not as smooth as when the silicon mat is warmed.
 
To make the brittle, the heat is on medium and I highly suggest not increasing to make this process go faster. If the brittle is cooked at higher temperature 🔥, it may scorch or turn into a bitter flavor which is the last thing we want. “Patience is a virtue” so it’s time to apply it!
 
I use granulated sugar and also brown sugar which gives another layer of yumminess from the molasses. After the white corn syrup, also known as light corn syrup, is in, the mixture is stirred 🥄 until the sugars are dissolved. By the way, use this trick when handling sticky ingredients… Measuring Honey, Syrup or Molasses without Sticking
 
An important thing to do is to lightly brush the sides of the pot with water… The reason behind this is at one point, the sugar will start to crystalize on the sides and if it dissolves back into the mixture, it will turn the brittle into a grainy texture and ruin it. By brushing the sides, the water 💦 washes it away which prevents this from happening. This step has to be repeated whenever there are some sugar crystals forming.
 
Each step about this recipe is based on temperatures so it’s important to have a well-calibrated thermometer, making sure it doesn’t touch the bottom of the pot. Just before filming, I dropped my candy thermometer and broke it but, in the video, I use another one and it worked just fine 😀.
 
When the 250ºF mark is reached, salted butter 🧈 goes in and stir until melted. Then the next temperature to get to is 280ºF and this is when the dry roasted peanuts go in. While stirring constantly, the final one to obtain is between 305ºF and 310ºF.
 
The pot is removed from the heat and without waiting, sifted baking soda and pure vanilla extract are stirred in. Finally, the mixture is poured onto the prepared “warmed” silicone mat and spread out evenly. Then we allow the brittle to cool completely, about 1 hour ⏰, before breaking it into pieces… done!!!
 
Now here are the major points to successfully make brittle…
– If it’s humid outside, forget about making brittle! The high moisture in the air will be absorbed by the mixture which in return, the texture will get extremely sticky and soft instead of hard.
– Don’t use flavored peanut 🥜 or any other nuts… Keep it simple.
– Sift the baking soda which will create a light, airy and crispy texture.
– Have your “mise en place” ready before starting. Remember that timing is crucial to make the perfect brittle
– Don’t forget (like me) to heat up the baking sheet lined with the silicone mat. It makes spreading much easier.
– Don’t rush and keep it at medium heat. It takes a little more time but it’s worth it!
 
With many Holidays and events in front of us, what better treat to enjoy than this Grandma’s Peanut Brittle! After trying this homemade version, you’ll never purchase it from the store again! Like my grandma 👵, you can use other nuts to make your brittle… they’re all yummy!
Bon Appétit! 🍽
 
Check out these other tasty confectionary recipes… 😀
– Nutella Fudge
– Maple Glazed Walnuts
– Chocolate Rum Snowballs
– Dulce de Leche Turtles
– Puffed Wheat Squares
– Sucre à la Crème – Butter & Cream Fudge
– Bounty Chocolate Bites
– Sesame Snaps
– Spicy Holiday Chocolate Bark
and for even more dessert recipes 🧁🍩, click on this link… Recipe Category • Dessert

For ingredient amounts, directions, and much more, visit ➡ https://clubfoody.com/grandmas-peanut-brittle/

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