How to Make Peanut Brittle

How to Make Peanut Brittle
Peanut brittle can be made in a variety of flavors. Chocolate peanut brittle, cashew peanut brittle or brittle made from a variety of different nut meats are all delicious choices. Some brittle also comes with a variety of flavors infused into the brittle like raspberry brittle or red hot brittle.

Peanut brittle, considered a gourmet treat by many, can easily be made at home. For a special treat, make a plain peanut brittle bowl and fill it with chocolate raspberry peanut brittle pieces.

Peanut Brittle Bowl Recipe

Ingredients You Will Need:
1 cup light corn syrup
2 cups white sugar
½ cup water
8 ounces peanuts
2 tablespoons vanilla
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons soda
½ teaspoon salt

Prepare a round pizza pan by buttering it. Prepare a second pizza pan without buttering it. Place an inverted bowl on the ungreased cookie sheet. Butter the outside of the bowl.

Combine the syrup, sugar and water in a large saucepan and bring the mix to 230 degrees. At 230 degrees, the syrup will spin threads. This means that if you dab a bit of syrup onto a plate and allow it to cool enough to stick your thumb into it, it will form a thread between your thumb and forefinger when pinched together and released.

Add the peanuts and continue cooking to 300 degrees. Remove it from the heat and add the soda and salt. (It may double in size at this point). Pour the mix onto the greased cookie sheet.

Give the peanut brittle a few minutes to cool. While it is still quite warm and pliable, invert the peanut butter pan over the bowl. If you need to, help the brittle form around the bowl. It's okay if the sides fold a bit or overlap. If possible, crimp the edges so that the bowl will have a flared appearance when finished.

To make a flat bottom, so the bowl will stand on its own, press on the bottom of the bowl with the pizza pan while the brittle is still warm.

Chocolate Raspberry Peanut Brittle Recipe

Ingredients You Will Need:
4 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup water
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 package 12-ounce chocolate chips
4 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons raspberry flavoring
3 cups salted peanuts

Butter a cookie sheet and set it aside.

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, water and salt and boil it to 300 degrees. If using a candy thermometer, do not rest the thermometer on the bottom of the pan. If you don't use a thermometer, test the syrup by using the cold water test. Drop a teaspoonful of syrup into a cold glass of water. If it forms a soft ball, you have reached the soft ball stage. If it forms a hard ball, you are at the hard ball stage. If it forms threads that crack like ice, you have reached the hard crack stage. But to be safe, use a candy thermometer.

Use a wooden spoon to stir the syrup until all sugar crystals have dissolved. Set the spoon aside and let the syrup temperature rise to the hard-crack stage. At this point, remove the syrup from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips, butter, raspberry oil and peanuts and quickly pour the mix onto the buttered cookie sheet. When it cools, break it into bite-size pieces.