Make delicious Peanut Brittle in 10 minutes! Peanut Brittle is one of those confections that brings back fond childhood memories, satisfies a sweet tooth and puts a smile on everyones face. Here is a recipe that is easy and fast.
Traditional Brittle recipes can be tricky and often take more time than we have to spend. This recipe is not only super fast BUT fool proof as well. Delicious every time, we made 5 batches and every one was great.
Simple yes, especially with a few “HEADS UP” pointers.
RECIPE:
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
½ Cup light corn syrup
1 Cut RAW Spanish P-Nuts (skins on for me)
1 TSP Vanilla
1TBSP Butter
1/8 TSP Salt
1 TSP FRESH Baking Soda
1/4 pound Milk Chocolate (optional)
KITCHEN UTINSELS:
Greased baking sheet or one lined with parchment paper.
If you do a lot of candy making a silicone liner “Silpat” is excellent.
Microwave safe bowl. Check for heat retention
HEADS UP:
• Use RAW P-Nuts. The penuts actually roast in the hot sugar mixture.
• Test your microwave’s power and adjust your recipe accordingly.
• Always use FRESH Baking soda. You want your recipe to really puff up, and be fluffy for that light delicious crunch great brittle has.
COMBINE
Granulated sugar and light corn syrup
RAW P-nuts
Salt
Mix well and microwave on high for 4 minutes.
Remove from microwave, stir well and return for another 3-4 minutes. You are looking for a nice golden brown color as your sugars cook. You may want to remove and check at 3 minutes. You can always pop back in for the additional minute.
Once your sugar mixture is a rich golden brown Add BUTTER and VANILLA, return for final 2 minutes. HEADS UP: This is where your brittle can burn. Monitor very closely
TOTAL microwave time is between 8-10 minutes.
Final ingredient: 1 TSP Baking soda. Add, stir quickly until light and foamy, pour onto prepared sheet.
Spread evenly and thinly. You have to work fast as the brittle will set up very quickly.
Let cool for an hour or so, break into big bite size pieces and serve!
The Gourmet Candy Maker has gone one step further and dipped each piece in TEMPERED milk chocolate…. Chocolate and P-nuts? What could be more yummy.
No need to refrigerate. It will be gone the minute you put it out!
Enjoy.
A cake that is the closest thing to pure chocolate imaginable. Rich, dense, incredibly delicious and very easy to make! A bit of a departure from chocolate confections, this cake recipe will be the highlight of your dinner party or dessert buffet! Enjoy!
RECIPE 5 Ingredients
1 Cup butter
6 Eggs
1 1/4 Cups granulated sugar
8 ounces Premium Bittersweet Chocolate VELICHE BELGIAN BITTERSWEET CHOCOLATE NOIR 1 Cup Premium Cocoa Powder
Combine butter and chocolate, melt over very low heat so not to burn chocolate.
Combine granulated sugar and cocoa powder, set aside.
Lightly beat 6 eggs, set aside.
When butter and chocolate are completely melted, add to beaten eggs. Caution, add hot mixture slowly so you don’t scramble the eggs.
Mix well, add dry ingredients (cocoa powder and granulated sugar)
Stir thoroughly, scraping sides and bottom of bowl.
Pour into a springform pan lined with wax paper or parchment paper.
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
Cool for 10 minutes, and place on serving plate.
Garnish with powdered sugar, fresh fruit and stand back! Your guests will be talking about this amazing dessert for years!!
Use the best ingredients you can find. CHOCOLATE being the primary ingredient in this ultra rich dessert, be sure not to skimp. The better the ingredients, the better the finished product. Select a premium chocolate.
Whether it’s a long standing recipe for P-Nut brittle that you make just once a year, or the annual holiday shopping weekend in the city, we look forward to those special events year after year. We pass them down to our Children and Grand Children and each year they become more precious.
Please share your family tradition with us. Let us hear what makes your summer, Fall and Winter seasons special.
At 15 years old the Bandini Toffee kids started their company out of necessity for some “fast cash” Their product ( Toffee) was so delicious and the community support so strong the orders kept coming.
They not only raised more than enough money for their class trip to Italy but had spending money to boot! But that’s not all……the orders just kept coming!
Fast forward three short years to Christmas 2009. They now have a store and factory in Rancho Mirage, California, have won the coveted International Fancy Food Shows Gold SOFI award for best chocolate and have contracts with a very impressive list of retail stores.
Brandon and Leah are inspiring examples of entrepreneurship and the Can Do spirit. Although success has come to them early in life, they plan to stay in college, grow their company and not look back.
Giving back to their community is important to the Coachella Valley based teens. Sharing their story with other students and young business people is also top of mind for the young duo. Their message is simple, if you want to do something, just do it! Don’t worry about being too young, or inexperienced… get in there and give it a try !
They are quick to thank their parents, fondly referred to as “THE Moms and THE Dads”, for their constant support and business expertise. With backgrounds in marketing, advertising, business management and all around good common sense, The Brandini kids know they have a built in board of directors to guide them along the way.
The Brandini kids show us that success can come at any age. They love what they do and intend on doing it for a very long time.
Each year my sisters, our mother, daughters, granddaughters and close friends gather for three days to produce a bounty of gourmet confections unlike any other time of year.
It is an incredible reunion and moment of sisterhood, a time to catch up and share and is an experience we all treasure.
TRUFFLE WEEKEND TRADITION
Celebrating our 21st year in 2009, our “crop” was actually less than previous years. This year, respectful of the economy our yield was a mere:
We arrive Friday afternoon full of enthusiasm and excitement and leave Sunday afternoon, exhausted but revitalized and thrilled with the gifts we have created.
Presentation is important
Our friends, family and business clients back home anxiously await and “hope” they receive the coveted gift from the “Three Sisters Sweet Secret Society Weekend” Truffle weekend for short!…
Over the 21 year history much has happened to our core group; we have lost dear friends, have had more babies, marriages, and divorces and in general all gotten a little older. Our “young” daughters are now young ladies themselves and pick up the pace, front and center, doing what they have seen us do each year since birth!
What a perfect segment to launch our brand new WEB-TV show all about our passion, CHOCOLATE!
Coming to you each week, our show will begin at the beginning and move step by step through a complete “course” on gourmet candy making.
We have been asked for years to teach, write and share… well here it is! ENJOY and let us know what you think!!
Do you have a family tradition you would like to share? We want to hear all about it. Please click here to include your story MY FAMILY TRADITIONS
TEMPERED CHOCOLATE is the first step in creating mouth watering gourmet chocolate confections.
Master this technique and you are well on your way to amazing candy creations. Begin with the finest ingredients and a few special techniques and the confectionary world is yours!
TOOLS
Microwave safe bowl/container- Hard plastic or soft plastic. (Rubbermaid type or the equivalent)
-Test bowl to insure is doesn’t retain heat: Put 1 cup water in bowl, microwave until water is steaming. Remove bowl. If the bowl is not too hot to hold, it is good. Food Thermometer: Digital thermometers are great but cost about $35.00. A basic candy thermometer costs approx $15.00 and works very well. You will need it for other candy projects as well. Rubber spatula: Use a soft rubber spatula for stirring and blending chocolate. It is much better than wood or metal for scraping the sides of your bowl. Microwave with variable settings. ( a turning tray is helpful too) PREMIUM CHOCOLATE- 1 ½ pounds of premium, REAL chocolate divided into two separate bowls: 1 pound for the melting batch and ½ pound as the seeding chocolate.
PROCESS
Make sure your chocolate is in uniform size chunks. This helps them melt evenly. If you have very large chunks and itty bitty chunks, you risk burning parts of your batch.
Put your one pound master batch in the microwave (using the heat tested bowl) for ONE minute. Remove, stir completely and return to microwave. Repeat this process until all the chunks have completely melted and your batch temperature is approx 116 degrees. Caution, do not assume your chocolate is not melting if you still see chunks. It is heating from the inside out. Take your time and stir thoroughly. It is very important that you heat your chocolate in short spurts. Don’t risk burning your chocolate from the inside out by microwaving too long. Slow and steady, stir as you go, will insure your chocolate is evenly heated and totally melted without overheating. Remember… we are trying to “melt” the chocolate, not “cook” it.
Once your master batch has reached a temperature of approximately 116 degrees (MAX) add ¼ pound of chocolate chunks, (seed chocolate).
Stir master batch until all seed chocolate chunks have melted. Test the temperature and watch it drop. As the seed chocolate melts, the master batch cools down. Adding the seed chocolate (chocolate that is still in temper) adds good, tempered chocolate crystals to your batch and helps your entire batch go into temper.
Continue this process until your master batch has reached 86-88 degrees. Keep in mind, stirring your batch thoroughly, all sides and bottom of your bowl, while the temperature drops, helps your chocolate go into perfect temper.
Once your entire batch has reached the 88 degree mark, do a small test. Place a spoonful on wax paper, pop it into the refrigerator for10 minutes. Once hardened, it should be shiny, and break with a nice “snap” Presto, you have a perfectly tempered master batch ready to use!
After you have done a few batches using this method you will have a good feel for how your microwave works with chocolate. Here is a guideline about heat and chocolate behavior. Please note we are referring to REAL chocolate in this table.
White chocolate: Melts quickest and burns the fastest. It contains a lot of milk solids which are quick to burn if not stirred thoroughly. Stir, stir, stir. Use moderate setting.
Milk chocolate: Melts quickly and evenly. Use moderate to high heat settings.
Dark or semi sweet chocolate. Very dense, fewer milk solids. Slowest to melt and harder to burn. Can tolerate higher heat settings. Make no mistake… it too will burn if not stirred!
Once this small batch technique is mastered, you will be doing 2-5 pound chocolate batches in no time!
Don’t lose your temper or your “cool”. Take your time to master this process and have fun!
The Gourmet Candy Maker is dedicated to teaching and promoting the art and craft of gourmet candy making.
Bringing a community of professionals and novice candy makers together, in one place, helps us all. There is always something new, a great discovery, a terrific recipe or technique to share…Please contribute your thoughts, tips, techniques, ideas and experiences with us.
One taste of this remarkable recipe and you will NOT believe the ingredients. Organic dates, Organic applesauce and coconut oil make this delicious fudge, dare we say, almost healthy!! A treat you can give your children and still be a “Good Parent”!
While this recipe does not contain processed sugar found in most candy recipes, it does contain natural occurring sugars from the dates and applesauce. If you are on a strick sugar free diet, please consult your dietitian before indulging in this treat.
RECIPE: Makes approximately 10 pieces.
Prep time: 15 minutes
1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder
3 Tablespoons Applesauce
5 Organic Medjool dates (soaked in water for 2 hours)
5 Tablespoons Melted Coconut oil
2 drops Stevia (TM) Sweetener to taste
In Cuisinart, (food processor), blend all wet ingredients thoroughly. Make sure dates are pured and batch is lump free. ADD cocoa powder and blend well. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl, stir well. Pour batch onto wax paper sheet or into bowl. Refrigerate for 3 hours.
Remove, cut into small 1 inch squares and serve. It’s very rich so small bites go a long way in satisfying your sweet tooth.
This fudge is Rich smooth and somewhat soft. Perfect for truffle centers or as sugar free ganache centers for molded chocolate bon-bons.
Remember the time you were browsing the mall, went into the candy store, bought a ONE POUND BOX of your favorite chocolate and ate the entire box while shopping??
I know you have an outrageous, funny and unbelievable story/confession to share about your chocolate passion. Spill the beans… we can’t wait to hear!!
The best story every week will receive a YUMMY FIVE POUND GOURMET CHOCOLATE BAR!
” BUY TO BEST YOU CAN FIND… AND THE BEST YOU CAN AFFORD”
VIDEO COMING SOON
You truly get what you pay for when buying chocolate. When choosing the right chocolate consider what you are using it for, i.e. truffle centers, children’s lollipops, or elegant molded chocolates for an assortment. You want the best chocolate for your recipe but also the best value too. You certainly don’t need to buy high end “couverture” chocolate @ 12.00/# for a cake recipe!!
COMMON GRADES OF CHOCOLATE
Coco-Buttons. Often called “melty’s”, “coco-lites” or “coco buttons”, the colorful and sweet candy buttons you find in every craft-hobby store are not chocolate at all! Extremely easy to use, and very affordable, they are actually just a sweet candy product made with sugar products and vegetable fat. They are missing one, if not all three ingredients required to be true chocolate; Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Powder and Cocoa Liquor. Use these for quick tasty crafts, colorful table favors or children’s lollipops, but NEVER assume they are to be used in your prized gourmet confections. The big take away here is, if the directions say “NO tempering required”… it’s NOT chocolate!
Chocolate Chips. Basic recipes from magazines, on the side of food packaging etc. may call for “chocolate chips” as the chocolate ingredient. While these yummy morsels are great in cookies and delicious eaten by the handfuls, they are no substitute for pure, high quality chocolate. They contain a high concentrate of vegetable fats in place of cocoa butter, yielding them great for high heat recipes but unsatisfactory for the “melt in your mouth” experience of fine chocolate.
Bakers chocolate, often sold as bittersweet chocolate or dark chocolate, bakers chocolate is another grade of chocolate wonderful for baking but NOT great for gourmet candy making. It offers a strong, rich flavor but the texture is coarse and grainy and is very dry.
Baking bar. Catering to gourmet foodies, many companies have introduced their own version of the baking bar. Nestle, and Hershey have introduced 3-4 ounce chocolate bars (for baking) that are very nice but again, NOT the quality you are looking for to make great custom chocolate confections. Also, the cost of these convenient bars when multiplied is over $12.00 per pound!!
Good old candy bar. Yes, these in many cases are real chocolate but the grade is inferior and the price is high! I once heard of a toffee maker melting chocolate bars for his chocolate topping. When it’s all said and done he was paying over $5.00 per pound for less than excellent chocolate!
Premium chocolate, REAL chocolate. Wonderful to work with, and yes, it does require tempering. Smooth, rich and of superior quality for any gourmet candy recipe. Melt, temper and use it for molded products, use it as dipping or coating chocolate for truffles, cream centers, or dipped fruits and nuts. Delicious on every level, you will love the results every time when you use a premium professional chocolate. Find it in fine food stores, gourmet delis and through numerous online sources. Purchased in blocks, buttons or big chunks by the pound or ounce, this is the “real deal”. In gourmet food stores and fine delis, 10 pound blocks are broken into assorted size chunks and sold by the ounce like fine cheese. Online you can purchase blocks or slabs in 10 pound increments and buttons or pellets in 1 pound increments. Very popular and easily found brands to consider are Merckens, Peters made by Nestle, Guittard and Ghiradelli, to name just a few. Expect to pay between $4.50-$15.00 per pound depending on the resource and brand.
Pure chocolate, couverture. Couverture means “coating” in French and represents the highest grade of chocolate available. High percentages of cocoa butter, 32-39% and cocoa liquor, as high as 70% are the hallmarks of couverture. You can feel the silky smooth texture on your tongue. It has a very low melting point. It is rich and distinctive in flavor. Chocolate connoisseurs can often define a specific region of origin and certainly can detect the brand and often the blend at this level of chocolate. Reserved for the “serious” chocolatier and especially wonderful for dipping and coating look for this product mainly online. Callebaut, Sharfen Berger, Veliche, and Valrhona are just three of the more easily found. The price point is between $8.00-15.00 per pound.
Coming soon, the Gourmet Candy Maker Store will offer several brands of premium chocolate for your convenience. Look for special offers and quantity discounts as well as special purchases that will allow you to test and try a variety of products.
Gourmet candy making is FUN and after 20 years as a professional chocolatier, I am excited to share all I know about CHOCOLATE and the ART of gourmet candy making.
Join me every week as we present techniques, tips and incredible recipes. Help our site grow with your contributions and watch new features unfold.
COMING SOON:
GOURMET CANDY MAKER-TV. Brand new WEB-TV show all about chocolate
Chocolate Forum
Fully stocked Store
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Wishing you the BEST New Year ever and may all your Chocolate dreams come true.
