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Posted by Aimee41 comments Published: Jun 16, 2022Last Updated: Jun 16, 2022
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Easy, delicious Microwave Peanut Brittle recipe ready in 10 minutes! Old fashioned candy made with simple ingredients in the microwave or on the stove top.
We love old fashioned candy recipes. Try our salted nut roll or almond bars for a delicious treat. Or learn how to make fudge with our tips and tricks!
Why this Candy is Best
Making homemade candy doesn’t have to be hard.
Peanut brittle is a similar to toffee with peanuts. Whether you’re looking for a simple Christmas candy to share, or a dessert for your family you’ve got to try our peanut brittle.
Made with simple ingredients.
Stays crunchy for weeks.
Perfect to give as gifts for the holidays.
Can be made in the microwave in minutes, or on the stove top!
Broken pieces of peanut brittle are delicious on our homemade vanilla ice cream too!
Try our homemade kit kat recipe next!
Ingredient Notes
Dry roasted peanuts– we prefer the lightly salted variety. But you can swap them out for cashews and make cashew brittle too!
Corn Syrup– adds sweetness and ensures that the texture of the candy does not turn grainy.
Baking soda– adds air bubbles to the brittle, creating the perfect texture!
PRO TIP- We love making our own homemade vanilla extract, but if using store bought, be sure it’s pure extract, not imitation (for best flavor).
Tips and Tricks
The bowl gets very hot. You’ll see I recommend using hot pads. Learn from my mistake and always use them.
Finally, clean up. The brittle hardens in the glass bowl very quickly. Fill with HOT water and allow to soak until you can scrub it off.
Store peanut brittle in an airtight container (or ziploc bag) at room temperature for up to three weeks. We prefer not to freeze brittle as it changes the texture and makes it chewy not crunchy.
Make Peanut Brittle on the Stove Top
Yes, you can also make this on the stove top if you prefer.
Line your baking sheet with parchment paper like above.
Using a heavy 2 quart saucepan over high heat, bring to a boil the sugar, corn syrup, and add 1/4 cup water.
Stir until sugar is dissolved and mixture is boiling. Reduce heat to medium.
Stir in peanuts. Set a candy thermometer in place, and continue cooking until temperature reaches 300 degrees F (or until a small amount of mixture dropped into very cold water separates into hard and brittle threads.
Remove from heat and immediately stir in butter, vanilla, and baking soda. Pour onto baking sheet and spread to desired thickness. Break into pieces when completely cooled.
Peanut brittle may not get to the crunchy state if it’s not cooked long enough or the baking soda was not added. Also be sure when storing there is no moisture in the container.
How do I clean the peanut brittle bowl?
If your brittle gets stuck in the bowl, add water to the bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes. This will help soften the brittle so you can scrub it off.
What does baking powder do to brittle?
Adding baking powder to the peanut brittle is key to releasing tiny air bubbles into the candy. This helps create the perfect texture.
More Easy Candy Recipes
If you love Caramel deLites or Samoa Girl Scout Cookies, then these easySamoa Trufflesare going to drive your taste buds crazy!
Rich, decadent, copycatFannie May Fudge. It’s the perfect chocolate fudge recipe for any time of year, no candy thermometer needed!
If you’ve never triedSaltine Toffee, now is the time! Crispy, buttery toffee with crackers, pecans and chocolate. So easy to make, too!
Looking for the easiest fudge recipe? Today’sEasy Rocky Road Fudgeis your answer. And it’s absolutely delicious too!
Nobody will guess that this sweet toffee starts with graham crackers.Brickle Barsare the next best thing to homemade candy!
Easy, delicious Microwave Peanut Brittle recipe ready in 10 minutes! Old fashioned candy made with simple ingredients in the microwave or on the stove top.
Prep Time: 2 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 9 minutesminutes
Total Time: 11 minutesminutes
Servings: 24pieces
Ingredients
1cupgranulated sugar
½cuplight corn syrup
1cuppeanutsdry roasted, salted
1teaspoonunsalted butter
1teaspoonpure vanilla extract
1teaspoonbaking soda
Instructions
Lay a piece of parchment paper over a large cookie sheet. Set aside.
Combine sugar and corn syrup in a 2qt. glass bowl. Microwave (on power level 7) for 4 minutes. {I use a 1500watt microwave}
Remove and stir in peanuts quickly using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Return to microwave and heat for 3 ½ minutes (on power level 7).
Remove and stir in butter and vanilla extract. Return to microwave for an additional 1 ½ minutes (on power level 7).
Remove and stir in baking soda, mixing until light and foamy. Pour over parchment paper and spread to desired thickness, working quickly.
Allow peanut brittle to set and harden at room temperature (about 2 hours). Break into desired sized pieces and store in an airtight container for up to one week.
Notes
The bowl gets very hot. You'll see I recommend using hot pads. Learn from my mistake and always use them.
Finally, clean up. The brittle hardens in the glass bowl very quickly. Fill with HOT water and allow to soak until you can scrub it off.
Store peanut brittle in an airtight container (or ziploc bag) at room temperature for up to three weeks. We prefer not to freeze brittle as it changes the texture and makes it chewy not crunchy.
The main reason why peanut brittle doesn't get hard and have the crunch we expect is because the sugar was not cooked long enough. The sugar needs to be cooked to what is called the hard crack stage, 300ºF.
Baking soda is also very important at this stage since it reacts to the heat, creating carbon dioxide that aerates the caramel, enabling it to snap when someone bites into it rather than requiring them to gnaw at it until it breaks or pulls apart.
Whether it's during the cooking, cooling, or storage process, moisture and humidity can ruin the best batch of brittle in minutes, leaving you with a soggy, sticky mess. This is why eliminating moisture anywhere you can is our top tip on how to store peanut brittle.
Why is it too hard? Using baking soda usually prevents peanut brittle from being too, well, brittle. However, if you cook the candy past the set temperature or overwork the candy once you spread it out onto the cookie sheet, that can cause it to become very hard and difficult to bite through.
What Makes it Brittle? The sugar will be cooked to 300ºF (149ºC)—hard crack stage; which when set up would be hard like a lollipop. But peanut brittle is delicate and you can easily bite into it—how? The secret is in the baking soda.
Why didn't my homemade peanut brittle get hard? Same answer as the question above. If your peanut brittle is not hardening, it's because the sugar mixture did not get hot enough to properly caramelize, cool and become hard, crisp and crunchy.
Working quickly, pour into prepared 10×15 pan. To keep the brittle light and airy, do not spread or flatten the mixture. Instead, let it flow freely. Place in a cool area and leave until completely cooled, about 2-3 hours.
Should you refrigerate peanut brittle? Store the brittle in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month to maintain the crisp. Moisture in the refrigerator would soften the brittle.
Outside of that single ingredient, peanut brittle is painfully unhealthy. It contains: sugar, corn syrup, and butter, all of which are unhealthy for your body in different ways. But, peanut brittle becomes terrible for your teeth once all of those ingredients are combined into the final product.
To store: Store peanut brittle (once it's completely cooled) in an airtight container at room temperature. Do not refrigerate as the moisture from the fridge will cause the brittle to soften. Store for 6-8 weeks. To freeze: Peanut brittle can be frozen and stored up to 3 months.
I recommend placing pieces of wax paper or parchment paper between the candy pieces to keep them from sticking together. I do not recommend placing your brittle in the refrigerator (remember, humidity is the biggest enemy of candy, even after it's done cooking!).
You will want the cookie sheet to be non-stick. Use parchment paper, a silicone baking sheet or a greased cookie sheet. Spread the peanut brittle as thin as you can. Immediately add your sea salt.
The water is there in the first place to help prevent sugar crystals. Steam from the boiling water washes down the sides of the covered pot as the sugar cooks and takes with it, down into the boiling sugar, any crystals that form or are thrown onto the sides of the pot.
Dried peanuts will require a longer soaking time before cooking, so leave them to soak for at least 8 hours or overnight. Soaking the peanuts ensures that they will soften more easily when they are cooked, giving them their delicious texture.
Don't try to spread the candy once it's on the baking sheet as it starts hardening almost immediately and spreading it doesn't work well. Let the peanut brittle cool for 30 minutes, then break it into pieces. Store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two months.
The main reason is that your Fudge has not reached the optimum temperature. If your mixture only reaches 110 or 112 degrees Celsius it will always be soft. That's why we recommend investing in a sugar thermometer. Another reason your Fudge is not setting is that the ratio of liquid to sugar is too high.
The candy will attract moisture from the air, making it unpleasantly sticky instead of shatteringly crisp. Once it's completely cool, transfer it to an airtight container.
Introduction: My name is Clemencia Bogisich Ret, I am a super, outstanding, graceful, friendly, vast, comfortable, agreeable person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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