Christmas Almond Brittle

Brittle is a type of confection, consisting of flat broken pieces of hard sugar candy embedded with nuts such as pecans, almonds, or peanuts.  That's the boring definition of this Holiday (or any day) treat.  The fun way to describe this buttery, nutty goodness is it's a melt in your mouth, crunchy, rich candy that is easy to make.  Super easy.  Microwave easy.  Okay, so that's quite a few ways to describe it.  I just can't say enough about brittle, any brittle...almond, peanut, cashews...it's just as yummy with any nut you choose. Make it twice as nice and add two nut varieties.  Another plus to this confection is that it's perfect for gift giving and packages well for mailing to your loved ones too.   I am crazy for BRITTLE!!!!

In a 2-quart glass measuring cup, combine sugar, corn syrup, and salt, stirring until sugar is moistened.   

Caution:  DO NOT use a smaller glass measuring cup

This is the one I used.  

Trust me, this stuff is like a science experiment.  It will bubble over and grow twice the size while it's  cooking in the microwave for 4 minutes.

Take out of the microwave and add butter and nuts.  I used almonds but you can use any nut you prefer.

Return to the microwave for another 5 minutes. It will be thick and bubbly and pale brown in color.

See! This is why you need a 2 quart glass measuring cup.  It will triple in volume.  And it's Hot.  Oh so hot!  Be very careful when handling.

After mixing in the vanilla and baking powder spread, using a buttered spatula, until very thin on a buttered jelly roll pan until cool.

In 20 minutes (no kidding, really just 20 minutes) you will have hard, buttery, rich Brittle.

 Store in container up to one week.  But I doubt it will last that long.

Almond Brittle
(courtesy Martha Stewart)
Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups mixed nuts, such as pecan halves, cashews, pistachios, coarsely chopped if large
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking soda


Directions

1. Spray a rimmed baking sheet and a wide metal spatula with cooking spray; set aside.
2. In a 2-quart glass measuring cup, combine sugar, corn syrup, and salt, stirring until sugar is moistened. Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Stir in butter and nuts; return to microwave for about 5 minutes, until the sugar mixture is thick, bubbly, and very pale brown in color. Mixture is very hot; use handle when holding and pouring.
3. Remove from microwave, stir in vanilla and baking soda (mixture may foam up). Immediately pour onto prepared baking sheet, spreading mixture as thinly as possible with the prepared spatula. Let stand 20 minutes until hardened, then lift off sheet, and break brittle into bite-size pieces.