Peanut Brittle

Along with my fond fudge memories, I've got fond peanut brittle ones. My grandma made it frequently when I was a kid, and I seem to always associate it with Christmas. Peanut brittle is another one of those treats that intimidated me (like fudge) because of it's candy nature. Soft-ball, hard-ball.. aah!! Plus, my mom always talked about how too much humidity could prevent it from hardening.. Needless to say, it was a great act of courage for me to attempt this recipe. And you know what? Acts of courage are great, except this particular one has resulted in my eating waaaay too much peanut brittle. Seriously, I can't stop. I have a problem.

There's a good chance this is my great-grandma's recipe. I'll have to find out. It's definitely the one my mom has always used.


Note: this (or other hard candies) should not be made on really humid or rainy days (so sayeth Mama Sarah's mama.)

Peanut Brittle

• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light Karo syrup
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups raw peanuts
• 1 tsp baking soda

Line a baking sheet with foil.

Combine sugar, Karo, water, salt, and peanuts in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. (I finally have a wooden spoon!! Christmas present from hubby)

Cook about 10 to 15 minutes. Mom says to cook until it smells slightly scorched. I'm not quite comfortable with my familiarity with that smell, so I instead decided to do the hard-ball test. To do this, simply have a cup of really cold water nearby. Every-so-often drip a bit of the mixture into the water. You're finished when the mixture hardens into strands within the water. It's supercool.

Once you've reached this stage, remove from heat. Quickly stir in the baking soda; the mixture will bubble and thicken. It'll also look a funny, lighter color. Don't worry.

Quickly spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dish. To the best of your ability, spread the the mixture across the pan, creating an even, thin consistency.

Let cool and set. Once it's hard, break it into pieces. Be careful; hubby got stabbed by a sharp corner of candy goodness.

Consume. Apologize to your teeth. Eat another piece. Makes excellent breakfast.

Fudge Success

Hello all,
I come bringing wonderful news!! I've made tasty fudge!! My wonderful aunt, reading about my fudge failures, told me her mom's recipe. I tried it and voila!


Preeettty smooth chocolately fudge! And it's from the recipe on the back label of the marshmallow creme jar. Delicious. It's very similar to the other fudge recipes I've tried, except at the end, marshmallow fluff is added. Boy, does it make a difference! A happy, delicious, wonderful, ego-restoring difference.

Fantasy Fudge

• 3 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 5 oz (2/3 cup) evaporated milk
• 12 squares (12 oz) baker's semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 7-oz jar marshmallow creme
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Line an 8x8 or 9x9 pan with foil; set aside.

In a large, heavy saucepan, bring sugar, butter, and evaporated milk to a boil over medium heat. STIR CONSTANTLY. Boil for 4 minutes or until a candy thermometer registers 234F (I went by the temperature, which was much longer than 4 minutes). STIR CONSTANTLY. Once 234F has been reached, remove from heat.

Add chocolate and marshmallow creme; stir until thoroughly melted and incorporated. Add vanilla and nuts (if you chose to use them). Stir well.

Immediately pour the fudge into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Let stand at room temp for 4 hours, until completely cooled. Cut into delicious squares of fudgy goodness. Store in an air-tight container.

ENJOY FUDGY DELICIOUS.