My Mom’s Best Peanut Brittle Recipe is my dad’s favorite Christmas Candy. My mom made it every year growing up, and even though I wasn’t a huge fan back then, I can sure appreciate it as an adult. Speaking of appreciation and favorite candy, Old Fashioned Cherry Mash Chocolates is my recipe for my mom’s favorite candy, a Cherry Mash.
I like the crisp crunch and the peanut flavor throughout my Mom’s Best Peanut Brittle Recipe. It’s tasty! After trying a few different recipes, I’ve come to the conclusion that my mom’s recipe really is THE BEST!
step-by-step video for perfect peanut brittle
HOW TO MAKE MOM’S BEST PEANUT BRITTLE
Grease a cookie sheet with butter. Set aside.
Combine butter, baking soda, and vanilla in a bowl. Set aside.
Combine sugar, Karo Syrup, and water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly and bring to a boil until mixture spins a thread when drizzled from your spoon. See the step-by-step video for an example.
Add peanuts and continue stirring the boiling mixture until it turns light brown (approx. same color as a paper bag).
Add the bowl of butter, baking soda, and vanilla. Mix until butter is melted and mixture is foamy from the baking soda.
Pour out onto prepared cookie sheet and spread mixture out with two forks as thinly as you can (approx. 1/4″).
Cool completely.
Use a butter knife to break it into pieces. (See picture at bottom of post.)
MORE CHRISTMAS RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
Crazy Good Mint Fudge
White Chocolate Peppermint Pretzel Crisps
Golden Oreo Peanut Butter Truffles
Holiday Snowball Cookies
Old Fashioned Cherry Mash Chocolates
Mom’s Best Peanut Brittle Recipe is made from very basic ingredients, and you don’t have to have a candy thermometer to make it. Sure, you can use a thermometer. If you don’t have one, you don’t need to feel stressed about messing this up. Just follow the instructions and watch the step-by-step video, and it will turn out great.
Mom’s Best Peanut Brittle Recipe is relatively inexpensive to make and is a great gift for teachers or neighbors. Package it up in a cute bag with a ribbon or add a few pieces to a treat plate.
Frequently Asked Questions about making Mom’s Best Peanut Brittle
where can i buy raw peanuts?
At the local grocery store and online. I have found them in the baking section at my grocery store. Others have bought them from Trader Joe’s, from the produce department of their grocery store, a farmer’s market, and even from a peanut farm.
when using a candy thermometer, what temperature do you bring the boiling mixture to?
Hard crack stage, which is between 300-310 degrees. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, stir the boiling mixture until it spins a thread when drizzled from the spoon. It sounds crazy, but you’ll know what I’m talking about when it happens. See the step-by-step video towards the beginning of the post for an example of what it looks like.
I have only used raw peanuts, but I don’t know of any reason why other nuts would not work. A couple of readers used almonds, and it turned out good for them.
Combine butter, baking soda, and vanilla in a bowl. Set aside.
Combine sugar, Karo Syrup, and water in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly and bring to a boil until mixture spins a thread when drizzled from your spoon. Sounds crazy, but you'll know what I am talking about when it happens. See the step-by-step video for an example.
Add peanuts and continue stirring the boiling mixture until it turns brown, like in the pictures, (approx. same color as a paper bag).
Add the bowl of butter, baking soda, and vanilla. Mix until butter is melted and mixture is foamy from the baking soda.
Pour out onto prepared cookie sheet and spread mixture out with two forks as thinly as you can (approx. ¼").
Cool completely.
Use a butter knife to break it into pieces. (See picture below.)
Don’t Forget to pin this amazing recipe to your favorite pinterest board!
More tried and true candy recipes
Merry Widow CaramelsHomemade Toffee with Chocolate and AlmondsPeanut Butter Cup Bars {No Bake}
But, peanut brittle becomes terrible for your teeth once all of those ingredients are combined into the final product. After it's made, peanut brittle turns into a hard, sticky candy that can do some serious damage to teeth.
To store: Once it's completely cooled, store peanut brittle in an airtight container at room temperature. Do not refrigerate as the moisture from the fridge will cause the brittle to soften. Store for 6-8 weeks. To Freeze: Peanut brittle can be frozen and stored up to 3 months.
The main reason why peanut brittle doesn't get hard and have the crunch we expect is because the sugar was not cooked long enough. The sugar needs to be cooked to what is called the hard crack stage, 300ºF.
Why did my peanut brittle turn out chewy? The likely cause is that the sugar mixture didn't reach the proper hard crack stage temperature. Ensuring it reaches 300˚F is key to getting that classic brittle texture.
Baking soda is also very important at this stage since it reacts to the heat, creating carbon dioxide that aerates the caramel, enabling it to snap when someone bites into it rather than requiring them to gnaw at it until it breaks or pulls apart.
The short answer is no, and in fact, peanuts and some peanut products like peanut butter have been shown to be anti-inflammatory. Inflammation in the body is a mechanism thought to be at the center of the majority of chronic diseases.
The candy will attract moisture from the air, making it unpleasantly sticky instead of shatteringly crisp. Once it's completely cool, transfer it to an airtight container.
So, I Googled Salvaging Undercooked Peanut Brittle and followed Tiffany's helpful instructions to throw the pieces back in the pan, turn the heat up and stir, stir, and stir to a raging boil and wait to pour it in the pan until it reaches 300 degrees.
I've learned that brittle is better when made on a cool, dry day. When I've made the candy on a warmer, humid day, it tends to be a stickier brittle. This is because the brittle takes longer to cool, and it reaches a point where it is no longer evaporating moisture into the air.
As the sugar is cooking and begins turning amber in color it accumulates small amounts of acid, and that acid reacts chemically with the alkaline baking soda releasing about a zillion minuscule bubbles of CO2 that get trapped, making the sugar porous and, well… brittle.
Store peanut brittle in an airtight container (for best results use wax or parchment paper to divide pieces as they may stick together) in a dry place, but not in the refrigerator. Peanut Brittle will keep up to 2 months.
As mentioned in “how to make peanut brittle”, it's very important to move fast after the peanuts and baking soda are mixed in. If not, the peanut brittle will turn out too thick and clumpy. Don't play the guessing game and use a candy thermometer instead. This will ensure your peanut brittle turns out perfectly golden.
Peanuts are high in unsaturated fat, mostly monounsaturated fat (the type that is also in olive and rapeseed oil). This means they're high in calories. But they're also a source of fibre, protein and a range of vitamins and minerals.
Most nuts appear to be generally healthy. But some may have more heart-healthy nutrients than others. For example, walnuts contain high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids. Almonds, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts and pecans also appear to be quite heart healthy.
As long as you are choosing a peanut butter that's all natural and pesticide free, in addition to being free from added salt or sugar, any peanut butter will be a healthy choice. However, crunchy peanut butter has a little more fiber and less saturated fat, making it overall more nutritious, even if only slightly so.
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My Mom’s Best Peanut Brittle Recipe is my dad’s favorite Christmas Candy. My mom made it every year growing up, and even though I wasn’t a huge fan back then, I can sure appreciate it as an adult. Speaking of appreciation and favorite candy, Old Fashioned Cherry Mash Chocolates is my recipe for my mom’s favorite candy, a Cherry Mash.
