I know everyone makes fun of recipes that start with long, drawn-out intros about life and love and cooking and family and the smell of cocoa powder and blah blah blah. But in the case of my dad’s perfect peanut brittle recipe, which he’s been kind enough to share with me, I feel like I wouldn’t be honoring him without a bit of backstory.
(I think you’ll like it. And I will spare you any rambling about the scent of peanuts.)
You should know that my dad is an amazing cook and baker. He’s the guy who still uses his stack of dog-eared, hardcover cookbooks, each one with notes scribbled in the margins about a little more of this or a tweak to the cooking time of that. He will spend hours preparing a holiday dinner — no help, thank you very much — and beams as he describes just which special brand of cinnamon he uses, or detailing his trek out to one special bodega in Astoria, Queens, that carries the special pepitas or rare cumin powder he knows he needs.
This peanut brittle recipe is perfect, however, not because of any special peanuts (Planter’s will do) or magical equipment (though he does like his Silpat a lot), because it’s one that’s been carefully refined over twenty years, by combining ingredients, tips, and instructions from no less than 10 cookbooks.
So yeah. Perfect.
I know, I’m supposed to jump right to the recipe here. But stick with me, because this part is important to me.
Three years ago, my dad was run over by a taxi while crossing the street. He suffered a serious spinal injury, and has been confined to a wheelchair ever since. We thought he’d never walk again. And yet, what he’s accomplished since then is nothing short of remarkable.
That includes how hard he worked to be able to return to the kitchen — first, just to pour himself a glass of water or take something out of the fridge. Now, he’s cooking again.
Two Decembers after his accident, when he was finally able to stand and steady himself long enough to make a batch of peanut brittle just for my daughters at Christmas, it brought me to tears. My dad just isn’t my dad if he’s not in the kitchen.
This year, he’s promised my girls that they can come and make it with him. I think it will be a new annual tradition for them.
I bet it will taste the best it ever did.
Paul Gumbinner’s Perfect Peanut Brittle Recipe
Be sure not to use salted peanuts. My dad called me three times to make sure I included that here, so heed his words! He always talks about how people will make his recipes but change the ingredients and can’t figure out why it tastes different. Therefore…unsalted peanuts. Planter’s are fine, and easy to find. And as with anything, good butter is always better but your call.
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
1 stick (4 ounces) butter, unsalted
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
12 ounces dry roasted peanuts, unsalted
Directions
1. Combine sugar, corn syrup, water, and butter in a large saucepan.
2. Stir over high heat until mixture turns golden. Note: Once the color starts to develop, you want to watch it very carefully and remove promptly, being mindful that it will continue to cook in the pan after the heat is off.
3. Remove from heat. Stir in the salt, then the baking soda, then the peanuts. Combine quickly so the mixture doesn’t harden
4. On one rimmed baking sheet coated with butter (or use a Silpat silicone cookie sheet liner), spread the mixture with a spatula, as thinly as you can and as widely as you can — ideally the mixture will cover about 90% of the pan. It will thicken quickly, so you have to move!
5. Cool for about 30-45 minutes. Break up with your hands into bite-size pieces.
You can store in an air-tight container like a gift tin and it will last for a month or more. But if it lasts in your home for a whole month, invite us over so we can help you out.
When do you add the salt??
Apologies! You stir it in with the baking soda.
We just had some this week and MAGNIFICO! Happy eating!
Thank you for sharing your story. God bless you and your family.
That’s really thoughtful and kind, thank you Tia.
Can you use salted peanuts instead of the tbls of salt?
I would not suggest it. Follow the recipe if you want the best results.
Did you use unsalted butter or salted?
Unsalted! Good question and will specify in the recipe. For the most part in baking, always assume unsalted.
Did you use a half sheet pan or a full?
Full sheet pan!
I tried this recipe and it was very good other than very salty. Could it been maybe a teaspoon salt instead of a Tablespoon? That was a lot of salt. Other than that it was very good.
You said 1 stick butter (8oz) do you mean 2 sticks butter (8oz) or 1 stick 4oz)?
Thanks
apologies– it should read 1 stick (8tbsp) so yes, 4 oz! Appreciate you catching the error.
I just made some- vegan actually. It was fabulous!! Only change besides making it vegan was to add a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Will certainly keep this around for a long time!!
Oh so glad to hear that! What a cool addition. Thank you for sharing, Christie!
What temp do you cook this to.
His answer is “you can use a candy thermometer but it’s really not necessary with this. You can just see when it’s ready — which is what makes it so easy!”
What size rimmed cookie sheet?
Good question! It really doesn’t matter. I’d say standard size (18×13 or so) is fine because you’re not going all the way to the rim. But if you have a small oven you could always do two smaller sheets.
I believe your cooking it too long. Longer it goes the harder it becomes. Because they do not offer a time,which can vary depending on heat used and actually where you live. What you see as golden may not be the same as theirs.I would never recommend using high heat for sugars. It can go from good to bad very quickly. Invest in a candy thermometer. Pull off heat just before 300 F. You do still need to work fast but if it is already passed stage needed you are fighting a losing battle.
OMG I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, tried twice. Followed recipe exactly. I added the nuts, salt, baking soda quickly (impossible to add it any quicker) and all I get is a big clump that is impossible to spread out on the cookie sheet. I give up. I’m so disappointed in myself.
I have no idea why Debra! We’ve gotten so many positive responses on the recipe. 🙁
Are you up in the mountains where you make altitude changes to recipes?
I have to tell you, I decided this was the year we would try making Brittle and I have seen hundreds of recipes, but this is the one I will try simply because of your story. How inspirational, sounds like a wonderful man, dad and grandad! I’m hoping for good results to report back to you!
Aw, thank you so much for the kind words and for sharing that with me. He will be so happy ❤️ (And if I’m lucky, I will get some from him this week too!)
My third year making this now and it is a must have for my family! Thank-you so much!
Thanks for sharing that Amy! It’s really special to us too 🙂