How to make Peanut Brittle (2024)

FAQs

Why won't my peanut brittle set? ›

If your peanut brittle never sets up hard, it means you didn't cook it to a high enough temperature.

The secret is in the baking soda. As the sugar is cooking and begins turning amber in color it accumulates small amounts of acid, and that acid reacts chemically with the alkaline baking soda releasing about a zillion minuscule bubbles of CO₂ that get trapped, making the sugar porous and, well… brittle.

You'll also want to prepare a baking sheet, with either a silicone mat or parchment paper. The mat/paper will help ensure the peanut brittle doesn't stick directly to pan once it has cooled.

#1 - Store in an airtight container

It should come as no surprise that storing your peanut brittle in airtight containers is one of the best ways to store peanut brittle. Keeping air out helps maintain your brittle's freshness by minimizing the amount of moisture that might come into contact with your sweet treat.

Why is it too hard? Using baking soda usually prevents peanut brittle from being too, well, brittle. However, if you cook the candy past the set temperature or overwork the candy once you spread it out onto the cookie sheet, that can cause it to become very hard and difficult to bite through.

I've learned that brittle is better when made on a cool, dry day. When I've made the candy on a warmer, humid day, it tends to be a stickier brittle. This is because the brittle takes longer to cool, and it reaches a point where it is no longer evaporating moisture into the air.

Not spreading the mixture thinly enough: If the peanut brittle is too thick (usually because you used too small of a pan), it may not cool and harden properly. Be sure to spread the mixture as thinly as possible in the pan.

What is the purpose of adding baking soda and calamansi juice during peanut brittle processing? - Quora. There is absolutely no need to add the juice of the calamansi. It's purpose is purely to impart flavor. The purpose of baking soda is to make the candy mixture foam.

Drop some of the peanuts into the cold water again. If they come out hard and look like brittle, then it's ready! Immediately take off the heat and stir in the baking soda mixture we made earlier.

To store: Store peanut brittle (once it's completely cooled) in an airtight container at room temperature. Do not refrigerate as the moisture from the fridge will cause the brittle to soften. Store for 6-8 weeks. To freeze: Peanut brittle can be frozen and stored up to 3 months.

How do you salvage peanut brittle? ›

So, I Googled Salvaging Undercooked Peanut Brittle and followed Tiffany's helpful instructions to throw the pieces back in the pan, turn the heat up and stir, stir, and stir to a raging boil and wait to pour it in the pan until it reaches 300 degrees.

The main reason why peanut brittle doesn't get hard and have the crunch we expect is because the sugar was not cooked long enough. The sugar needs to be cooked to what is called the hard crack stage, 300ºF.

Too pale and the candy will not set, too dark and the sugar will have burnt. If you feel the outside edge of the boiling sugar is turning too dark too quickly then you can swirl the pan gently once or twice to even out the boiling sugar mixture but do protect your hands from splashes and again, do not stir.

As the water converts to steam, the monosaccharides begin to saturate the solution, increasing their tendency to form crystals and precipitate, which results in a gritty brittle. To prevent this, you need to interfere with the ability of fructose to rejoin dextrose.

I've read many recipe reviews of other Chocolate Peanut Cluster recipes complaining that their chocolate did not solidify. This is caused by the ratio of almond bark to chocolate being too low. You need enough almond bark to ensure ensure your Crockpot Chocolate Peanut Clusters harden.