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Why I Love Peanut Brittle
There are many brittle recipes, and many people make them thin and almost tooth-breakingly hard. Grandma always ensured I knew how to make it light and airy, just like hers. She always said, “Never spread or flatten the mixture, and you will have extremely light, brittle, with delicate air pockets.” I have come to love this peanut brittle recipe and can’t have it any other way. Candy-making may seem hard, but it is honestly quite easy! Be cautious, though, and have a bowl of ice water close by in case you burn yourself. These are really high temperatures! Once you make this, you’ll see why it is so fun, let alone extremely addictive! Let the Christmas candy-making commence!
More Holiday Recipes
- Peco candy
- English toffee
- Saltine toffee
- The best peppermint bark
- Make sure to check out all of my holiday baking recipes
Have I Convinced You to Make This Recipe?
I hope you make this recipe and put some food on your table. Leave a comment and share a star rating so you can let others know how much you love this recipe. This helps show others that this is a recipe they, too, can make, enjoy, and love!
Grandma’s Peanut Brittle
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- ½ cup hot water
- 2 cups raw peanuts
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp baking soda
Instructions
- Butter a 10×15-inch pan on all sides and the bottom and set it aside.
- Combine the sugar, corn syrup, and hot water in a 4-quart heavy bottom kettle. Place over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Continue to cook and bring it to a temperature of 250°F. Use a candy thermometer to check the temperature. I like using a high-quality instant-read thermometer, but a good candy thermometer fitted on your kettle will work as well.2 cups granulated sugar, 1 cup light corn syrup, ½ cup hot water
- Once at 250°F, add in raw peanuts and unsalted butter. Raw peanuts are a must with this recipe as they have a longer cooking time at high heat. Once the peanuts are added, stir the mixture continuously so no peanuts scorch on the bottom. Bring mixture up to 310°F.2 cups raw peanuts, 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- Once at 310°F, remove from heat and add vanilla and soda. The mixture will foam and grow so make sure to stir constantly to completely incorporate.1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 tsp baking soda
- Working quickly, pour into prepared 10×15 pan. To keep the brittle light and airy, do not spread or flatten the mixture. Instead, let it flow freely.
- Place in a cool area and leave until completely cooled, about 2-3 hours.
- Once cooled, break into pieces as preferred.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you make this? Leave a comment below!
I learned to make peanut brittle using your Directions when I was young. You are right, this makes wonderful Christmas gifts. Thanks for sharing.
This is a good base recipe but it needs a good amount of salt to really make the flavor pop and balance the sweetness. I use 1.5 teaspoons.
This peanut brittle recipe is the absolute best peanut brittle ever. My Grandmother’s recipe was just like this! Perfect!
The very secret is, like said, let the brittle coat the pan on its own!
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Game changer! I can not believe how approachable and delicious this recipe is and my family loves it. For years I bought See’s peanut brittle because I assumed that I could not make a comparable recipe.
Not only does my family love it, they think this recipe tastes better! This peanut brittle is the perfect balance of buttery, salty, and nutty. The texture is just right and it is east to prepare. Our youngest son now requests this recipe each time he comes home to visit.
Thank you for sharing
I just made this yesterday and it is soooo good! I’d never made this before but was prompted to make it this time after my neighbor across the road in Maine, David, brought over a big container of his homemade brittle. Some friends made it years ago as Christmas gifts but I don’t recall being all that impressed with it. I think it was one of the “toothbreaking” varieties that I’m used to with storebought brittle. Their recipe may not have included baking soda. But David’s didn’t last long…it was gone it a few days and left me wanting more. And Grandma’s recipe was perfect. I also watched your video and took note of your recommendations…got everything ready beforehand, etc. I also finally used my candy thermometer, which I’ve had for years but never used! It was fun watching the temp rise, although it look longer than I expected for it to get to 310. But that’s about when it started turning nice and golden so it’s important to get it to that temp. Anyway, my neighbors across the road, David and Julie, got some of MY brittle but I kept plenty for myself. 😉 P.S. One reviewer suggested adding salt to cut the sweetness but baking soda has plenty of sodium in it! I used raw Georgia peanuts but it tasted like it was made with salted peanuts.
This is just like my mom used to make. I was always intimidated to try peanut brittle, afraid I wouldn’t get the temps right, etc. I’m happy to say, I made this brittle recipe today and it turned out perfect. I’m pretty proud of myself! 🙂 Thanks for a great recipe.
Hi can you tell me why my peanut brittle turned out very sticky and more of a blond color? Not sure what I did wrong
Thanks
Polly
On my goodness! Living in Indiana it was a given that I would so love your recipes! I just made my first batch of GRANDMA’s PEANUT BRITTLE and it turned out perfect! I have been making peanut brittle for years with half success and half failure. Your sweet grandma saved the day!! This recipe is wonderful and turned out perfect. Thank you…and thank grandma…❤️Merry Merry Christmas
Once again, your recipes do not fail! Finding raw peanuts was a bit of a challenge. However, the peanut brittle turned out exactly as you said it would following the directions precisely. It’s the best peanut brittle I’ve ever made!
I bought 5 lbs. of raw Georgia peanuts online. I may have overpurchased. 😬 I wound up making this brittle, plus dark chocolate peanut clusters. Only 4 lbs. to go!
I have made this several times with rave reviews! This is a perfect recipe. Thank you for sharing with all of us. Merry Christmas!