Heritage Recipes: Miss Clara's Peanut Brittle

My paternal grandmother, Clara, had a treasure trove of handwritten recipes.  Some of them don't have titles, others have only ingredients listed and very few, or little, instructions.  I decided today was the day to make one of my FAVORITE sweets:  peanut brittle.  I'll type our her handwritten recipe shown above so you can read it more easily.  I'll mark with asterisks my notes.  

2 cups green peanuts*

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup white** Karo syrup

1 tsp. soda***

1 inch square of paraffin

Pinch salt

Cook all together except soda.

Cook until 3 or 4 peanuts PoP then add soda and stir good then pour in platter just barely greased with little butter.****

*      our packaging will probably say "raw" peanuts

**    light Karo syrup

***  baking soda

****instead of a platter, I lightly greased a baking sheet

To further explain the instructions, I used a 3-quart heavy saucepan.  Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture reaches 300 degrees F. on a candy thermometer.  When it reaches that temp, work QUICKLY.  The brittle can go from perfect to scorched in a half-second.  

Let brittle harden, break into pieces, and store in an airtight container.

As you can see, it's undeniable that my grandmother LOVED peanuts.  If you're more of a brittle fan, I made Batch #2 and altered the recipe slightly.  

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup light Karo syrup

1/4 cup water

1/4 t. salt

1 cup raw peanuts

1 tsp. baking soda

2 T. butter

Lightly grease a baking sheet with butter.  Put the baking sheet into a warm oven while you prepare the brittle.  A heated surface will help you to spread the peanut brittle because it will begin to harden immediately.

In a 3-quart heavy saucepan, add sugar, Karo syrup, water, and salt. Bring to a boil, continually stirring.  Let boil for a minute and add peanuts.  Continue boiling while stirring until candy thermometer reaches 300 degrees F.  Remove from heat and immediately add baking soda and butter.  

QUICKLY spread the peanut brittle on the warmed baking sheet.  Let harden and break into pieces.

Store in an airtight container.

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