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Nancy's Old-Fashioned Peanut Brittle

Source of Recipe

From "The Glory of Southern Cooking" by James Villas


Recipe Introduction

"The candy called brittle has been a specialty in various areas of the South for well over a century, and while pecans, hazelnuts, and even almonds are often used to make brittles in the Deep South and Appalachia, by far the most popular types in Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia involve the region's superior peanuts. (President Jimmy Carter always loved nothing more than his mother's peanut brittle.) To this day, the best peanut brittle I've ever tasted was that made by a paraplegic lady in Charlotte, North Carolina, who never allowed her affliction to curtail her passion for cooking. I can still see Nancy in her wheelchair pushing and pulling her sheet of brittle on a marble slab till it was almost as thin as paper. Once I asked her to write down the exact recipe and technique, part of which I include here in her own words. Take note that, as with pralines, to make peanut brittle correctly, you must use a candy thermometer."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ 2 cups sugar
â—¦ ½ cup light corn syrup
â—¦ ½ cup water
â—¦ 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter
â—¦ 1 teaspoon baking soda
â—¦ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
â—¦ 2 cups roasted, unsalted peanuts


Recipe

In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, syrup, and water, bring to a simmer, and stir till the sugar dissolves. Continue cooking over low heat till 300° F is reached on a candy thermometer, then remove the pan from the heat.

Add the butter, baking soda, and vanilla and stir till well blended. Add the peanuts and mix well.

"Pour the mixture onto a greased slab of marble or cookie sheet and, using a metal spatula, spread as thin as possible, with peanuts distributed clear to the ends. The sheet of candy should be pulled as thin as possible as soon as it's cool enough to handle. But be careful! You can get a bad burn if you go too fast. A good way is to run the spatula under the poured candy as soon as it's workable, letting air between candy and slab. Helps prevent sticking. As soon as the batch is firm enough to handle (don't wait too long), turn the edges back a little on the far side and take hold to see if the candy holds together. If so, turn the sheet of candy and stretch it in all directions as thin as possible, pushing and pulling. The thinner the better. When thoroughly cold, break the brittle into pieces and store in airtight jars."

Makes about 1 ½ pounds