Remember When Wednesday: Peanut Brittle Recipe

My friend suggested I use Wednesdays to post "Remember When" blog post, so this Wednesday we're going back to December 11th, 2010, when I posted my peanut brittle recipe.

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Apparently I've been promising my husband some Peanut Brittle since Christmas In July and his patience were about gone. The peanuts have been sitting patiently on the pantry shelf, but because I get so hot making peanut brittle, the thought during the middle of summer is not very pleasing. 

Today was the day and less then 20minutes later, it's done and off the Christmas "must have" check list. At least his "personal batch" that is. I'll probably make him one more batch and a batch for our son Chris. 


This recipe was already in the Nemnich family when I married my husband, so I was handed the recipe and told to "make this one". I'm not a huge peanut or hard candy fan, but this is good stuff.

Peanut Brittle
1 cup of white/light karo syrup
1 cup sugar
2 TBSP butter
1 tsp soda
2 tsp vanilla

Mix sugar, Karo and butter in heavy, large, deep skillet or use a large soup pot. Using a non stick pan is what I prefer.  Add butter to melt. Add peanuts and stir on medium, high heat until it begins to brown and turn into an Amber color.

Once it's reached the right color, remove from heat and stir in vanilla and baking soda. This will add some air and make the mixture fluffy. 

Pour and spread onto a buttered or butter sprayed cookie sheet. Let cool and break into pieces. 

What I'm using is my new Silpat from Martha Stewart, which you can buy at Macy's. When I watched Martha make cashew brittle last month and use this tool, I knew I had to have one. What I didn't know, was that my cat needed to eat some too! I left it on my desk for a few days and when I went to wash and use it, I noticed the cat had chewed the corner and edges of the mat. Needless to say, I'm not a happy camper!

On a personal note, I have fond memories of making and boxing up peanut brittle for my grandfather when I was a teen and young adult. I wasn't always able to send much, but I would always send at least some peanut brittle. It was one of his favorites. 

The batch below is a double batch and will require two cookie sheets for spreading. I double batch, should fit into a larger tin container.