Airy Butter Peanut Brittle
Inspired by techniques from America's Test Kitchen and NYT Cooking.
Buttery peanut brittle cooked to amber, lightened with bicarbonate of soda so it shatters crisply, and finished with flaky salt.
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Method
- 1
Get everything ready. Heat the oven to 180 °C. Butter one tray, line it with baking paper and butter the paper and one spatula. Spread the peanuts on the second tray, and stir the bicarbonate and 0.75 tsp salt together in the small bowl. Once the sugar is cooking, there is no time to measure.
- 2
Boil the syrup. Melt the butter in the water in the saucepan over medium-high heat. Pour in the sugar and corn syrup, stir gently just until all the sugar is moistened, then let it boil without stirring for 10-15 min, until pale gold and 150 °C.
- 3
Warm the peanuts. While the syrup boils, toast the peanuts in the oven for 5 min and keep them warm. Warm nuts keep the caramel fluid when they go in.
- 4
Take it to amber. Lower the heat to medium-low and keep cooking, swirling the pan gently, for 4-6 min, until the syrup is amber and reads 163 °C.
- 5
Add peanuts and bicarbonate. Tip in the warm peanuts and stir to coat. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the bicarbonate mixture; it foams up straight away.
- 6
Spread thinly. Pour the mixture onto the buttered paper at once and spread it out thinly with the buttered spatula, then scatter the remaining salt over while it is hot.
- 7
Cool and break. Leave to cool for about 1 h, until it is completely cold and snaps cleanly, then break it into pieces.
Storage
Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks, with baking paper between layers.
Equipment
- 2 rimmed baking trays
- baking paper
- large heavy saucepan (at least 3 litres)
- digital thermometer
- 2 silicone spatulas
- small bowl
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 171 kcal |
| Protein | 3.1 g |
| Carbohydrate | 23.2 g |
| of which sugars | 21.1 g |
| of which free sugars | 20.5 g |
| Fat | 8.4 g |
| of which saturates | 2.4 g |
| Fibre | 1.1 g |
| Salt | 0.45 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
1.8 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
