salted virginia peanut brittle

This recipe is adapted from the 1964 Homemade Candy cookbook, written by the editors of the Farm Journal. It calls for large, redskin unblanched salted peanuts. If desired, lightly rub the nuts a handfull at a time between paper towels to remove some othe excess salt. Otherwise, proceed with the recipe.

For tips on making the perfect brittle, visit All About Brittle Candy: Standards, Tips, and Why Baking Soda Is Used

Salted Virginia Peanut Brittle

Ingredients

2 cups large redskin salted (Virginia) peanuts
3 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 cup boiling water
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

Procedure

Combine sugar, corn syrup and boiling water in a heavy saucepan. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, making sure the sides do not have any sugar crystals. Cover, and heat over medium heat until mixture boils. Remove lid, insert candy thermometer, and cook at a medium boil until soft ball stage, 240 degrees F.
Add in the nuts all at once. Do not stir the mixture again until it boils, then stir to keep the nuts from scorching, taking care not to touch the sides of the pan above the surface of the syrup as the friction from the spoon may cause crystals to fall back into the syrup cause a coars grained brittle candy.
Continue to cook until the hard crack stage, 310 degrees F. Remove from heat, and add in the butter. Add in the baking soda and vanilla, and stir well.
Pour onto a warm well-buttered marble slab, or onto buttered heavy duty foil. Pour the brittle so it spreads out as thinly as possible. Work a buttered or oiled spatula under one side of the brittle and turn it over. Pull the brittle as thin as possible, using heatproof mitts if necessary to avoid burning.
Let cook, then break off in chunks to serve.