I used to think Peanut Brittle was super boring. Teeth-breaking hard candy with some unsalted peanuts in it? Yawn. But OH how things have changed! Guys, I’ve discovered a peanut brittle recipe that tastes like the center of a Butterfinger. Thin, flaky layers of peanut-buttery toffee, studded with salty roasted peanuts. It’s an irresistible blend of crunchy, sweet, and salty that keeps you going back for more! I’ll show you just how to make it. Perfect for gifting at Christmas!
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Edison, my 5-year-old, told me about a boy in the other kindergarten class at school. He said he only sees him at lunch time, and they FIGHT.
His eyes glazed over for a moment as he retreated into a world of comic-book-level POWS and WHAMS.
I said, “Oh, cool, what’s your friend’s name?”
Edison, with the goofiest smile on his face, but also trying to look exasperated: “He’s not my FRIEND, Mom. He’s my ENEMY!!! I don’t know his NAME! Every time I see him I say, I hate you!” He is cracking up by this point.
I will never understand boys, you guys. I try not to be alarmed when they come up with stuff like this. I know his kinder teacher well, she is my neighbor actually, and if Edison was bullying somebody I know I would hear about it.
It actually sounds like some good old fashioned football. You know how football was kind of invented to replace real actual war? Why men have this inherent urge to strangle each other, or at least pretend to, is beyond me. I’ll just continue snuggling the children and puppies over here in my corner of the world. And feeding them this peanut brittle, because OMG I’M IN LOVE.
Butterfinger lovers, you need this
If you still hear Bart Simpson threatening you for laying a finger on his Butterfinger, then you will remember the good old days, before they changed the Butterfinger recipe.
Back in the day, Butterfingers were crispy, shatter-y morsels of peanut butter bliss. I used to trade for and hoard Butterfingers at Halloween as a kid, anyone else? They are the absolute best.
When I set out to make a Peanut Brittle recipe, I knew I wanted it to be a little different. The classic recipe is nothing more than sugar that is cooked to the hard-crack stage, with peanuts in it. I wanted something creamier, with more flavor, and that had that shattery-flaky-butterfinger-y texture.
I’ve figured it out. All you have to do is add a ton of peanut butter to the hard candy! It’s actually so easy.
It has the BEST, most butterfinger-y flavor ever. Even if you’re not Butterfinger-obsessed like me, you will love this recipe. It’s crispy and perfect!
Plus it makes a ton, and is super easy to throw together. You can whip this out in 20 minutes flat. Then break it up into shards and you have at least 40-50 servings! Perfect for those Christmas neighbor gifts.
Ingredients you’ll need
There are some clutch ingredients that make this the most amazing recipe for peanut brittle, you do not want to skip them. Here are the stars!
- Corn syrup It’s possible you’ve been brainwashed in the last 20 years or so to think that corn syrup is incredibly unhealthy. It’s not! In moderation, of course. It’s basically just a liquid form of sugar, and it’s viscous state helps to fight crystallization in candy recipes. We need to fight crystallization so that our brittle ends up smooth and not grainy. It’s essential and can’t be left out! If you live in Europe, try golden syrup.
- Dry roasted salted peanuts are, of course, the heroes in peanut brittle. Dry roasted peanuts have the BEST most intense salty peanut-y flavor. You will be missing out on that deep, nutty flavor if you use unsalted and unroasted peanuts!
- Creamy peanut butter I’m talking JIF peanut butter, not any other brand (ok fine, Skippy works too, but only if you’re ok not being a choosy mom ;) certainly don’t use natural peanut butter. You need the solidified fat (hydrogenated oil) in regular peanut butter to help this candy come together. (Hydrogenated oil is a fat that is solid at room temperature. You know how you have to mix the liquid oil into natural pb before using?) If you use a pb with liquid oil, you risk your candy separating or breaking when you’re mixing, or not holding together when it’s done.
- Baking soda may seem like an odd ingredient in candy making, but it’s essential! The carbon dioxide emitted from the baking soda when you add it to the hot mixture creates little bubbles of air all throughout the candy. This makes tiny flaky layers that shatter and then melt in your mouth! It’s so good!
How to make peanut brittle
Here are all the simple ingredients you need! Only 7. It comes together so easy! When you are making candy, it’s super important to have all your ingredients nearby so you aren’t scrambling later when your candy reaches the correct temperature.
Then, cast off all your decorum and scoop up some butter with your fingers, and rub it all over a half sheet pan. My friend Sarah from Snixy Kitchen edits all my photos, and when she was editing the photos for this Peanut Brittle post, I got this text:
Fine, okay, use a paper towel if you want, but you are missing out on some high quality moisturization.
Next, measure out your peanut butter, you need about 2 cups. Use a glass or plastic measuring cup, and then stick it in the microwave and heat it up for about a minute. You want the peanut butter heated through and thinned out, so that it’s super easy to stir into the candy later.
Next we’re going to talk about your pot. Yes, this really does matter! You need a heavy 3-quart pot. That means when you pick it up, it should feel HEAVY. Give it a swing! Pretend you are knocking someone out Rapunzel-style! If you use a cheap, thin pot, your candy could get hot spots and scorch before it reaches the correct temperature. You can’t mess around when you are making homemade candy!
Add water and some sugar to the pot.
Add in some corn syrup and a bit of salt.
Heat this mixture SLOWLY over medium low heat. The goal is to dissolve all the sugar BEFORE it comes to a boil. When you can dip a finger into the mixture and don’t feel any grains of sugar when you rub your fingers, it’s ready. Turn the heat up to medium and bring to a boil.
Keep the heat at medium and let the mixture boil for about 5-7 minutes, but this is a step that you NEED a candy thermometer for. You need to cook the mixture until it reached 300 degrees, or the hard crack stage.
Once the mixture reaches 300 dergrees, add in the warmed up peanut butter.
Then add in the vanilla.
Add in the dry roasted salted peanuts.
Finally, (moving quickly!!) Add in the baking soda. Stir it in quick until it’s totally incorporated, then stop stirring. We want to keep as much air in the candy as possible. We are adding the soda to create bubbles that lift up the candy and make it brittle and airy instead of hard and dense. This makes it crispy but not rock hard. It’s essential!!
Immediately pour it into the buttered pan.
Spread it out with a spatula, all the way to the edges.
Then, it’s time to wait. You need at least 3 hours to get the brittle to the full-crisp stage. You can taste it earlier but it won’t be quite as flaky and brittle. Overnight is even better! It will lift right out of the pan like this.
And then break it up! I usually just do this with my hands. MY BARE HANDS, no paper towel, sorry Sarah 😂 you can use a chef’s knife to slice it too, if you are civilized. And then, devour!!
Looking for ideas for neighbor plates? You got it.
I am a HUGE fan of giving treat plates to friends and neighbors during the holiday season! It’s something we always did growing up and always brings a special feeling to the season. I’ve listed below some staples for my family, but I have SO many options to look through on my Christmas Recipes page!
Candies
- Mom’s Easy Fudge Recipe >> the chocolate original!! So creamy and decadent
- Chunky Chex Mix Muddy Buddies Recipe >> I have a neighbor who adds the Christmas M&Ms to this and hands it out every year. Easy, and so good!
Cookies
- Butter Pecan Cookie Recipe >> a must have, in my opinion, and always a crowd favorite
- Unbelievably Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Man Cookies (No Spread!) >> gingerbread cookies that you can decorate that ACTUALLY tastes good. I love this recipe so much!
- Thumbprint Almond Raspberry Cookies >> don’t tell the other cookies, but these just may be my all-time favorite
How to store leftover peanut brittle
Keep the candy in an airtight container on the counter in a single layer or with parchment paper between layers to avoid sticking. It will be good for several weeks, if you can manage to not sneak bites every time you walk through the kitchen. Do not store in the refrigerator. The brittle will lose its crispness, and mushy brittle is just a really sad oxymoron of a treat.
When I was testing this recipe, I had a few batches that didn’t turn out crispy because I hadn’t cooked it long enough. We called it “Peanut Bend” because it definitely didn’t qualify as brittle 😂
Can you freeze it?
Definitely! I have some in my freezer right now! It’s a great way to keep peanut brittle around for longer-term storage and also makes a great make-ahead treat. Place the broken brittle pieces in a single layer in a ziplock freezer bag. You can add as many layers as you can fit in the bag, but be sure to add parchment paper in between the layers so the pieces don’t stick to each other as they thaw. Peanut brittle will be good for 3-4 months in the freezer. To eat the brittle after freezing, let the bag sit on the counter for 2-3 hours to get to room temperature.
More peanut recipes for peanut lovers
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Peanut Brittle
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons butter, softened, for greasing the pan
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, use half the amount of table salt
- 2 cups creamy peanut butter, 18 ounces
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups dry roasted salted peanuts
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
Instructions
- Prepare the pan: Use your hands to rub about 2 teaspoons softened butter all over the bottom and sides of a half sheet baking pan. (You can put a plastic baggie on your hand, or use a glove, if you don't want greasy hands.)
- Prep the peanut butter: In a large glass or plastic measuring cup, add 2 cups of creamy peanut butter. It should be about 18 ounces. Put it in the microwave and heat for 1-2 minutes, until the peanut butter is liquid and thinned out. Set aside for now.
- In a 3 quart heavy-bottomed pot, add 1/2 cup water.
- Add 2 cups granulated sugar to the center of the pot, avoiding getting sugar on the edges (this helps avoid crystallization.)
- Add 1 cup light corn syrup to the pot.
- Add 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. (Use 1/4 teaspoon if all you have is table salt.)
- Set the pot on the stove over medium low heat. Stir it all together with a wooden spoon, avoiding getting sugar granules on the sides. Draw the liquid into the center of the pot from the edges. Then stir thoroughly.
- Dissolve the sugar. Let the mixture heat up over medium low heat for about 5 minutes, until all the sugar is dissolved. You will know the sugar is dissolved when you dip a finger into the mixture and don't feel any sand-like granules of sugar. The mixture should feel completely smooth. (This is to avoid crystallization)
- Bring to a boil. Once the sugar is dissolved, turn the heat up to medium. Continue cooking and stirring until the mixture reaches a full boil, with bubbles all the way across the surface. Then remove your spoon and put it in the sink.
- Cook to 300. Let the mixture boil without stirring until it reaches 300 degrees F on a candy thermometer. This could take anywhere from 4-7 minutes, depending on how powerful your burner is.
- Add peanut butter. Once the mixture reaches 300, remove the pot from the heat and add the 2 cups of warmed up peanut butter. Use a clean wooden spoon to stir it all together.
- Add 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract and stir.
- Quickly add 2 cups dry roasted peanuts and stir it together.
- Quickly add 1 tablespoon baking soda to the mixture and stir it together. Move fast!
- Pour the mixture onto the buttered pan and use a spatula to spread it out to the edges right away before it starts to harden.
- Let cool for 3 hours, or overnight. If you plan to leave it overnight, cover the pan with plastic wrap once the brittle has come to room temperature.
- Break up the brittle: I like to use my hands to break the brittle into uneven, roughly triangular pieces, but you can lay the whole slab on a work surface and slice with a chef's knife if you prefer.
- Store the brittle covered on the counter. Don't refrigerate, it will just make it sticky instead of brittle.
- Freezing instructions: Place the broken brittle pieces in a single layer in a ziplock freezer bag. You can add as many layers as you can fit in the bag, but be sure to add parchment paper in between the layers so the pieces don't stick to each other as they thaw. Peanut brittle will be good for 3-4 months in the freezer. To eat the brittle after freezing, let the bag sit on the counter for 2-3 hours to get to room temperature.
