5 Takes on the best basic peanut brittle recipe

These fun and flavorful spins on a classic peanut brittle recipe will get you excited about making candy at home.

This is the perfect time of year for making peanut brittle as it’s great for gift-giving and makes your home smell like a candy shop. If you’re in the market for the perfect basic peanut brittle recipe, this one from BonAppetit provides consistent results and tastes amazing. If you want to get really festive, though, here are some of my favorite ways to get creative with peanut brittle:

• Drizzle on some chocolate. Dark, milk or white chocolate are all marvelous with peanut brittle.
• Mix in some spices. I love adding fall spices like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger, but adding some heat with cayenne or pepper flakes is also great.
• Mix up the nuts or add seeds. Pepitas, pecans, almonds and sesame seeds all make delightful brittles.
• Add some java. Instant coffee granules, coffee beans and even chocolate covered espresso beans add a jolt and sophisticated bitterness to this sweet candy.
• Think outside the box. What flavors do you love with peanuts? Maybe try sprinkling some marshmallows on top of the brittle or swirl in some melted jelly as it cools. This year I made an “Elvis” brittle with bacon and banana chips. The recipe for it is below.

The five recipes below are all inspired by the suggestions above and are adapted from Frankie’s Peanut Brittle.

Peanut brittle with chocolate drizzle recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups cocktail peanuts
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate

Directions:

1. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and grease with butter or a nonstick spray.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sugar, corn syrup and water. Cook until the sugar dissolves, then increase the heat to high. Boil until the mixture just begins to turn golden — this may be in the middle or around the edges, depending on your stove. Stir in the peanuts and continue cooking until the mixture is deeply golden brown.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Sprinkle in the baking soda and stir until the mixture bubbles and turns uniformly lighter in color.
4. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet, using a spatula if needed to spread the mixture evenly. Cool completely before breaking into pieces.
5. Melt the chocolate in the bowl of a double boiler; alternately, add to a small bowl and microwave in 30-second increments until melted. Use a spoon, piping bag or squeeze bottle to drizzle the chocolate over the brittle. Allow to dry completely before serving.

Spicy peanut brittle recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups cocktail peanuts
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 tablespoon chili pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon baking soda

Directions:

1. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and grease with butter or a nonstick spray.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sugar, corn syrup and water. Cook until the sugar dissolves, then increase the heat to high. Boil until the mixture just begins to turn golden — this may be in the middle or around the edges, depending on your stove. Stir in the peanuts and continue cooking until the mixture is deeply golden brown.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, vanilla and pepper flakes until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Sprinkle in the baking soda and stir until the mixture bubbles and turns uniformly lighter in color.
4. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet, using a spatula if needed to spread the mixture evenly. Cool completely before breaking into pieces.

Peanut and almond brittle recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup cocktail peanuts
• 1 cup raw almonds, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon baking soda

Directions:

1. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and grease with butter or a nonstick spray.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sugar, corn syrup and water. Cook until the sugar dissolves, then increase the heat to high. Boil until the mixture just begins to turn golden — this may be in the middle or around the edges, depending on your stove. Stir in the peanuts and and almonds and continue cooking until the mixture is deeply golden brown.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Sprinkle in the baking soda and stir until the mixture bubbles and turns uniformly lighter in color.
4. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet, using a spatula if needed to spread the mixture evenly. Cool completely before breaking into pieces.

Coffee peanut brittle recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups cocktail peanuts
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
• 1 tablespoon baking soda

Directions:

1. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and grease with butter or a nonstick spray.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sugar, corn syrup and water. Cook until the sugar dissolves, then increase the heat to high. Boil until the mixture just begins to turn golden — this may be in the middle or around the edges, depending on your stove. Stir in the peanuts and continue cooking until the mixture is deeply golden brown.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, vanilla and coffee granules until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Sprinkle in the baking soda and stir until the mixture bubbles and turns uniformly lighter in color.
4. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet, using a spatula if needed to spread the mixture evenly. Cool completely before breaking into pieces.

Elvis peanut brittle recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup cocktail peanuts
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup banana chips, roughly chopped
• 8 slices bacon, fried and crumbled
• 1 tablespoon baking soda

Directions:

1. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and grease with butter or a nonstick spray.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sugar, corn syrup and water. Cook until the sugar dissolves, then increase the heat to high. Boil until the mixture just begins to turn golden — this may be in the middle or around the edges, depending on your stove. Stir in the peanuts and continue cooking until the mixture is deeply golden brown.
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla until the butter is melted and fully incorporated. Stir in the banana chips and bacon. Sprinkle in the baking soda and stir until the mixture bubbles and turns uniformly lighter in color.
4. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet, using a spatula if needed to spread the mixture evenly. Cool completely before breaking into pieces.

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