My friend Gerri and her friend Judy Folden used to get together by about the first week in December to make their famous peanut brittle, gossamer thin, crunchy and sweet — a welcome and much-anticipated treat for the fortunate folks on their distribution lists.  They would lay heavy and buttered foil the length of Gerri’s kitchen island and when the molten nut brittle was ready, it would be poured on foil and then pulled and stretched to gossamer thinness, acquiring a satiny sheen as it was.

I think about Gerri a lot these days.  It is almost a year since she died and in tribute to her I brought peanut brittle to her Dead Spread – my recipe, though, not hers. 

My nut brittle is at least as good as hers and almost as thin, too.  Hey!  I do this alone; she had Judy to help her pull it.  I thought I’d try it her way this year.  I’ll stick with my way, thanks.

The other contributing factor to my disenchantment with her method may have been my cardboard pad beneath the foil.  I used a Bigass™ cardboard fabric-cutting guide beneath the foil and it had been in the garage and may have been still cold when I poured the hot syrup onto it.  That would pretty much guarantee instant setting and impossible pulling.

I was afraid that it was going to stick to the foil. It did, but only a little bit – not enough to be bothersome.

Well, with all due respect to Gerri, I bagged her process and went back to my own for the second batch.  Here’s the recipe I use, from my sister-in-law Jean.  I’ve been making this for more than 25 years:

Peanut Brittle

2cupsgranulated sugar

1cup light corn syrup

1teaspoon water (yes, one teaspoon – go figure)

3cupsraw peanuts (1#)

1teaspoon vanilla

1teaspoon baking soda

Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water to 240° (doesn’t take very long – maybe 5 minutes).  Add peanuts, continue to cook to 300° (hard crack stage) or a light caramel color.  Add vanilla and soda.  Mix quickly; mixture foams slightly.  Pour onto two buttered WARM cookie sheets.  Spread thinly; stretch as it cools to make it very thin.  Makes about 1-1/2#.

Note:  Use 1# raw or roasted cashews for cashew brittle.  Two-quart size saucepan is okay.  Takes less than 1/2 hour to make.

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Notes:Source:Jean, 12/7/79.

(I calibrated my thermometer and it was a whole 7 degrees off!  I’m glad I checked it – if temps here had been critical, I’d’ve been a screwed goose.)  The nuts (I used cashews because the co-op was out of peanuts) are added and the whole mess is boiled to 300 degrees (a hard crack – you’ll hear it crack if you drop some of the syrup in cold water and listen carefully and close) and a light caramel color. 

Constant stirring is a must to keep the nuts from burning on the bottom of the pan.  

(I buttered my cookie sheets and put them into a warm oven while I cooked the syrup) and pulled thin as it cools.

Break it apart and store in a tightly covered tin. 

As far as I know, Rob hasn’t found the tin yet.  Pity.

A toast to all holiday candy makers:  May your nuts be brittle and your sugar smooth.

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