Saturday, December 17, 2011

The Rosiethon. Day 5 Of Rosie's Christmas Baking. #18. Dixie Peanut Brittle.

Rosie is still oven-less, so she's making Dixie Peanut Brittle.
 Awwww. I miss Dixie.
Beau is pinch-hitting for Dixie today.
He smells the caramel.
Dixie would have been in that exact same place.
The recipe calls for 3 cups shelled peanuts.
A one-pound bag of peanuts yields 2 cups shelled.
Dixie Peanut Brittle
2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
 3 cups raw shelled peanuts
 2 TB butter
2 tsp baking soda
 In a heavy saucepan, heat sugar, syrup,
water, and salt to a rolling boil.
Add peanuts.
Reduce heat to medium and stir constantly
 until mixture reaches hard crack stage.
 (300-310 degrees - about 10 minutes)
Add butter, then baking soda.
 Beat rapidly and immediately pour evenly
onto greased baking sheet.
When the baking soda goes in, the mixture turns very light and foamy.
You need to work fast and it helps to have a second set of hands
 to spread the mixture evenly.
When cool, break into pieces.
Bring sugar, water, corn syrup, and salt to a rolling boil.
Add in nuts.
Turn heat to medium, ...
... stirring constantly, until ...
... it reaches hard crack stage. 300 - 310 degrees Mr. Hawthorne gave me the laser thermometer for my birthday last year. It's quite a nifty little gadget and if you're the least bit antsy about frying, it would behoove you to get one of these. I can tell when oil is ready for frying by watching the rate of bubbles coming out of the end of a wooden spoon handle when submerged in the hot oil. If you're not comfortable with this method, then I recommend the laser thermometer. Plus, it's lots of fun to play with. You'll find yourself taking the temperature of all sorts of things.
Add in the butter,
... beating well.
Next, add in the baking soda and beat rapidly. Quickly, pour peanut foam onto buttered baking pan. Spread evenly. I set up my little camera on its miniature tripod to shoot the video: I said "soft crack" stage in the video. I meant "hard crack."

2 comments:

Lea said...

Dogs like caramel? We once had a dog who loved peaches. And our cat loves asparagus and green beans, but caramel?

Rosie Hawthorne said...

Lea, I don't feed Beau caramel. He likes the smell of it. Whenever I cook anything, the dogs are right beside/underneath me in the kitchen.