PEANUT BRITTLE

The day after Valentine's Day I am quite pleased with myself and a little ashamed. 

Glen and I got busy in the kitchen Valentine's Day morning cooking up two batches of peanut brittle candy. One 2 1/4 pound box of candy was shipped to my son in Texas and the other 2 1/4 pound box was shipped north to Colorado to my husband's daughter. We sent no notes of explanation and we sent no Valentine's Day cards. The message is hidden in the date of the postmark on the package, February 14, 2011. This explains why I am pleased. 

The explanation for feeling ashamed is because I penned such a dark and dreary blog post about Valentine's Day a few days ago. My apologies for allowing my mood of the day color my efforts to express my opinion. At the same time I sure hope a lot of Veterans received an unexpected Valentine's Day treat. And so with that...it is back to pure pleasure. Here is my recipe for peanut brittle candy.

PEANUT BRITTLE

• 2 cups Sugar
• 1 cup light-colored corn syrup
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 1/2 cups raw peanuts
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, sifted

Prepare 2 large baking sheets by spraying or brushing with butter; set aside. 

Butter the insides of a heavy 3-quart sauce pan. In the pan combine sugar, corn syrup, butter, and 1/2 cup water. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until the mixture boils. 

Clip a candy thermometer to side of pan. Reduce heat to medium-low; continue boiling at a moderate , steady rate, stirring occasionally, until the thermometer registers 275 degrees, soft crack stage. (about 30 minutes.)

Stir in nuts; continue cooking over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until thermometer registers 295 degrees, hard-crack stage (15 to 20 minutes more.)


Remove pan from heat; remove thermometer. Quickly sprinkle baking soda over mixture, stirring constantly. Immediately pour onto prepared baking sheets.

Grasp the pans on each end and energetically coax the candy mixture into a thin coating on the bottom of the pan. Turn the pan this way and that and shake to stretch and pull the candy. 


Stir constantly as you sprinkle baking soda over candy mixture. The candy will foam and expand as the soda reacts chemically. This makes the brittle porous.


As candy cools on the baking sheet, pulling and stretching help make the brittle crisp.


Cool completely; break into pieces. Store the candy tightly covered. Makes 2 1/4 pounds or 72 servings.