Am I the only person who will halve a recipe for the first half of the ingredients and then forget about it and put the full amount of the last ingredients in? Can I blame it on the baby? As you can probably guess, the first time I made this peanut brittle it got twice as much baking soda and vanilla as it needed. Before I realized the error I asked Jake to taste it and the poor guy tried to be nice. He even said, "Maybe that's how it is supposed to taste." No, Jake, that isn't how it is supposed to taste.
Having a chubby-cheeked baby around who demands attention 24/7, it was a difficult decision to remake the candy. The first idea was to try and convince the neighbors that the peanut brittle from their childhoods was all wrong, and this double-baking-soda brittle is how it was actually supposed to taste. Or I could have just thrown it away and forgotten about it. But I would have had to make a replacement candy gift anyway, so why not give the peanuts another shot?
I used honey roasted peanuts instead of regular roasted because they are just so much more flavorful out of the can, so why wouldn't they be more flavorful in the candy? It either does actually taste better or I am a victim of self-fulfilling prophacy because I thought that it was great!
Honey Roasted Peanut Brittle (adapted from Bon Appetit):
1 1/2 cups sugar 1 cup water 3/4 cup light corn syrup 2 1/4 cups coarsely chopped salted roasted peanuts 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus extra for the baking sheet 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 tablespoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Butter 1 heavy large baking sheet. Stir first 4 ingredients in heavy large saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to high and boil without stirring until candy thermometer registers 260°F., about 20 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Mix in peanuts, salt, and butter and cook until thermometer registers 295°F., stirring constantly, about 10 minutes. Add baking soda and vanilla and stir briskly (mixture will foam up). Immediately pour out onto prepared baking sheet. Spread out brittle as thinly as possible. Let stand until cold and hard.
Break brittle into pieces. Store in airtight containers at room temperature. (Can be prepared up to 1 month ahead.)
