MamMaw lived in an apartment in my Grandparents’ house. We were not related. She was a precious elderly tenant who I adopted as another grandmother. I loved to linger in MamMaw’s apartment. Talented in home arts, she was always creating something beautiful with a needle or cooking something delicious. I still remember MamMaw standing at her gas stove stirring together molten syrup and red skin peanuts in a skillet to make the most fabulous candy ~~ Peanut Brittle.

Sadly, I don’t have MamMaw’s recipes. As a young confectioner, however, I found a simple recipe for Peanut Brittle and adopted it as my own…just like I adopted MamMaw.

Peanut brittle is a staple candy of the south. This is not your side of the road, thick blonde brittle that you have to bite with your jaw teeth. This is a thinner, darker and more fragrant version. I make it each year during the holidays. It’s time to make the candy!

TOOLS: Of course, you need a black skillet, and I prefer to use a wooden spoon. I also recommend a sheet pan lined with a silicone sheet on which the hot candy will be poured. This is the best landing pad for the finished candy, and you want to have the pour surface ready because the molten sugar will scorch or turn into a solid peanut hockey puck if left too long in the skillet. If you don’t have a silicone sheet, you can simply grease a cookie sheet with a bit of butter.

CAUTION: The hot mixture will also burn you and others so extra care should be used

Also, let me mention humidity. I pick a sunny day to make most candies. This is science, not magic. Low humidity in your kitchen creates a better environment for sugar to spin into magical threads. Ooh wait. Maybe it is magic after all. Hmmmm. Anyway, candy doesn’t always make well in humid conditions. You can lower the humidity in your kitchen by running your oven a little before making this candy.

So, once your landing pad is ready and your black skillet is clean and dry, and it isn’t raining outside (Hee hee), measure out the following.

1.5 Cups White Sugar

3/4 Cups White Syrup

2 Cups Peanuts (I prefer skinless blanched, but you can use red skin raw, select Virginia, or roasted and salted cocktail peanuts. The only peanuts I have not tried are dry roasted, but they would probably work also. Oh, no boiled peanuts. That just would be gross. Ha.)

1 level teaspoon of baking soda needs to be standing by.

INSTRUCTIONS: Turn on the heat under your pan. I start with medium heat because I cook on propane gas and it burns hot.

Mix your sugar and white syrup together in the skillet and continue to stir until it becomes almost transparent and liquifies. Add your peanuts and continue to stir. The mixture will be hard to stir at first, but then as they heat and the syrup continues to come up in temp, they will be easier to stir.

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If things aren’t progressing very quickly, turn up the heat a notch so that the mixture boils and stir from the edge of the pan inward to keep the heat of the mixture even throughout.

There is a point that the syrup will turn very golden and you will smell the warming almost roasting of peanuts. You must get to this point for the candy to solidify and crack. Wait for it. Wait for it. Have your potholder ready.

As soon as the syrup is golden and the peanuts are fragrant, remove from the heat and quickly (but carefully) stir the baking soda into the mixture. The whole mixture will foam up.

As soon as you have completely stirred the baking soda into the mixture, pour the hot mixture onto the silicone pad or greased cookie sheet!! Also quickly use your warm spoon to spread the mixture out as thin as possible. This allows for a thinner brittle and spreading it quickly allows it retain that beautiful gloss on the top.

Allow the candy to cool completely before breaking it into pieces. As soon as it cools, I bag it into gift bags since most of my candy is being shipped to family across the States and around the world. Should be stored in a dry place.

So there you are! My gift to those of you who are confection minded. Peanut Brittle. This is the best and I hope you will share your candy making comments below.

Thanks for sharing my recipes!

From the Orsini family, Buon Appetito! Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Blessings on you who read this.

Your Iron Maiden~Kim Orsini