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Cinnamon Brittle

Source of Recipe

From "Brittles, Barks, and Bonbons" by Charity Ferreira


Recipe Introduction

"Debbie Hughes, the pastry chef at Firefly in San Francisco, invented this combination of spicy cinnamon and caramelized sugar, which reminds me of a gourmet version of Red Hots candies."

List of Ingredients

◦  ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, plus more for pan
◦  1 tsp baking soda
◦  1 tsp vanilla extract
◦  1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
◦  ½ tsp salt
◦  2½ cups sugar
◦  ½ cup water
◦  ⅓ cup light corn syrup


Recipe

Lightly butter a 10-by-15-inch jellyroll pan.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, dissolve the baking soda in the vanilla extract and set aside. In another bowl, stir together the cinnamon and salt (this will make the cinnamon easier to distribute when you stir it into the sugar mixture).

In a large pot over medium-low heat, stir together the sugar, water, corn syrup, and ¼ cup butter until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted. Increase the heat and cook, stirring occasionally with a heatproof spatula or a wooden spoon, until the mixture turns a deep golden brown and measures 335° to 340° F on a candy thermometer, 8 to 12 minutes.

Remove from the heat and carefully (the mixture will bubble up) stir in the vanilla and cinnamon mixtures.

Immediately pour into the prepared pan. Let stand at room temperature until cool and hard, about 30 minutes.

Bend the ends of the pan to release the brittle (run a spatula underneath the brittle to help release it, if necessary) and chop or break into chunks. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.


Makes 1 pound brittle