Microwave Peanut Brittle

It’s Christmas season! Time to make Christmas candy!! C’mon we only get to do this one time a year! My family gets so excited when they walk in the kitchen and see the ingredients sitting on the counter. It’s all about making Christmas memories!January is coming and I know we will all be on some kind of health kick, and I will post all kinds of healthy recipes, so for now it’s candy making time!!!
Also, it makes a wonderful Christmas gift to show someone how much you appreciate them.

Years ago, I made the peanut brittle on the stove top until someone gave me some peanut brittle that they made in the microwave. It was so good! It is so easy to make. It still has that delicate and crisp texture. Warning: If this is a gift, you better wrap it as soon as it cools or you will eat the whole batch! It is that good!

The three things you must have:

Glass bowl (I just know)

Thick pot holders

Parchment Paper

Okay, we all have some kitchen horror stories, here’s one of mine. When I was first married and I was about 20 years old, I decided to make peanut brittle for Christmas, so I got out a big red Tupperware bowl (Oh, yes I did). I put my sugar and Karo in and placed it in the microwave above my stove. I had no recipe or directions so I thought about 15 or 20 minutes would get it to the hard ball stage. I saw the light on and the red bowl turning out of the corner of my eye, and all of a sudden I looked at the microwave, and MY BOWL HAD DISAPPEARED! I ran over and opened the microwave door and out pours screaming hot red peanut brittle. It was all over me, my cabinets, my oven, and the floor. Do you know what is more painful than hot syrup sticking to you? Hot syrup with melted plastic sticking to you. I was in so much pain and I was panicking because my husband was going to kill me. Our house was brand new!!! It took off the finish on the cabinets and I had to chisel hardened sugar off the burners on the stove for a good while. I never ever made that mistake again.

These are the only ingredients you will need. This peanut brittle only takes about 7 minutes to make so I go ahead and measure out my ingredients and lay out my parchment paper on a cookie sheet. You will have no messy cleanup if you use the paper.

Heat the sugar and light corn syrup in a GLASS bowl in the microwave for 5 minutes.

Pour in peanuts, butter, and vanilla and stir. Cook in microwave for 1 minute and 25 seconds. Remember the bowl will be hot!

Add baking soda. The brittle will get foamy. Stir and spread on parchment paper. It is a little tricky to hold a glass bowl with a pot holder and scrape the mixture out so if you have one with handles like this one it is a little bit easier.

I try to spread it fairly thin. It doesn’t really matter how it looks, you are going to break it into pieces. It takes about 20 to 25 minutes to cool before I can break it apart.

I like to package it in clear bags with a bow tied around it for gifts.

Tip: Try to get as much of the brittle as you can out of your glass bowl. If you can’t get it all, just fill the bowl with water and microwave it for a few minutes. The hot water will melt the hardened sugar.

Microwave Peanut Brittle

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup or Karo

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup salted peanuts

1 teaspoon baking soda

Combine sugar and syrup in a microwave safe bowl and stir. Microwave for 5 minutes. Add butter, vanilla, and peanuts, stir. Microwave for 1 minute and 25 seconds. Add baking soda and stir quickly. Spread on parchment paper or foil. Let cool for about 25 minutes.

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