Glass-Thin Peanut Brittle with Roasted Peanuts & Flaky Salt

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Old-fashioned peanut brittle, made properly: raw Spanish peanuts go into the syrup early so they toast in the caramel instead of sitting in it, and a jolt of baking soda at the end aerates the sugar into a brittle that shatters instead of gluing your teeth together. Stretching the hot sheet paper-thin with buttered hands is the trick that separates homemade brittle from the good stuff at a candy counter. One pot, one sheet pan, about 40 minutes start to finish.

Ingredients

• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups raw Spanish peanuts (skins on) or raw blanched peanuts
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces, plus more for the pan and your hands
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt

Instructions

1. Set up before you start cooking — brittle moves fast at the end. Lightly butter a rimmed half sheet pan (or a large silicone baking mat set on a sheet pan) and set it on a heatproof surface near the stove. Butter the back of a metal spatula. Measure the butter, salt, vanilla, and baking soda into three small bowls within arm's reach. Clip a candy thermometer to a heavy 3- to 4-quart saucepan.
2. In the saucepan, stir together the sugar, corn syrup, and water. Set over medium heat and stir gently with a heatproof spatula just until the sugar dissolves and the mixture looks clear, about 3 minutes. Stop stirring, brush any sugar crystals off the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush, and bring to a boil.
3. Boil undisturbed until the thermometer reads 240°F (soft-ball stage), 6 to 9 minutes. Add the raw peanuts all at once and stir them in with the spatula.
4. Cook, stirring slowly and constantly now so the peanuts don't scorch on the bottom, until the thermometer reads 300°F to 305°F (hard-crack stage) and the syrup has turned the color of light amber honey, 8 to 12 minutes more. The peanuts will start smelling roasted and you'll hear faint crackling — that's the sign they're toasting. Pull the pan off the heat the moment you hit 305°F; the sugar will keep darkening from residual heat.
5. Off the heat, immediately add the butter, fine sea salt, and vanilla and stir until the butter melts in completely, about 15 seconds. Sprinkle the baking soda evenly over the surface and stir hard for 5 to 10 seconds — the mixture will foam up pale and voluminous. Do not overmix; you want to keep the bubbles.
6. Pour the foaming brittle onto the prepared pan in one motion, aiming for the center. Use the buttered spatula to spread it toward the edges into a rough rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Work quickly and don't fuss — 20 seconds of spreading, maximum.
7. Wait about 60 seconds, until the surface is set enough to touch but the sheet is still very pliable. Butter your hands (or wear clean food-safe gloves), grip the edges, and gently pull and stretch the brittle outward from all four sides until it's thin enough to see shadow through, nearly filling the pan. Sprinkle with the flaky salt and press it in lightly with your palm.
8. Let the brittle cool completely at room temperature, 30 to 45 minutes, until it's hard and no longer warm anywhere. Grab an edge and snap it into irregular shards. Fill the sticky pan with hot water to soak while you eat the evidence.
9. Store the brittle in an airtight container at cool room temperature, layered between sheets of parchment, for up to 2 weeks. Do not refrigerate — condensation turns brittle sticky.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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