Sharon’s Peanut Brittle

Ingredients

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup white syrup

1 lb. Raw Spanish peanuts (any raw nut will work - I usually do cashew as well as peanut)

1 Tblsp. Baking soda

½ Tsp. Cinnamon oil or 1 tsp. vanilla o

Heat sugar and syrup in heavy pan, stirring often, until it reaches the soft ball stage. (You can determine soft ball in two ways – get a candy thermometer or drop a small portion off a spoon into a cup of cold water. If it holds together and is soft to the fingers, then you have reached the soft ball stage.) Then add the pound of raw peanuts and continue to cook until the peanuts and sugar combination turns a light golden brown. Then add the baking soda and flavoring. Stir well and turn out onto 2 cookie sheets. Allow to cool thoroughly. Then store in a tight container or zip lock bag as it will absorb moisture and lose its brittleness. Heat sugar and syrup in heavy pan, stirring often, until it reaches the soft ball stage. (You can determine soft ball in two ways - get a candy thermometer or drop a small portion off a spoon into a cup of cold water. If it holds together and is soft to the fingers, then you have reached the soft ball stage.) Then add the pound of raw peanuts and continue to cook until the peanuts and sugar combination turns a light golden brown. Then add the baking soda and flavoring. Stir well and turn out onto 2 cookie sheets. Allow to cool thoroughly. Then store in a tight container or zip lock bag as it will absorb moisture and lose its brittleness.

Cinnamon oil is available at drug and health food stores. You may need to ask them to order it for you.

Raw peanuts are available at health food stores or distributors of nuts. Check the internet if you can’t find them. There is a place here on San Fernando close to the 2 that has them. At Christmas, I can usually find them at Trader Joes or WalMart. You can use other nuts, such as cashews, but also be sure to use raw ones. Otherwise the nuts will burns before the syrup is cooked.

Variation: Use 2 Tblsp. of baking soda and 2 Tblsp. of bourbon instead of the cinnamon oil.

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