Notes on the Construction of Peanut Brittle

Peanut brittle is an absolutely addictive candy. The kind of candy where once I start it eating requires a tremendous act of willpower to stop ingesting before being forced to by an aching stomach, and sometimes not even then. It's not often that I eat the stuff, mostly because I hardly ever see it for sale anywhere. Or maybe I just don't notice it for sale anywhere. It could very well be that it is available in every grocery store across the nation right next to the cookies. But since I rarely look at, yet alone buy, cookies there's not much of a chance I'd notice their sugary relatives that happen to be right next to them in the aisle.

When I do eat peanut brittle it's usually when I've headed down to Tennessee for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Inevitable we end up at the local Cracker Barrel for breakfast where, after much deliberation and introspection, after weighing the pros and cons and the cost versus the benefits of ingesting large quantities of sugar in a single sitting, I buy a package of their peanut brittle and eat until my body tells me "No more!"

Since I wasn't in Tennessee this past Thanksgiving I have not eaten or even thought about peanut brittle in quite some time. When I saw a recipe for it in this past week's New York Times dining section I got excited. I knew right away I would be giving this recipe a shot.

Now I knew that peanut brittle had a lot of sugar in it. What I didn't know was just how much. It's basically all sugar with some peanuts and a little salt thrown in. What did I expect though? It's candy after all. This recipe calls for two cups of sugar plus two cups of peanuts. The salt is optional. Since I used unsalted peanuts when making this batch I went for the pinch of salt.

The article suggested that if you are a sugar caramelization newbie (which I most certainly am) you should use 1 tablespoon of water for each cup of sugar used. This will slow the cooking process down and give you a chance to stir (or in my case stir and smash) the lumps before the sugar goes from wonderfully caramelized to horribly burned. I needed all the extra time I could get. In both batches that I made the sugar quickly became extremely, and what I thought at the time, irreparably lumpy. I got a little frustrated at the sight of all those lumps in the pan but with a little patience, some regular stirring and some smashing here and there I managed to get most of the lumps out. When I thought that the melted sugar couldn't possibly get any darker without burning I threw in the peanuts and the salt. Having a few lumps in the sugar at that point turned out not to be a very big deal at all.

What did turn out to be a big deal was getting the mixture out of the skillet and onto the cookie pan as quickly as possible. What ended up happening was that the addition of the peanuts rapidly cooled the melted sugar, making it difficult to spread the mixture flat onto the sheet. The other problem I had was that the mixture couldn't resist sticking to the spoon I was using to spread it. For my next batch, and there will be more batches, I'll use a greased spoon for that task. I might even heat the peanuts slightly to prevent the mixture from cooling too much before I can get it flat on the sheet.

In the end my first two batches of peanut brittle didn't turn out too bad. Instead of eating myself into a sugar induced stupor though, I think I'll give most of them away.

Peanut Brittle Recipe from the New York Times

Butter for greasing pan
2 cups sugar
2 cups roasted peanuts, salted or unsalted, or other nuts
Salt, if using unsalted peanuts (optional).


1. Use a bit of butter to grease a baking sheet, preferably one with a low rim. Combine sugar and 2 tablespoons water in a heavy skillet and turn heat to medium. Stir until smooth, then cook, adjusting heat so that mixture bubbles steadily. Stir occasionally until mixture turns golden brown (which it may do rather suddenly).

2. Stir in the peanuts and a large pinch of salt, if desired. Pour mixture onto greased baking sheet and spread out. Cool for about a half-hour, then break into pieces. (You can score brittle with a knife when it has solidified slightly but not yet turned hard; that way, it will break into even squares.) Store in a covered container for up to two weeks.

Yield: About 1 pound.