On the third day, make peanut brittle

By Rosie Hawthorne on December 15, 2012

Rosie’s Rosiethon rolls on. Today’s offering from the Hawthorne kitchen is Peanut Brittle.

A candy thermometer is needed for this since you’ll be heating the mixture to the hard-crack stage. In candy making, the hard-crack stage occurs at 300 to 310 degrees and can be determined by dropping a spoonful of the hot syrup into ice-cold water.

Remove the candy and if hard-crack stage has been attained, the candy will crack if you try to bend it. I’d recommend using a thermometer to determine when you get to the hard-crack stage. An inexpensive glass thermometer will do fine, but if you’re serious about candy-making or frying, then I’d recommend a digital laser thermometer.

Dixie Peanut Brittle
2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
½ cup water
½ tsp salt
3 cups raw, shelled peanuts, skins on
2 TB butter
2 tsp baking soda

In a heavy saucepan, heat sugar, syrup, water, and salt to a rolling boil. Add peanuts. Reduce heat to medium and stir constantly until mixture reaches hard-crack stage (300-310 degrees),
about 10 minutes. Add butter, then baking soda. Beat rapidly and immediately pour mixture evenly onto buttered baking sheet, spreading to ¼ inch thickness.

Note: When the baking soda goes in, the mixture turns very light and foamy. You need to work fast and it helps to have a second set of hands to spread the mixture evenly.

Let mixture cool, then break into pieces.

Please visit Rosie’s kitchen at Kitchens Are Monkey Business to see what I’m baking today.

Last year on Day 3 of the Rosiethon, I presented my neighbor Jo’s Sugar Cookies.