The Secret is Out

Several years ago, my then soon-to-be daughter-in-law, Christina, and I were talking about what we wanted to make for our Christmas "goodies."

I told her that one of the things I had always wanted to make was peanut brittle, but every time I had tried, it had turned out tasting like c-r-a-p (sorry if that is offensive to you, but no other word accurately describes how my brittle had turned out in the past).




She told me, very excitedly, that she had actually made prize winning peanut brittle at the county fair when she was in high school.  Prize winning brittle?

Could it be this girl who was about to be in my family had brought with her the answer to my life-long desire of brittle making?  (okay, it wasn't actually a life-long desire, but it was a desire).

When we started talking about how to actually make peanut brittle, I realized that what she was a prize winner at was peanut patties . . . you know the pinkish round things that they sell at truck stops?

Sooooo . . .  we searched the Internet (believe it or not Pinterest was not around yet, or at least not popular enough for anyone to know that they should go to Pinterest to find a delicious recipe for peanut brittle!)  And after many hours of searching, we found the perfect recipe.  It's called "No Fail Microwave Peanut Brittle" but trust me when I tell you that name is TOTALLY not true.  They should have maybe called it "No Fail Once You Have Figured Out How Your Microwave is Going to Work Peanut Brittle."  But I guess that name would have been too long.  Regardless, it's a very misleading name.  (My point is you are likely to burn your first batch.  Watch the microwave carefully!)

We made some, adjusted the recipe, made some more, adjusted the recipe, and finally landed on our own version of  Carol and Christina's Microwave Peanut Brittle.

As a Christmas gift to you, I am going to give you our secretly perfected Microwave Peanut Brittle, though I did have to console Christina at the gym this morning when I told her I was giving away our secret recipe!

Carol and Christina's Microwave Peanut Brittle

1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of RAW peanuts (YES, THEY HAVE TO BE RAW!!!)
1/8 tsp of salt
1 tbsp butter (not margarine!)
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp baking soda (must be fresh!)

Here's how to make it!

First off, let me help you by telling you to get a microwave safe measuring cup that has a handle on it!  It is KEY to making this!  I like this one. 

Next, butter a cookie sheet.  Don't forget this step. There's no picture of this, but if you don't know how, just cut off a tablespoon of butter and rub it onto a cookie sheet until it's covered with the butter.  Don't use a cooking spray for this step.  Or margarine.

Place first 4 ingredients (in order) into your awesome microwaveable measuring cup with the handle. DO NOT STIR.  Microwave on high for 3 minutes.

Remove from the microwave, by the awesome handle, and stir.  It will look like this when it comes out of the microwave.  After you stir it (not whip it, mind you, just a gentle stir) put back in microwave and cook for 3 more minutes on high.  Work fast.

 Remove from the microwave using the amazing handle, add 1 tbsp of butter, NOT MARGARINE, and WITHOUT STIRRING, put it back in the microwave, and cook for 2 more minutes.

Notice how brown it is starting to look?

This next part is tricky, and I was working solo, so I don't have a picture of it.  Instead, I have inserted a picture of me and Shannay which I think adequately depicts how excited I am about the awesomeness of this peanut brittle.  

  

Here's the tricky part.  Work fast.  Remove brittle from the microwave.  Add 1 tsp of vanilla (it will bubble and sizzle) and 1 tbsp. of baking soda.  Stir.  When you stir, it will foam up.  You have to work fast.  Stir quickly, and then pour out onto your buttered cookie sheet.  It is best to use a wooden spoon for this part and you need to press out the peanut brittle until it is thin (but not see through).  If you don't get it thin enough, you can't break it, and people can't eat it.

Here's how it should look when it is cooling.  It needs to cool about 20 minutes.  Then break into bite-sized pieces.  But don't worry, if it's not cool enough, you'll know because it won't break.  It will just bend. Oh, and BE CAREFUL!  This stuff is sharp.  I have actually cut myself badly doing this.  (But, sometimes I am klutzy, so you might not have that problem.  And also, spellchecker autocorrected clutzy to klutzy, so don't think I'm trying to be cute or play fast and loose with the English language.)

But I digress.

Finally, put your bite-sized pieces into a cute dish and give it away as a present.  Or eat it all yourself.  But be advised, in no way should this be considered healthy.  Eat at your own risk.  Also, make at your own risk.  Don't blame me if you burn yourself or cut yourself, or break a tooth.  That's my disclaimer.

All that to say, I hope you enjoy this delicious recipe.  And if you see Christina, tell her thanks.  She might still be a little sad that I shared our secret recipe.  But, well, the secret is out, so . . .