Best-Ever Nut Brittle (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between praline and brittle? ›

Pralines have a lot in common with nut brittle, with the difference being mostly in the addition of cream and the cooking temperature––the sugary syrup used to coat pralines is heated to a soft-ball consistency, a lower temperature than the hard-crack stage of peanut brittle.

Peanut brittle has one redeeming quality: peanuts. Outside of that single ingredient, peanut brittle is painfully unhealthy. It contains: sugar, corn syrup, and butter, all of which are unhealthy for your body in different ways.

Brittles are typically composed mostly of sugar, while toffees contain a fair amount of butter and in some cases milk. This makes toffees fuller and richer in taste, while brittles are more purely sweet and sugary. Brittles are also much thinner than most toffees.

To store: Store peanut brittle (once it's completely cooled) in an airtight container at room temperature. Do not refrigerate as the moisture from the fridge will cause the brittle to soften. Store for 6-8 weeks. To freeze: Peanut brittle can be frozen and stored up to 3 months.

Don't Stop Stirring Until the Pot Talks – Here, she's referring to the step of cooling the syrup before dropping the candies to harden. It starts off very loose and liquidy. As you stir, sugar crystals start to form and the syrup will start to feel thick and grainy against your spoon.

praline, in French confectionery, a cooked mixture of sugar, nuts, and vanilla, often ground to a paste for use as a pastry or candy filling, analogous to marzipan; also, a sugar-coated almond or other nutmeat.

Baking soda is a key ingredient in peanut brittle. It's what aerates the candy, giving it a nice light crunch. Why didn't my homemade peanut brittle get hard? The main reason why peanut brittle doesn't get hard and have the crunch we expect is because the sugar was not cooked long enough.

Water: Water helps the sugar completely dissolve. Salt: A pinch of salt enhances the other flavors. If you opt for salted butter, you can skip this ingredient. Peanuts: Of course, you'll need peanuts for this classic treat!

Why did my peanut brittle turn out chewy? The likely cause is that the sugar mixture didn't reach the proper hard crack stage temperature. Ensuring it reaches 300˚F is key to getting that classic brittle texture.

It's important while the toffee cooks to only stir it occasionally. Constant stirring can cause the toffee to crystallize and separate. For those of you that need to know exactly how often you should stir, I would suggest erring on the side of not stirring more than stirring.

What is the name of the Scottish toffee? ›

As well as bonfire toffee it has also been known as cinder toffee, plot toffee and Tom Trot! No, we're not sure why either. It's known as Claggum in Scotland and Loshin Du in Wales. Over the years, many have put their unique spin on the traditional treacle toffee recipe.

Simmering the syrup for English toffee to the requisite 300°F temperature can (and should) be a slow process — up to 20 minutes or so. Don't hurry this gradual transformation; syrup that doesn't reach 300°F, or close to it, will make candy with timid flavor and chewy (not crunchy) texture.

To keep the brittle light and airy, do not spread or flatten the mixture.

To maximize shelf-life, you can vacuum pack the peanut brittle just after it's cooled completely. Then store it in a cold, dark place, or even freeze it. Vacuum packing will minimize oxygen and potentially extend the shelf life to 6 months or more.

"Conventional peanut butter does not need to be refrigerated because it has added oils that stabilize it to keep the oil from separating out and to extend its shelf life," says Cooper. Additionally, conventional peanut butter has low water activity, which means microbes generally can't grow in it.

Other terms for pralines include pecan pralines, pecan candy, plarines and pecan patties, to name a few. Modern day New Orleans pecan pralines are not very different than the ones made one hundred years ago. The common factors are dairy, sugar, and pecans.

Praliné is a nut-based paste used widely in pastry-making. It's not to be confused with praline, which is a candy coated with caramelized sugar.

Brittle is a type of confection consisting of flat broken pieces of hard sugar candy embedded with nuts such as pecans, almonds, or peanuts, and which are usually less than 1 cm thick.

The term “praline” traditionally refers to a confection made from nuts—often almonds or hazelnuts—that are caramelised in sugar. When enveloped in chocolate, this confection transforms into praline chocolate.