How To Make Brittle

Nothing beats the satisfying crunch of biting into a good brittle. The hard sugar, the soft nuts and the mix of sweet and salty flavors make this a favorite candy around the world. You can find different variations from France to India, all some different variation of the brittle we know and love. You can use pistachios, pecans, peanuts, macadamia nuts and sesame seeds, and sweeten with molasses, honey or classic sugar. The end result is all the same—a crunchy, sweet confection that you can break your teeth on if you’re not careful. We don’t care though. It would be 100% worth the trip to the dentist.

So follow along with our online pastry school chef as she shows you how to make classic brittle. Have fun getting creative with different nut mixtures like flax, sesame, pepitas and more!

Brittle

Ingredients
1 ½ cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup light corn syrup
10 oz cashews (toasted)
2 tbsp butter
1 ¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp water
1 ¼ tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp toasted pumpkin seeds

Directions
1. Mix the water, sugar and light corn syrup in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil until the mixture reaches 240 degrees. Remove from the heat and stir in the cashews. Return to the heat and boil until mixture reaches 300 degrees. Remove from the heat.
2. Dilute the baking soda with the small amount of water and add the vanilla extract and butter to the mixture, mixing until incorporated. Pour onto a greased cookie sheet or silpat and spread evenly. Let the mixture cool for 1 hour, break into pieces and serve.