Peanut Brittle

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There are so many famous pairings in the culinary world, but perhaps one that has flown under the radar is the combination of Peanuts and Sugar. Peanuts make for an amazing accompaniment to sweet dishes and desserts. The nutty flavor is a perfect complement to the sugary sweetness of a dessert, which is why there are so many awesome Sugary Peanut candy bars out there! (We’re huge Snickers fans personally!). However, simply combining Peanuts and Sugar to create a crunchy, chewy, and delicious Peanut Brittle is a great, yet often overlooked sweet dish you can prepare at home. What’s more, it’s such an easy recipe to make, and ready to eat in under 10 minutes!

How to make Homemade Peanut Brittle

Making Peanut Brittle is really simple to do at home, and you only need three ingredients: Peanuts, Sugar, and Butter. Combine the Butter and Sugar (we recommend using White Sugar) in a saucepan and heat up over a medium / low heat

Once the Butter has melted and incorporated into the Sugar, add the Peanuts into the Pot. Now you play the waiting game. Stir the peanuts around in the Sugar, which has now liquified constantly, and without taking your eyes off it

What you are waiting for at this point is for the Sugar to begin to caramelize and start to stick to the Peanuts. This process happens pretty fast, which is why you need to keep stirring and keep your eyes on the pan the whole time

Once the Sugar has started to caramelize, mix through everything well so that the Peanuts are all well covered with the Sugar. Then, pour the liquid immediately out onto some parchment paper or aluminum foil that has been placed over a large, flat surface

Spread the mixture out so that you achieve a large, flat surface of toffee. Try to ensure the Peanuts are as evenly distributed throughout the mixture. Then, simply let it cool and turn into a delicious big slab of Peanut Brittle!

Fun ways you can enjoy eating Peanut Brittle

There are heaps of ways you can enjoy eating this wonderful food. Here are three of our favorite ways to enjoy chowing down on some Peanut Brittle

On its own!

The simplest and easiest way to enjoy eating Peanut Brittle is to simply eat it on its own. No need for anything else, just pure Peanutty Sugary flavor! It’s a great treat to add to a big bowl and let people break off pieces for themselves. It’ll deliver a big punch of sweetness, but also that wonderful peanut flavor. It’s like eating a sugary candy bar and tastes great on its own

As a sweet and crunchy element to add to Salads

Adding some form of candied nuts to Salads is an idea that we got from the Red Line Diner in Fishkill, NY. They make this simply amazing Salmon Salad with Strawberries and Apples which is massive! To top off the salad they add candied Walnuts

The inclusion of the Candied Walnuts creates such a unique flavor and texture addition to the dish. You wouldn’t think that sugar would pair well with salads, but it does! Exceptionally well in fact! The sweetness of the sugary, Candied Walnuts offers a great contrast to the acidity in the dish. They also add a beautiful, crunchy texture that is often needed to liven up a Salad

So why not experiment with some of your favorite Salads by adding some Candied Peanuts on top right before serving. You can peruse our extensive Salad recipes here to find one you like. In fact, we’ve got a couple that already include Candied Walnuts and Peanuts on them such as our ode to the Red Line Diner Salmon Salad, as well as this wonderful Chopped Salmon Salad recipe

Adding it to desserts for even more decadence

Let’s face it, you can enjoy it with Salads but the absolute best way to eat Brittle is when it’s smothering your favorite dessert. It’s such a great and adaptable ingredient to add to desserts, giving dishes not only an amazing flavor and texture, but a striking visual effect

Break off some large shards and it can be used as a fun way to decorate the top of sides of a cake. Get a beautiful creamy frosting on the cake and the Peanut Brittle will easily stick to the sides. So, you can make a fun visual effect to the side or tops of cakes

For those truly adventurous and decadence-seeking sweet tooth’s out there, here’s a mischievous use for Brittle; use it as a spoon! That’s right! If you’ve got a light and fluffy dessert such as a Mousse or Pannacotta, try replacing a regular old spoon with a shard of brittle for your diners to use to scoop up that delicious dessert. It’s so over the top decadent, and we love it! Try it with our famous No Egg Chocolate Mousse recipe

Finally, and definitely one of the most enjoyed desserts to pair with Peanut Brittle is over a few scoops of good quality Vanilla Ice Cream. There’s nothing better than the combination of Vanilla Ice Cream with sweet, nutty Peanut Brittle

So, however you plan on enjoying Peanut Brittle it’s going to be a welcome and flavorful addition to any meal, sweet or savory!

Peanut Brittle Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup of Peanuts
• ½ cup of White Sugar
• ½ tbsp. Butter
  
  

Instructions

1. Melt the Sugar and Butter in a medium sized saucepan over a medium to low heat. Once the Butter has melted, add the Peanuts and mix well with a spatula
2. Stir the mixture consistently while keeping an eye on the consistency and texture of the Sugar. After about 6 – 7 minutes the Sugar will become to caramelize and turn into a light toffee-like consistency
3. Once the Sugar has caramelized, stir well to ensure all the Peanuts have been coated and then pour the mixture onto a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil that has been placed on a large, flat surface
4. Spread the mixture out well with a spatula to form a large, thin layer. Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before touching. Break up to create the Peanut Brittle and enjoy!
   
   

Recipe Notes

• You need to always keep your eyes on the Sugar as it cooks. It will caramelize and then start to burn almost instantly, so once it caramelizes, mix well then immediately remove it from the heat
• We recommend using a silicone spatula to avoid the Toffee sticking to it
  
  

However you enjoy your Peanut Brittle, we hope you have fun making this recipe. If you’ve got a sweet tooth and are hankering for some more delicious and sweet dishes, check out our desserts page here. Here’s a few of our favorite desserts to try:

• Afghan Cookies
• Aussie Pavlova
• Passionfruit Cupcakes
• Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf Cake
  
  

Happy Cooking!