Old Fashioned Peanut Brittle Recipe - easy gift idea (2024)

This old fashioned recipe is an easy way to make peanut brittle at home. This homemade peanut brittle makes a tasty and easy gift idea you can give this holiday season. Your family and friends will love to receive this classic candy!

Peanut brittle is a smooth, hard candy with peanuts. Its uneven broken shape makes it distinctive and fun to make.

I love to make holiday cookies for neighbors, but for people who live farther away candy is ideal. It keeps longer and holds up much better to packaging and mailing.

Why You Will Love Peanut Brittle

• This homemade candy is the ultimate combination of sweet and salty and has the perfect crunch.
• This is a very cost effective homemade gift, perfect when you want to make something for a lot of people. The main ingredients are peanuts, corn syrup and sugar, all of which are relatively inexpensive.
• The candy will keep for weeks, so it is great for mailing as a gift to distant relatives.
• This is an old fashioned candy, just like your grandma used to make!
• Kids love to help break the candy up into little pieces once it is cooled. Kids need to stay away during the cooking and pouring of the candy though, because of the high temperatures involved.

Key Equipment

To successfully make this recipe I strongly suggest you use a candy thermometer. These are inexpensive and clip to the side of the saucepan as you make the candy.

To ensure a crispy, crunch brittle you need the candy to reach the “hard crack” state, which it gets to at 300 F. Without a thermometer you have to judge that by color and thickness of the syrup, which is difficult unless you are an experienced candy maker.

Step by Step Instructions

1. Preparation

This recipe is not difficult, but to be successful you need to get everything ready before you start. Measure all the ingredients out and have them lined up next to the stove.

Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set it aside for later. I like to use a half sheet size cookie sheet, which is about 18 by 13 inches in size. Make sure it is a rimmed baking sheet so the candy stays inside.

Pick a saucepan that is larger than you think you will need. The candy will foam up some, and you don’t want it to overflow. I use 4 quart saucepan.

Find your candy thermometer and have it ready to use. If you are like me it is something you only use a few times a year! And finally have oven mitts ready to protect your hands when you pour the candy.

2. Make the Sugar Syrup

In your large saucepan stir together the sugar, corn syrup and water. Attach the thermometer to the side of the saucepan, making sure that it doesn’t touch the bottom of the pan.

Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the thermometer reaches 240 F. It can be tempting to turn the burner up higher to make it go faster, but don’t do it! Be patient. It is normal for the temperature to plateau for a while and then start going up again.

Once the temperature reaches 240 F add the peanuts. The sugar syrup will be bubbly and start to thicken.

Keep stirring so that the peanuts are completely coated in the candy mixture. Keep watching the thermometer until it reaches 280 F.

At this point add the butter to the saucepan and continue to stir until the thermometer reaches 300 F. The sugar syrup will turn a pretty amber colored brown when it reaches this temperature, which is called the hard crack stage.

3. Pour the Syrup

Once the thermometer shows 300 F take the saucepan off the heat. Keep stirring and add in the vanilla extract and baking soda.

The baking soda is essential because it causes a chemical reaction which creates a bunch of tiny air bubbles that is key to the final texture. The contents of the sauce pan will foam up as these ingredients are added, just keep stirring.

Remember the sugar mixture is HOT. It can splash as you pour it. So put oven mitts on now to protect your hands. It is best if they extend up your wrists a bit.

Pour the peanut mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it out with a spatula. You can also spread it by tilting the baking sheet if you prefer.

The candy will set fast, so work quickly to spread it out. You don’t have to cover the baking sheet from corner to corner and it is fine if the edges are irregular.

4. Finish

Let the peanut brittle cool completely. This will take about 30 minutes.

Then break it into pieces. You can make large pieces or small bite sized pieces, depending on how you are going to package it for gift giving.

How to Store

Peanut brittle should be stored at room temperature – don’t put it in the refrigerator. The candy is susceptible to humidity so it needs to be stored in an airtight container.

One of the reasons this is such a classic candy to give as a gift it that it keeps for a long time – up to two months. Of course it never lasts that long at my house!

Variations

I used roasted salted peanuts in this recipe and I love the sweet and salty flavor that results. But you can make it with raw peanuts or unsalted peanuts.

And there is no reason you have to use peanuts in this recipe. If you prefer almonds or cashews or pecans go right ahead. It will be a little more expensive to buy the ingredients, but it will taste amazing.

Package for Gift Giving

The most important thing for packaging peanut brittle for gift giving is to keep it in an airtight container. A decorative metal cookie tin makes a great storage container.

You can also use decorative paper boxes, metal pails or a coffee mug for a fun and festive presentation. Just put the candy inside a plastic bag before giving it as a Christmas present.

Frequently Asked Questions

Find More Recipes for Food Gifts

• Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls
• Caramel Honeycomb Snack Mix