I've started my Christmas cooking this week and the ever popular peanut brittle is a must.
So deliciously moreish I've had it from myself as well as The Shearer!
I first made this in 2015 so here is the recipe again....
I used per batch -
260g of raw sugar
200g of lager beer
600g of salted peanuts
1/2 teas ground dried chilli
Pre-heat oven to 180C and line two non-stick biscuit trays with baking paper. By all means lightly grease with butter but we only did it with the first lot and kept recycling the peeled off baking paper and it worked fine.
In a medium sized stock pot on medium heat, combine the sugar and beer, stirring gently till the sugar is dissolved.
Add the peanuts and reduce the heat and simmer for about 15mins stirring occasionally. At this point the liquid is quite reduced and thicker, partially absorbed by the nuts and steamed off.
Remove from heat and mix in chilli. (Add a couple of teaspoons of salt too if you are using unsalted nuts.)
Tip the mixture onto the biscuit trays and place in the oven.
The next step will take approx 15 mins but you do have to watch it to make sure it doesn't burn. If your oven isn't even you may also need to switch trays and shelf positions during cooking. What should happen is that it will self level a bit bubble away turning a bit more toffee.
Remove from the oven and place on cooling racks to set.
The paper should peel away easily when cold and you'll be able to break the sheet into rough chunks.
Some notes-
This is best made during dry hot days and humidity will definitely have a bearing on the "snap" to the brittle. Likewise store in air tight containers to keep brittle.
If you are making subsequent batches, DO wash you pot and spoon between batches to prevent crystallising the sugar.
That sounds amazing! I will have to try to find the time to make some of that for my neighbor as he loves all those things. He bought a tractor and has done several small projects for us. Tractor small, not hand-dug small.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds yummy and not too difficult for me, as in, no candy thermometer involved. Chili varies so much in "heat units" -- can you give me a clue as to the relative spiciness of what you use? Is it like cayenne, perhaps?
ReplyDeleteI made a batch for Christmas. It was easy and everyone loved it. A couple of us noticed that this brittle is mostly nuts and just enough candy to hold them together, which we like! I used red pepper flakes and mine were kind of old so there wasn't too much heat.
DeleteThank you!!
Sounds exactly the same as mine. I think my flakes are getting a little old too. Bit hard to stop eating it though!
DeleteCheers, Tanya
Yes, I would think they are dried cayenne flakes, a bit of seed and chipped flesh. We are quite comfortable with a bit of spiciness and I was actually going to experiment this year with using a Kashmiri chilli powder blend or something different like that. Haven't got there yet but if I make another batch that's what I plan. When you tip the mix onto the tray for bakingyou'll think "this isn't going to work, there is not enough syrup" but have faith, it will bubble and flatten and coat into a brittle.
DeleteAll the best success to you, Tanya