another christmas gift was making some brittle. it wasn’t too hard, based on alton brown’s directions.
1.5 cups peanut
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp chili powder
3 cups sugar
1.5 cups water
clean your heavy bottomed saucepan pretty well, then brush the sides with oil to prevent chemistry weirdness from happening. place the sugar in the center of the pan, then add the water and stir to mix well. then place it over high heat. alton says to turn heat down as the boiling begins, but i found that then my mixture just never got hot enough (probably a combo of my pan and my stovetop). don’t stir or mess with the liquid, just be cool. have a baking pan lined with a silpat ready.
as the mixture begins to change color to an amber color, things are ready to go. pour in the peanuts, then immediately pour the liquid out onto the silpat. it will cool very fast, but try to press it into a single layer and keep turning back the liquid portion over the top. once it hardens, break into pieces and eat. it’s very sweet (obv) but good.
milehigheating 