Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Brittle Me This

I am sitting here typing, window open, at the kitchen table, wondering how on earth a late-November day in Ohio could be anymore beautiful. Blue skies, bright sunshine, a few brilliant leaves still hanging on the trees, and bird chirping. Oh, and G is napping and R is at school. Life is good.

The added bonus to this afternoon is that I am nibbling, check that, devouring, this recipe. Don't have any pumpkin seeds laying around your kitchen? Use the traditional peanut for this recipe, or get wild and crazy and use cashews, pistachios (shelled first, please) or sunflower seeds.

Pumpkin Seed (or Peanut, etc) Brittle


1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds (need a recipe to roast your seeds?)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon butter (or I used Earth Balance spread)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Combine the sugar and corn syrup in a glass pyrex and microwave for 1 minute on high. Stir, microwave for another minute on high.

Add the seeds or nuts, and microwave one additional minute on high. Stir. Add the salt, butter, and vanilla. Microwave one minute on high. Stir, repeat (see a pattern here?).

Add the baking soda and stir quickly. Pour onto a Silpat liner, waxed paper or a very well greased cookie sheet. Do not spread (you want the bubbles/slight form from the baking soda to stay intact and spread too much will flatten them), but rather tip the pan from side to side slightly to spread the mixture. Let cool, break into pieces.

If you want to expedite the cooling process, pop the tray in the freezer. Mine was cooled in about 20 minutes. Another 20 minutes later, and the brittle was almost gone.

Makes about 1 -1 1/2 cups broken brittle pieces.


(hint: This would make a very nice gift for Christmas...)


SPC

5 comments:

Live.Love.Eat said...

Ooooh, I saw something like this somewhere and I know I would enjoy it much better than regular brittle. And I am just so happen to be snacking on some pistachios right this moment at work.

And yay for the Buckeyes. Drinking my water out of their cup right this sec. Ya, who's better than me :)

camille said...

Hmmm, I may have to give this a whirl. I have made peanut brittle with my father-in-law the last several Christmas seasons. He learned how from his mother, and none of his kids want to learn how to make candy, so he settled on his daughter-in-law. :) This is much simpler, though, and doesn't even require a marble slab for cooling, which is a major plus in my book!

Sweet Pea Chef said...

Camille-

Since microwaves vary in watts and such, just use your gut on timing for the candy. I was very wary of doing this without a candy thermometer, but kind of "winged" it and it turned out great!

GdGollyMsHolly said...

Is it possible to exchange the corn syrup for agave nectar and the sugar for stevia and have it turn out ok? My oldest is deathly allergic to peanut brittle so this would be wonderful to make for the family.

Sweet Pea Chef said...

Ms Holly--The agave nectar would work like a charm. But I've never baked/cooked with stevia (only used it raw in a ice tea). I would say go for it, and see what happens...or google "substituting sugar with stevia" and see what you can discover. Sorry I just don't know for sure and I don't want to steer you wrong. Probably something I need to try myself so I can be more knowledgeable on it! Thanks. :)