Peanut Brittle
Peanut brittle is a sugar based hard candy, with peanuts embedded in it.
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt (omit if using salted peanuts)
- ¼ cup water
- 1 cup shelled peanuts—raw, preferably blanched (skinless)
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (optional, see notes, below).
Steps
- Grease a 9 x 12-inch cookie sheet. Set aside.
- Bring sugar, corn syrup, salt and water to a boil in a heavy 2-quart saucepan over medium heat.
- Attach a candy thermometer with the tip in the mixture.
- Heat, stirring occasionally, to 250°F (120°C).
- Add raw peanuts. Heat, stirring gently, to 300°F (150°C). If using roasted peanuts, stir them in at this point.
- Remove from heat. Quickly stir in butter and vanilla extract.
- Add baking soda. Stir very quickly until evenly mixed; volume doubles.
- Pour onto the cookie sheet. Spread evenly with a fork or wooden spoon.
- Cool to room temperature. Break into bite-sized pieces.
Notes from the original
- The use of a candy thermometer will ensure consistency between your batches of candy. Alternatively, 250°F can be determined by dropping a small amount of the hot mixture from a spoon or fork. When a string (filament) forms and curls back up toward the fork, the mixture is 250°F. The mixture has reached 300°F. when a small drop of the mixture forms an amber blob in cold water.
- Baking soda adds an "easier bite" to the peanut brittle, causing it to break when less force is applied. It also causes the sugar base around the peanuts to be opaque. It does this by "foaming up" and introducing small bubbles in the sugar syrup. If you desire a clearer almost transparent sugar base around the peanuts and a "harder bite", reduce or omit the baking soda.
- If you use roasted peanuts instead of raw, be careful not heat the mixture above 300°F. or the peanuts may taste burned. Roasted peanuts can also be added at the end of cooking to prevent burning.
- If you use salted peanuts, omit the salt in the recipe.
- See also Microwave Peanut Brittle
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Peanut Brittle” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-06-21, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.






