January 2025
Recipe from Cook's Country, December 2024
I don't have much experience making candy. However, during the holidays, my wife, Diane, often makes several batches of nut brittle. She uses a family recipe that relies on a microwave oven to cook the candy. I enjoy eating the brittle, especially peanut brittle, so I was interested in trying the ATK recipe published recently in Cook's Country.
I made one ingredient substitution, using salted Cocktail Peanuts in place of salted dry-roasted peanuts. Getting all of the ingredients and needed hardware ready in advance was very helpful. Water and butter were cooked in a large saucepan until the butter was melted. Sugar and light corn syrup were added to the middle of the pan then stirred to moisten the sugar. This was brought to a boil and heated, without stirring, to a temperature of 300°. The heat was reduced and the mixture cooked until it reached 325°. Peanuts, which had been warmed in a 350° oven so the candy would not be cooled too much, were stirred into the mixture. Off heat, baking soda was stirred in; unfortunately it did not foam as expected. Working quickly as the candy hardens quickly, the candy was poured onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper sprayed with oil then immediately sprinkled with sea salt. After one hour to cool, the brittle was broken into pieces and stored in a sealed container. Total time, not counting the cooling, was one hour.
The candy taste good but was hard rather than brittle. It could still be bitten and eaten but it did not have the expected consistency characterized by small holes throughout. This is because of the lack of foaming when the baking soda was added, something I was expecting from watching Diane make brittle. I suspect the baking soda was too old, it was well past the date printed on the box. I will have to try again with some newer baking soda, once I eat up this batch!