A Very Harry Christmas, Day 5: Any-Nut Nut Brittle

I won't lie, I've never been a fan of "brittles".  Largely due to childhood memories of tossing a bit in my mouth and cutting the roof of my mouth open because I didn't know I had to let the heat of my mouth soften it a bit first.  Ouchies!  Now that I am an adult...and a Momma, I thought I'd give it a try.  My Mister does like his brittle, but he prefers it homemade to store bought.  So, he hasn't had any in years.  I thought I'd make his year by giving it a go.  What's the worst thing that could happen??

*Seriously...a lot of bad things can happen.  Read through the recipe and make sure you have the proper ingredients for this.  Most candies that have to be cooked like this don't do well with substitutes.  And...always BE CAREFUL when boiling sugar.  It burns and it burns badly when you get it on your skin.

Any-Nut Nut Brittle

1 c. sugar
1/2 c. golden treacle or light corn syrup
1/4 c. water
1/4 tsp. salt
2 T. unsalted butter
1.5 c. chopped raw nuts (almonds, pecans, peanuts, whatever!) 
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking soda

Grease a rimmed baking sheet and line it with parchment paper.

Clip your candy thermometer to a (at least) 4 qt saucepan. Place the sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt in the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the temperature reaches 280 degrees.

Add the butter and nuts and continue cooking, stirring constantly (it gets thick quickly, so really stir!!), until the mixture reaches 300 degrees.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and baking soda. Be careful, because the mixture will bubble and expand quite a lot!

Quickly pour the mixture into the prepared pan and FAST AS YOU CAN spread it out as much as you can; you're shooting for about 1/4" thick. (Ms. Bucholz says to use a wooden spoon.)

Cool completely before breaking into pieces and eating.

Before breaking....

After!

I'm not surprised that I still don't like brittle.  There is just something about "fried sugar" that doesn't seem to appeal to me but, the Mister LOVES it...so it was well worth the venture.  It IS creamy and rich, just as it should be.  So, take a chance like I did and make a batch for the brittle lover in your family.  Make sure you ask them what kind of nuts they want!  This recipe works with almost any nut...I'd skip chestnuts though.  Enjoy!