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1
Line a quarter sheet pan with a Silpat (parchment will not work here).
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2
Make a dry caramel: Heat the sugar in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat.
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3
As soon as the sugar starts to melt, use a heatproof spatula to move it constantly around the panyou want it all to melt and caramelize evenly.
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4
Cook and stir, cook and stir, until the caramel is a deep, dark amber, 3 to 5 minutes.
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5
Once the caramel has reached the target color, remove the pan from the heat and, with the heatproof spatula, stir in the nuts.
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6
Make sure the nuts are coated in caramel, then dump the contents of the pan out onto the prepared sheet pan.
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7
Spread out as thin and evenly as possible.
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8
The caramel will set into a hard-to-move-around brittle mass in less than a minute, so work quickly.
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9
Let the brittle cool completely.
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10
In a zip-top bag break the brittle up into pieces as small as possible with a meat pounder or a heavy rolling pinwe grind our brittle down in the food processor to the size of short-grain rice (you dont want anyone to chip a tooth on it!).
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11
Eat or cook with it at will.
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12
Store your brittle in an airtight container, and try to use it up within a month.
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13
Follow the recipe for peanut brittle, substituting hazelnuts for the peanuts.
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14
[makes about 250 g (1 3/4 cups)]
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15
Follow the recipe for peanut brittle, substituting 3/4 cup cashews for the peanuts and increasing the sugar to 1 1/2 cups.
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16
[makes about 375 g (2 1/4 cups)]
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17
This, obviously, is made from a seed, not a nut, but it works just the same.
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18
We use pepitas, or hulled pumpkin seeds.
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19
Weve tried making them from raw shelled seeds scooped straight from a pumpkin, but to no avail.
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20
Follow the recipe for peanut brittle, substituting pumpkin seeds for the peanuts.
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21
When adding the seeds to the hot caramel, take care, they will pop a bit!
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22
[makes about 250 g (1 3/4 cups)]
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23
Peanut brittle is used in Peanut Butter Crunch (page 185).
