When it comes to holiday gifting and homemade treats, seems like nuts take center stage here on my little patch of heaven. 

From our treasured baked Lebanese baklava recipe (a yearly family project) with close to 30 layers of phyllo dough and a filling of lightly spiced walnuts, to a stove top cooked multi-nut brittle, nuts check all the boxes.

Now there’s no sharing our baklava recipe with you since a real recipe, cast in stone, doesn’t exist, but what I can do is show you how to make my family’s classic and favored nut brittle.

What I love about this recipe is its versatility. Use any kind of nuts you like, from plain peanuts to a gourmet nut mix. Salted or not – you choose. I use salted mixed nuts in mine and we like the result, a brittle with a good balance of sweet and salty. 

I also use a candy thermometer since the brittle has to cook to two different stages: soft crack and hard crack. If you don’t have a thermometer, check out the information below for the cold water checking method.

Reading through the recipe, you’ll see baking soda in the ingredients. Added at the end of cooking time, baking soda causes a chemical reaction that’s necessary for the right texture in the finished candy. When you stir in the baking soda, a foamy mass forms and tiny air bubbles get trapped, making the candy “brittle” with a real crunchy texture. No worries about sticky brittle that may pull a tooth filling out!

Make a batch or two, won’t you? This recipe fills a big cookie sheet so you’ll wind up with lots of candy to give away and still have enough for yourself!

Classic nut brittle

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup hot water

1 cup light corn syrup

12 oz/3 cups roasted nuts, salted or not, your choice of nuts

3 tablespoons butter

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Instructions

Spray or butter a large cookie sheet. 

Spray spatula or whatever utensil you’ll use to stir the brittle. This helps prevent sugar syrup from sticking to the utensil.

In a large saucepan over medium high heat, cook sugar, water and corn syrup until it reaches 280 degrees/soft crack stage on a candy thermometer. 

Slowly add nuts and continue to cook, stirring, until temperature reaches 300 degrees/hard crack stage. Turn off heat.

Add butter and vanilla and stir until blended.

Add baking soda and stir vigorously but be careful as mixture is really hot. 

Pour onto prepared cookie sheet and immediately spread as thin as possible. 

(I use an offset spatula, sprayed).

Let cool completely, break up and store in airtight container at room temperature, separating layers with waxed paper or parchment, up to a few weeks or so.

Gilding the lily:

Like a bit of heat in your brittle? Stir in a few shakes of cayenne or chipotle powder when you add the butter and vanilla. 

Chocolate dipped brittle – dip pieces into melted chocolate that has cooled a bit but is still pourable. Dry on cooling rack.

How to Test Candy Temperatures Without a Thermometer

This information is from The Spruce Eats sight. Do check the site out. It is always interesting with accurate information and yummy recipes:

Use cold water to test the temperature of your candy

You don’t need a candy thermometer to make your favorite sweets. In fact, all you need is this handy guide and a bowl of cold water.

The so-called “cold-water method” is an easy way to estimate the temperature of your candy: Generations of cooks and candy makers have relied on this trick to make all types of candies, from fudge to toffee.

Lay out a spoon and a bowl of cold water beside your pot of boiling sugar. Every few minutes, drop a small spoonful of syrup into the cold water. Let the candy cool for a second, then form it into a ball with your hand. Compare the shape and texture of the candy to the chart below to determine the approximate temperature of the syrup. Once the candy reaches the desired stage (for example, the hard-ball stage for marshmallows), take the pot off the heat and proceed with the recipe.

Example: According to a fudge recipe, your boiling sugar must reach 236 F, the soft-ball stage. Once the sugar syrup has come to a boil, you drop a spoonful of syrup into the cold water—you repeat this process every three or four minutes. At first, the sugar syrup is stringy and shapeless, but after several tests, it starts to hold its shape. You form the sixth spoonful into a soft ball, which tells you that your syrup has reached 236 F. You take it off the heat.

This method requires practice and caution, but it’s a great technique to have in your arsenal.

Candy Temperature Chart

Name	Temp	Description	Usage
Thread	223-235 F	The syrup drips from a spoon and forms thin threads in water.	Glacé and candied fruits
Soft ball	235-245 F	The syrup easily forms a ball while in the cold water but flattens once removed.	Fudge and fondant
Firm ball	245-250 F	The syrup is formed into a stable ball but loses its round shape once pressed.	Caramel candies
Hard ball	250-266 F	The syrup holds its ball shape when pressed but remains sticky.	Divinity and marshmallows
Soft crack	270-290 F	The syrup will form firm but pliable threads.	Nougat and taffy.
Hard crack	300-310 F	The syrup forms brittle threads and easily cracks and snaps.	Brittles and lollipops
Caramel	320-350 F	The sugar syrup will turn golden brown and have a fragrant caramel smell.	Caramel syrup, Pralines

Note: Please exercise caution when working with candy, since molten sugar burns are particularly dangerous. Pay careful attention to your boiling syrup and don’t let any jewelry or hair near the pot.