Almond Brittle
Sweet and crunchy and filled with thinly sliced toasted almonds.
Choose a candy thermometer that you can clip to the sides of the pot and leave there while it cooks, this can take 15-30 minutes for the mixture to reach 300°F. Have the numbers facing you so you can watch as the temperature rises.
Be sure to have all the ingredients ready you need to add, and the baking pan prepared right at hand. Once the mixture reaches 300°F, you have to move fast since it will start to set up within a minute (which is why I didn’t have any pictures past this point!).
Almond Brittle
Sweet and crunchy and filled with thinly sliced toasted almonds.
Ingredients
- 2 cups sliced almonds toasted
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/3 cup light corn syrup
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ tsp baking soda
Instructions
- Grease a baking sheet, then line with parchment paper.
- In a medium size saucepan, bring sugar, syrup, water, and butter to a boil over medium heat. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved, then stop stirring. Allow to come to a boil.
- Once the mixture reaches 275°F, watch it carefully as it rises quickly after this point. You want to remove the mixture from the heat once it reaches 300°F. However since the the temperature of the mixture can continue to rise even after you remove it from the heat, it’s safer to remove the mixture once it reaches 295°F (so you have a bit more working time, and it doesn't set up as fast).
- Using a wooden spoon or heat proof spatula, carefully but quickly pour in baking soda and mix vigorously for a few seconds until incorporated (mixture will boil up briefly). Then quickly pour in almonds, mixing quickly and pour onto baking sheet, spreading out into an even thin layer as quickly as possible.
- Allow to cool at room temperature until solid, then break into pieces. Store in an air-tight container
Notes
When boiling a sugar solution, undissolved sugar crystals stuck to the sides of the pan can fall into the mixture can re-crystallize the entire pot, turning it into a grainy mess (all it takes is one sugar crystal to act as a ‘seed’ to begin crystal formation again). Which is why some recipes say to brush the sides of the pan down with a wet pastry brush. However with the addition of corn syrup, this can be prevented. This invert sugar acts to stabilize the mixture so it won't re-crystallize.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
If you’re looking for a good candy thermometer, check out our Review on Kitchen Scales & Thermometers for some great buying information and our top picks!
