Peanut Brittle!

I'm going to start off by saying this was not as hard as I thought it would be! Until now I had never even eaten peanut brittle let alone make any! I blame James for this recipe, if it weren't for him being picky I wouldn't have had so many extra peanuts in the house! James likes to drop salted peanuts into Coke-Cola (I know, ewww) so when I went to the store he asked if I would pick up a few Coke's and some salted peanuts, so I did. Well I didn't know that you can't use peanuts from a jar to make this concoction, but instead it has to be the plastic tube of peanuts like you get at a gas station! So none the less I bought the wrong kind and didn't know we already had a jar of peanuts at home ergo I'm up to my ankles in peanuts. So the quick thinker I am blurt out "I'll just make peanut brittle!" 20 seconds later I hear my brain saying...."um you don't even know what peanut brittle tastes like dummy!". So the first thing I do is consult good ole' Betty Crocker because she knows everything! I followed her basic recipe and it came out pretty good although I had to have my mom taste it and tell me if it tasted like peanut brittle since my batch was my first piece. To my relief she said it tasted right! So now that I know how to make it, I will pass on the knowledge so I can help rid the world of peanut brittle virgins 1 jar of peanuts at a time!

Before I share this I want to encourage anyone who doesn't have a fry/candy thermometer to get one before you start! I got mine at a kitchen store for like $8 and that sucker has paid for itself 10 times by now. Try and find one like i have that is for oil but can double as a candy one too!

Basic Peanut Brittle:

1 c. White Sugar
1/2 c. Light Corn Syrup
1/4 tsp. Salt
1/4 c. Water
1 c. Peanuts (I like salted)
2 tbsp. Butter, softened
1 tsp. Baking Soda

*make sure to have all of your ingredients measured out ahead of time because this is a fast process and you can't be measuring as you go. I would also recommend that kids don't help with this recipe, as much as I love the idea of little ones helping in the kitchen you are working with molten sugar that can really injure someone in the blink of an eye. They can help break it apart when it cools.

1- line a cookie sheet with foil and set aside.
2- In a heavy 2 quart saucepan, over medium heat, bring sugar, corn syrup, salt and water to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in peanuts. Stir frequently until temperature reaches 300 degrees F (150 degrees C), or if you didn't listen to me and don't have a thermometer, when a small amount of the mixture dropped into very cold water separates into hard and brittle threads (hard crack stage).
3- let boil at 300 for 10-15 seconds (it will smell a little like its burning but I assure you it isn't). Then remove from heat; immediately stir in butter and baking soda until the butter is melted; pour at once onto your cookie sheet. Spread out with the back of your spatula. Let cool. Then brake into pieces (this is the fun part, kids can help at this point)!

I would like to also point out I did a word count and I used the word peanut (<-----yes, I counted this one) 18 times in this post! Yikes!