Peanut Brittle reminds me of my Grampa. Mostly because, growing up, he was the only person I knew who ate the stuff. Every year someone in the family would remember to stick a little package of peanut brittle into his stocking, or wrap it up and set it under the tree, and Gramps would pull it out of the package with the sheer delight of a child on Christmas morning, every single year.
My Grampa is in his 90s, and he still hasn’t lost his enthusiasm for the foods of his youth. Baked beans, maple syrup, salted cashews, peanut brittle, or just about any vegetable from a local farm: bring him a little package of something handmade and he is absolutely thrilled. Bonus points if it’s from Northern Maine, that rugged, remote, beautiful place where he was born.
So, when I was planning out this Homemade Holiday Gifts Week, I kept good old Gramps in the back of my mind, thinking of ways to make some of his holiday favorites, albeit with a little bit of an updated twist. Because if this incredible man has been overjoyed to get the same gifts every year for nearly 100 years, I’m guessing some of you might love them, too.
My research led me down a veritable Peanut Brittle rabbit hole- I spent a week straight reading recipes, methods, and opinions on brittle online. The more I read, the more I needed to read, as if my brain was powered by peanut brittle knowledge; as if reading one more recipe might just lead me to some secret truth about this old-school candy.
It turns out, most of them follow the same basic method of boiling sugar and corn syrup with some water and butter to form a caramel, cooking it to a precise temperature to form hard candy, then pouring it over the nuts and letting it harden.
While not overly complicated, the classic brittle method definitely is a little intimidating, since you have to own a candy thermometer and be comfortable pouring boiling sugar from a pot onto a sheet pan without potentially scarring yourself for life. And from the sheer number of recipes – and reader comments- I read through, it sounds like getting it perfect is not so easy, even if you follow a tried-and-true recipe. Not to mention the fact that some people prefer their brittle to be more soft and chewy (calling such a recipe ‘brittle’, when it is anything but, is a bit confusing to me), so many recipes won’t yield that classic crunch.
After all this research, I decided to mess with the classic. Using Minimalist Baker’s Quinoa Brittle and my Pumpkin Spice Granola Bark as inspiration, I got to work crafting a brittle that was made with simple ingredients and foolproof methods. Ideally one using maple syrup as the sugary base- since I love the stuff so much- and not a whole lot else.
The final result is a brittle made with 6 ingredients in about 30 minutes. One that is thin, crispy, and loaded with crunch from those little flecks of quinoa, from a recipe that requires mixing the aforementioned six ingredients into a bowl, dumping them on a sheet pan, and baking in the oven until bubbling and golden. Easy peasy.
And, if you feel like quinoa in brittle is just a little bit too weird for you, I did try this recipe with sesame seeds instead of quinoa, and thought it was equally tasty! I just love the extra crunch from the quinoa, so ended up choosing it for the final recipe. You could probably even grind up some peanuts into a coarse meal and stir them in with the whole peanuts to keep this completely peanut-centric. But, maybe try it once with the quinoa, too? I promise, despite being a bit odd, it’s a great combination!
Instead of Brittle, a more appropriate name for this might be Crackle or Shatter since it’s not as thick and sturdy as the classic. Since no one would know what the heck I was talking about when I handed them a little gift bag full of Peanut Shatter, well, I stuck with the name brittle. And, even though it’s a bit more delicate than traditional brittle, it holds together well and will definitely fill the brittle-lovers in your life with a little more holiday cheer.
I think your friends and family are going to love this fun twist on an old-school classic. Roasted, salty peanuts enrobed in sweet, caramelied maple syrup, studded with crispy quinoa- yes, it’s a little unusual, but it’s totally delicious.
Stay tuned this week for three more brand new Homemade Gift Ideas, as well as my roundup of homemade gift ideas on Monday December 18th!
As always, if you make this recipe, let me know how it turns out! Leave a comment below, or take a picture and tag me on Instagram so I can see all your homemade gifts in action!
Salted Peanut & Quinoa Brittle
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts*
- 1/2 cup dry uncooked quinoa**
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 2 Tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a sheet pan with enough parchment paper that the bottom and sides of the pan are covered (this will help ensure that your brittle doesn't stick to the pan or sides!).
- 2. Put all ingredients into a bowl and stir to combine. Dump onto the sheet pan and use a spatula to spread it out into a then, even layer, about 1/4 inch thick. It won't fill the entire sheet pan, but as it cooks it will spread out more.
- 3. Bake for 25 minutes, or until dark and bubbling. Remove from the oven and let sit at room temperature until completely cool (note: it will not be hard when you remove it from the oven- it hardens as it cools!). One completely cooled, use your hands to break into pieces. Store in an airtight container to prevent the brittle from softening. Brittle should keep for several weeks at room temperature, though truthfully, we've never been able to make it last more than week around here!
Notes
**The quinoa adds a pleasant crunch to every bite of this brittle, but if you're wary of it, feel free to use an equal amount of white sesame seeds instead. It won't give it the same level of crunch, but will look nearly identical and still tastes great!