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Post by Chuckie on Dec 11, 2011 17:47:40 GMT -5
Used my Grandma's recipe. Got it to come out on FIRST try!! My poor Mother over the years threw away several cookie sheets, as she rarely got it to hard-crack stage. We however used a candy thermometer and did it on Isabella's stove top. Made it up to 300 degrees w/no probs!!!
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Post by lwagne on Dec 11, 2011 22:26:16 GMT -5
So, did it come off the pan ? or are you adding that sheet of p-nut brittle to the garbage dump? Also, does anyone know how to make toffee (like Heath Bars not salt water) that does not get soft and squishy? Maybe I didn't have mine to a high enough "crack". Dipped in chocolate - great the first day, turned to mushy overnight.
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Post by Chuckie on Dec 11, 2011 23:37:46 GMT -5
So, did it come off the pan ? or are you adding that sheet of p-nut brittle to the garbage dump? Also, does anyone know how to make toffee (like Heath Bars not salt water) that does not get soft and squishy? Maybe I didn't have mine to a high enough "crack". Dipped in chocolate - great the first day, turned to mushy overnight. Nope, came right off!! I let it cool to room temp, then put the pan in the refer for a bit. Just banged it on the counter, then busted up the big pieces w/a table knife. We buttered the jelly roll pan b4 putting the peanut brittle on it, and it wasn't even sticky afterwards, so guess we got it right! As an aside, my Grandma's recipe just read "bring to boil, boil for 10 minutes, add peanuts and boil till light brown". After ten minutes, the sugar/syrup was only at about 200. The online recipe says it "takes FOREVER to get to 250, but goes pretty quick after that". I'd say it was a good 20 minutes before we hit 250. Online recommended adding the Spanish peanuts @ 250, then bring it up to "hard crack" (300 degrees). We immediately shut off the burner @ 300, added the remaining ingredients per Grandma's recipe, and spread it on the sheet which we had warm in the oven to help make spreading the brittle easier. We followed the online advice, but used my Grandma's recipe's ingredients.
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Post by lkeriegirl on Dec 12, 2011 19:55:26 GMT -5
Oh, lord. We made peanut brittle yesterday, you are missing the "funnest" step of the process, where you pour out the frothing boiled sugar and newly roasted nuts onto a buttered marble slab, wait a few minutes, and then pull it apart with your bare hands. I only helped with the last 4 batches, and my hands are still tender. But the brittle is thin like spun glass in places. Mmmm. Oh well, thick or thin, we are better off than anyone who did not make some yesterday!! These are not from this year, but they could have been When it is stretched enough we move it off the hot slab onto the table, which must be covered in waxed paper. Cut-rite, according to my dear departed Auntie Madge.
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Post by Chuckie on Dec 12, 2011 20:54:13 GMT -5
My Grandma's recipe says not to jack w/it too much after you add the baking soda, as you want all the bubbles to "perk it up" and give it some body. Guess everybody's recipe is different.
I DID discover ONE thing--you do NOT take your finger to taste some of it off the spatula while you are spreading it, or you lose the outer layer of said finger from the 300+ degree batter---OUCH!!!
CHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by cinnabar on Dec 12, 2011 21:14:38 GMT -5
so.. where's the recipes ?
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Post by Chuckie on Dec 12, 2011 22:30:35 GMT -5
so.. where's the recipes ? Here's Grandma's verbatim, and then I'll add what I did different: Peanut Brittle (Peg Zink) 2 cups sugar 1 cup white syrup 1/2 cup water Boil this for 10 minutes. Add 1 pound Spanish Peanuts, boil till light brown. Remove from heat and add: 2 TBS butter 1 tsp vanilla 2 tsp soda Stir quickly and pour onto greased cookie sheet, spread but not too much or you'll lose the bubbles that perk it up. Let cool, then break into pieces with a knife. ------------------------------------- OK, we did the first ingredients, and per online instructions, brought the syrup/sugar/H20 up to 250 degrees. We then added one pound of Spanish peanuts (peanuts w/the jackets on). That dropped the temp to about 225. It DID take awhile to bring it up to 300 degrees using a candy thermometer. We IMMEDIATELY took it off the heat, had the butter already melted in the thermowell w/the vanilla, then stirred in the baking soda. The online recommended having a jelly pan warmed in the oven to help spread the stuff, so we just put one in our Chambers w/the pilot light, and left it in there until we were ready for it. Monkey & I then spread it as quickly as possible w/two spatulas, and once we had the warm sheet pretty much covered, we quit so as not to lose the "bubble effect" Since my last post, I have spoken w/my M.I.L. who said her sister used to make it, and she, too, used a piece of marble to put it on right out of the pot, so she was along the same lines of lkeriegirl. My Grandma's and the online sites said don't manhandle it, or you'll lose the bubble effect of the soda, hence our going w/the warm cookie sheet. As an aside, we must've had it 'right', because M.I.L. agreed w/my Mom, that if you rush it or go too long, you lose it AND the sheet you put it on! Our jelly roll pan looked like nothing had been on it, and it washed right up. The stuff that cooled on the pan we cooked it in chipped off w/a plastic scraper, and extra hot tap water cleaned up the rest of the mess. Again, this was our FIRST attempt at this, and we were quite pleased. IMHO, a candy thermometer is the KEY ingredient! CHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by pooka on Dec 13, 2011 8:57:49 GMT -5
lkeriegirl, I seem to remember a program on the food channel where they showed how peanut brittle was made on an industrial scale. They had an arm that would come down over the conveyer belt where the hot mixture was poured. It had rubber fingers that would pull the mixture out in strange angles for the same effect. At the end of the line it would break off & fall into a large bin to break it up in small pieces.
I guess that saved them from trying to get employes to do it manually burning their fingers. ;D
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Post by lwagne on Dec 13, 2011 9:52:50 GMT -5
They make peanut brittle here at Silver Dollar City also. And they stretch it. Makes more taste surfaces. BUT, as Chuckie says, it is extremely hot and if you wait til it cools, it won't stretch. Stretching makes it "gourmet" peanut brittle!!
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Post by chipperhiker on Dec 16, 2011 13:47:04 GMT -5
Iwagne, I make toffee. I'll post the recipe on a new thread.
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Post by Chuckie on Dec 10, 2018 14:26:10 GMT -5
They make peanut brittle here at Silver Dollar City also. And they stretch it. Makes more taste surfaces. BUT, as Chuckie says, it is extremely hot and if you wait til it cools, it won't stretch. Stretching makes it "gourmet" peanut brittle!! Made this again today, and it came out CORRECTLY once more!!! PRAISE GOD for candy thermometers!!! LOL You can see on the pic where it's still on the cookie sheet where I slopped some on the Chambers drip pan!! It comes RIGHT off after it cools down. Oh BTW, thanks to dwayner tweaking that left front burner, it was up to 300 degrees in WAY LESS than a 1/2 hour---more like 15/20 minutes!!!--unlike last time when it took FOREVER!!
And the parts of it that look "clear"--I FORGOT the baking soda until I had like one or two spatula loads out on the cookie sheet, so I IMMEDIATELY added the soda to what was left in the pan, then TRIED to mix it all together as best I could on the sheet. The parts w/o soda look sorta "clear"...
CHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by cinnabar on Dec 10, 2018 21:38:29 GMT -5
Well, think I'd eat it anyway. Looks yummy.
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Post by Chuckie on Dec 10, 2018 22:07:58 GMT -5
Well, think I'd eat it anyway. Looks yummy. THANKS, cinn!! Coming from a Master Chef like yourself, THAT'S a compliment!!! I'm always AMAZED at what comes off of/out of YOUR stove---and w/no oven thermostat either!!!!
And rest assured, it TASTES okay too!! CHEERS! Chuckie
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Post by Chuckie on Dec 16, 2018 22:55:16 GMT -5
Well, think I'd eat it anyway. Looks yummy. THAT batch met it's demise @ the K of C Christmas party last night, MUCH to Monkey's chagrin!!! She kept bringing up the fact this morning at the breakfast table..... S-o-o-o-o-o-o I made ANOTHER batch today, and REMEMBERED the baking soda at the crucial time! Bubbled up MUCH nicer!!! And once again the pan came out CLEAN!! Cleaner actually---I think that hot stuff burned OFF whatever residue was on there!! LOL
CHEERS! Chuckie
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