Peanut Brittle

Peanut Brittle is a crispy, crunchy candy treat that is loaded with peanuts for a sweet and salty goodie to enjoy. Try my Peanut Butter Cookies for another nutty dessert. 

Peanut Brittle

You still have time to make this peanut brittle before National Peanut Brittle Day, which is January 26th! Making your own candy is worth it; it tastes so much better than the store-bought stuff. But, how did this become so popular? One story is that in the late 1800s, a woman was making taffy. But, she accidentally used baking soda instead of cream of tartar. She didn’t want to be wasteful, so she continued cooking until she had this crunchy treat. Making homemade peanut brittle should not be intimidating. It’s one of the easier candies to make. But, as with other candies, it’s about science and temperature.

Peanut Brittle Ingredients

Granulated Sugar: When sugar is heated, a process known as sugar inversion happens. This causes the sugar to change into liquid sugar and has that lovely aroma and darker color. It’s more involved chemistry than that, but hey, I trust the process! 

Corn Syrup: Corn syrup is an important ingredient in candy recipes, including this one. It is processed from cornstarch and gives the candy a smooth, glossy texture. 

Baking Soda: Again, it’s all about the chemistry when it comes to adding baking soda. It is added at the end to make sure the heated sugar has accumulated enough acid to cause a reaction with the baking soda. This reaction, in turn, makes the sugar brittle and porous enough to make it easy to bite into and chew.

Candy Thermometer: Yes, I know this is not an ingredient, but it is just as important when it comes to this recipe. A candy thermometer, also known as a deep-fry thermometer or sugar thermometer, is used to measure the temperature of a sugar solution. It is definitely an important tool to have when making candy. And, since this recipe is all about science, accuracy is key.