perfection of sweet peanutty goodness

It took me years to appreciate peanut brittle. Why? My grandparents' friends, the Emmetts, made it homemade all the time. We had it sitting around pretty much constantly. I never thought it was anything special.

I don't remember how long ago I started liking it again. It's pretty easy to make, and it's a crowd-pleaser...

Recently I found Alton Brown's (think Good Eats) special peanut brittle recipe. No ordinary brittle, it has a hint of spice to make it more interesting.

I made a first batch with the intent of taking it in to work, a few weeks back. Yeah, like it made it that far. Last weekend, I attempted a second batch, a double this time, to take in to my peanut-lovin' comrades (especially since Ian is gluten-intolerant and can't eat the cookies people bring) -- but alas, it crystallized funny!!!

Anyway, I kept the ugly batch and am eating it myself -- what a horrible cross to bear.

And here's the recipe, more or less (with a few modifications) so you can make your own spicy peanut brittle...

1. Mix one cup peanuts with 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper. Set aside.
2. Heat 1 1/2 c sugar, 3/4 c water, and 1 tbsp corn syrup in a heavy pot -- nonstick is best. Bring to a boil, and cover and let boil 3 minutes to get crystals off the sides of the pot. Remove the lid, and patiently let the syrup turn a pale amber color.
3. Remove the pot from heat. Mix in 1 tsp baking soda; syrup will foam up (Alton doesn't do this, but it lightens the texture a bit for me). Stir in spicy peanuts.
4. Spread out on a cookie sheet ideally lined with a Silpat or similar product. The peanuts will have a tendency to clump in the center; continue folding from the outside in to attempt to evenly distribute. This will also help the candy cool and harden.

And there's your spicy peanut brittle!