Believe it or not, January 26th is National Peanut Brittle Day. Although I’m not planning a big celebration (or any celebration for that matter), I think it’s a good excuse to make peanut brittle.

Peanut Brittle is one of the easiest homemade candies to make; most of the minimal ingredients are common items that are probably already on your pantry shelves or in the fridge. Raw peanuts (with skins) are available at any grocery store. Once the peanut brittle is cooked, it is simply poured onto a pan, cooled and broken into pieces - no fru-fru shaping or tedious wrapping of small pieces. Peanut brittle stays fresh for months, too, so if you keep it hidden from family members, a piece or two will always be available when a craving hits.

There are lots of good recipes for peanut brittle, but my favorite is one that my Grandma Burgie made while I was growing up. I’ve made it hundreds of times without a failure, and included it on Christmas trays and in cellophane bags tied with ribbons as favors at showers and parties, always to rave reviews from the recipients.

Grandma Burgie’s Peanut Brittle

About 48 pieces
2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
2 1/4 cups raw peanuts
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon (rounded) baking soda

1. Butter an 11 x 17” jellyroll pan; set aside.


2. Mix the sugar, corn syrup, water, salt, and butter in a large heavy saucepan.


3. Cover the pan and bring to a boil. (Covering the pan creates steam which washes down any sugar crystals)


4. When the mixture boils, remove the cover and cook to soft ball stage.


5. Add the peanuts and cook, stirring with a heat-resistant silicone or wooden spoon – never metal, and washing down the sides periodically with a pastry brush dipped in water, until the mixture is a light caramel color and a candy thermometer registers somewhere in between the soft crack and hard crack stage.


6. Remove from heat; stir in the vanilla and soda.


7. Immediately pour onto the prepared jellyroll pan and spread to the edges.


8. Let cool thoroughly before breaking into pieces.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 104 Calories from Fat 39
Percent Total Calories From: Fat 37% Protein 7% Carb. 56%

Nutrient Amount per Serving
Total Fat 4 g
Saturated Fat 1 g
Cholesterol 3 mg
Sodium 44 mg
Total Carbohydrate 15 g
Dietary Fiber 0 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 2 g

Vitamin A 1% Vitamin C 0% Calcium 0% Iron 3%