I am sharing with you truly the best recipe for Peanut Brittle. This recipe has been made by tons of RecipeGirl readers, and it has gotten the best positive reviews over the years. Watch the short video showing you how to make peanut brittle, then scroll to the bottom and print out the recipe so you can make it at home!
Everyone loves to make it for the holidays. Who doesn’t love peanut brittle??
Why do kids grow up so quickly? I can hardly stand it. I stare at my boy and gaze at how handsome he has become. I marvel at the adult conversations we have. I admire his intelligence and his ability to navigate the world already.
My baby boy was 2, and all of a sudden he’s 10, and in a matter of months he’ll be turning 11. Pretty soon the darn kid will be off to college. And then I’ll have to mail him treats like this peanut brittle.
We’ve always said that we’re “not a nut family,” but my boys like their peanut brittle. You could buy it in a package, already made… or you could make it yourself. All you need is a candy thermometer and a handful of ingredients. It may or may not be tricky.
Just relax and follow the directions, and you should have some homemade peanut brittle in about a half hour.
How to Make Peanut Brittle:
It starts simply enough with sugar and water and corn syrup.
Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan, being careful just to dip the thermometer into the liquid and not shoving it to the bottom of the pan where it will get a false reading.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Watch the thermometer and add in the peanuts when it reaches 245 degrees F. Continue to stir and cook the mixture until the temperature reaches 300 degrees F.
Add the baking soda and continue to cook a couple more minutes until the mixture turns a golden brown.
There it is: golden brown!
Pour it onto a greased baking sheet, and let it sit until completely cooled and hardened.
Once cooled, jiggle a spatula underneath the peanut brittle and you should be able to lift up the whole slab and just break it apart into pieces.
This is the fun part! It should break apart nicely into pieces, but you can certainly eat the bits that get left behind… you know, for sampling!
It’s ready to serve and eat at this point. If you’re saving it for later, be sure to keep it in a tightly covered container. Humidity can greatly affect the texture of candy. Keep it tightly covered (I keep mine in a tupperware bowl) and your peanut brittle should stay nice and crunchy.
I’m hoping that next year goes more slowly… so I can take time to enjoy my (not so little) boy and the changes in him that I see almost daily. I’m just glad my boy still wants to snuggle with his Mama, share stories… and eat my peanut brittle.
Here are a few more homemade candy recipes you might enjoy:
Peanut Brittle
Recipe Details
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated white sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 2 cups raw or roasted and salted peanuts
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (if you use raw peanuts)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Spray a rimmed cookie sheet with nonstick spray.
- Combine sugar, water and syrup in a medium-large saucepan. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and cook at medium heat slowly to the soft ball stage (245 degrees F. on a candy thermometer), stirring gently every so often. Add 2 cups of peanuts and salt (if using). Continue to cook and stir until the thermometer registers 300 degrees F. Add baking soda. Stir to blend and continue to cook until golden brown (just a minute or so more). Remove from heat and stir to combine.
- Pour the hot mixture onto the prepared pan and spread it out as much as you can with a wooden spoon. Cool completely, and then break into pieces.
Video
Notes
- *Keep your peanut brittle in a tightly covered container until you are ready to serve/eat it. The texture of candy can be greatly affected by the humidity in the air.
- *If you are using a candy thermometer that clips to the side, just make sure that the bottom of the thermometer is resting inside the liquid and not pushed all the way to the bottom of the pan (you'll get a false reading if it's touching the bottom of the pan where the heat source is strongest).
This method is the bomb! Thank you so much….I tried one other brittle method on the net and it was a complete failure. This method produced a rich brown batch of brittle. We new it was done when we lifted the spoon and it wrapped like caramel for an apple. Upon sampling the spoon, the mix will stick to your teeth like candy.
Tips:
…we preheated the pan lined with wax paper and salted butter to 200* in the oven.
…we started the mixture off on 7 on our stove, after the rapid boil for a few minutes, we added the peanuts and increased the temp to level 7. After you add the peanuts the mixture turned milky and we let it boil rapidly.
…we had no thermometer. Inspect the great pictures above and you won’t need one.
…don’t let the foam scare you, just keep stirring
…add a cap full of vanilla after you add the baking soda.
…If you think you’ve boiled for too long, keep boiling and stirring. I stirred constantly just to be sure the bottom wasn’t scorching.
Once again, thank you. This made an inexpensive yet high quality treat.
Thanks for your tips!
Great recipe. The best I’ve found. I preheated my cookie sheet with parchment paper to 300° and took it out of the oven when I was ready to pour and spread the brittle. I found that this gave me considerably more spreading time to get it thin and even.
It was yummy! Thanks for the pics! I have wanted to make this for years and your pics and recipe finally gave me the courage! Happy Holidays!
I made this twice already, but DID add some butter and vanilla at the end just before pouring into pans. It has been a huge hit. I would say, just pay attention to getting the correct temperatures. Give it time and it turns out perfectly! Thank you!
BTW, has anyone tried to make the soft peanut brittle yet? I’ve seen a few recipes with peanut butter added.
That sounds intriguing!
I tried this receipe nd it was yummy! I was just wondering this, I did not see Butter or Vanilla as ingreiants as in most others posted out there. I made a second batch from another site and that one failed me. so I am back to making this one, and the ones I gave samles to said it was delicious as well! so Thank you!
I love peanut brittle.This looks so easy, hopefully it turns out yummy!
Count me as another happy brittle maker! I love macadamia nuts and toffee, so I guess my course is planned for me :^).
mine never got hard, i dont know why?
Usually it’s temperature-related when the texture doesn’t turn out.
Yum. This is my favorite Christmas candy ever.
Attempted this last night… Complete fail. Candy thermometer is now in trash and I am gonna do whatever it takes to make this successfully! Without that dang thermometer!!! I believe it has turned me away from all of them…. We shall see. Anyway, my medium size sauce pan wasn’t anywhere near big enough! Huge mess, didn’t get it cooked long enough to be golden brown, wasn’t set up an hour later… We will see how it is later. Taste was good though… (had to lick my finger after sticking it in the stuff to see if it’d gotten hard yet). 😉
Mmm, this sounds so yummy cant wait to try it =D
you know it wasn’t till about 2 years ago that i finally got a candy thermometer. i had been eyeing all candymaking–meaning don’t leave the stove. lol
have you ever tried adding cayenne to your peanut brittle? so good.
Good thing I need to gain a couple pounds. Love peanut brittle and can’t stop with one piece, the more peanuts the better! Yum.
Thanks for the timely recipe and heartwarming reminder.
total flashback for me – my grandma loved peanut brittle and always had a ton. i want some!
Easier than I thought – a little too tempting…
Peanut Brittle is one of my all time favorites…yours looks perfect!!
(I have friends who I give it to, and they eat around the peanuts. Weirdos!!)
This looks like perfect brittle! Great step-by-step instructions.
Mmm I love peanut brittle! I haven’t made it myself though. Looking forward to trying this!
Great post! Now I want some peanut brittle:)
Peanut Brittle is on my “must make if I have time” list this week. I may just have to pop back by and admire yours again. 😉
What perfect looking peanut brittle!! I want some…..for breakfast 🙂 xoxo
Wow! That IS easy! Who knew? And your comments worry me…my daughter is two!! Now I’m going to blink and she’ll be married.
Isn’t that the truth!?! They do grow so fast. This will be a perfect treat for college. Sniff. *sob*.
Candy thermometers and I really don’t mix well (I ruin them and get gloppy goop that never seems to un-cake from them no matter what I do..but that’s another story…) but this brittle may be worth a shot at candy thermometers again for me b/c it looks so good!