Peanut Brittle

I have been making this recipe for many, many years. I originally shared this on my blog in 2011. I figured it was time for a face lift! I cringe when I look back at some of those posts. However, I do not cringe when I pull this recipe out every year at Christmas! This has been my go-to food gift for many years now to share with my co-workers. It is really a quick, easy recipe. You have to be sure your ingredients are prepped and ready to go, as you'll have to move very quickly between each step. The mixture is molten lava hot, so be very careful as you're handling the bowl, stirring the ingredients, and especially when spreading the mixture into the prepped baking sheet.

If you find the color is a little too deep, and the flavor tastes a little bit too dark you can reduce cooking time by 30 seconds during the first or second step. Every microwave cooks a little differently, you'll have to learn what works best for yours! Definitely start with the shortest cooking times and go from there. If your mixture is hot and bubbling during step one and two it should be plenty hot to set up properly at the end.

I have used pretty much every assortment of nuts in this recipe. I usually use roasted salted nuts which work fine - use whatever you'd like and mix and match as you desire! This particular batch was cashews. Yumm!

Peanut Brittle (Microwave) from Penny Y on Northpole

Ingredients 
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 cup peanuts
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions

1. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
2. Combine the sugar and corn syrup in a medium sized microwave safe bowl. Blend together with a spatula.
3. Microwave for 4 minutes.
4. Stir in the nuts. Microwave another 2.5-4 minutes.
5. Stir in the butter and vanilla, microwave 1 additional minute.
6. Stir in the baking soda (mixture will foam). Immediately spread the mixture (with care - it is VERY hot!) onto the prepared baking sheet and allow to cool 15-30 minutes until completely set.
7. Break into pieces and serve, or store in an airtight container until ready to serve.

Note: This makes a wonderful food gift as it keeps well for several days. Package in treat bags and give the gift of brittle this Christmas!