peanut brittle results

Well, the squirrels had their noses pressed against the door, (and the kitties had their noses pressed right back at them...hope springs eternal), but the only crack they got at all the peanuts flying around in here was at the finished brittle which I cooled on top of the gas grill. DH was the real squirrel though, the self appointed taste tester and I didn't need to twist his arm except when it was time to quit eating brittle....munch munch munch.

I started off with Barb's recipe which has no butter, and to a candy-making novice, seemed pretty straightforward. I have to admit, it was fun and easy to make and I felt like an elf in Santa's test kitchen, but I did get it too dark although it is still plenty edible. The mixture seemed to behave just as Barb said, and poured easily, thinning pretty much without coaxing. It makes good brittle, but wasn't what I was after specifically. DH loved this brittle, although, as I said, I got it too dark and DH loves burnt toast too.....

The second recipe I tried was Lynne's 'Kookie Aunt Ruthie' recipe. This recipe is a dream to make in the microwave and has butter in it. Other than that, the proportions were close to Barb's recipe, so I was anxious to see what, if any, difference, the butter might make in the texture. This recipe is really tasty and was our pick for flavor, and while neither brittle was the jaw breaking experience of commercial brittle, this was not quite the texture I was hoping to produce. The butter definitely adds a nice flavor. (My oven is a 1200 watt and takes 2 min. to make popcorn which usually takes 5min....I cooked on high).

The third recipe was Kev's Grandmother's recipe. This recipe had the bit of paraffin in it but no butter, no vanilla, and the proportions were different than the other two as well. I was out of peanuts by this time, but the squirrels hung around hoping for some macadamias. I was careful not to overcook, and I did cheat in that since I was using the milder flavored nuts in this one, I added a tsp. of vanilla at the end. It was harder to pour and seemed thicker than the other two, so pulling was a must. I did the best I could and set it out to cool. Neither of us could wait, so we snuck a warm piece and although it was delicious with the macadamias we didn't think it was the texture we were hunting. To our surprise, when I brought it in after dinner, completely cooled, it was the closest thing yet! This brittle seemed more tender to both of us! I must experiment further when I get more peanuts and corn syrup. I'm thinking an addition of butter and more determined pulling is what I need. Meanwhile, we're still sampling away! I'll crack the secret of the Altoona Peanut Brittle Dynasty yet...but if not, I'll have fun trying.

Thanks all! chipper

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