January 26th (Tomorrow) is apparently National Peanut Brittle Day. Who knew? This month’s Go Ahead Honey It’s Gluten Free, hosted by the lovely Lauren of Celiac Teen, is “Follow the Calendar.” Since I’m a rebel, I decided to try making this a bit early so I could submit it for Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays. (I actually made it on the weekend so I wouldn’t have to cheat on my Daniel Fast but that’s just how I roll.)
I wanted to make a peanut brittle that didn’t have any corn syrup and wasn’t just white sugar, so I based the recipe on Spunky Coconut’s Spiced Almond Brittle, which used agave nectar. Mine was only brittle when it was straight out the freezer as I didn’t use a candy thermometer and I added baking soda at the beginning, so I was unsure on how hard I should boil it. That’s what happens when you don’t follow the recipe 100%.
Health(ier) Peanut Brittle
1 c. agave nectar
1/3 c. coconut oil
1 1/2 c. roasted, unsalted peanuts
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda (optional)
- Measure agave nectar and coconut oil into a small to medium sized pot. Bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, add peanuts.
- Not so brittle way: bring to a simmer (lot of little bubbles) and stir continually for 20 minutes.
Brittle way: keep boiling/simmering until you’ve reached hard crack temperature. (around 290 – 300F)* - Remove from heat and stir in salt and baking soda. If you add the baking soda, it will be very frothy.
- Pour onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Put into freezer for two hours to cool.
- Once cool, break into pieces. If you made the not-so-brittle version, store in the fridge or else you’ll have very sticky peanut toffee!
- Enjoy!
Which do you like better: brittle or toffee?
*Note: Since I’m not an expert on sugar and since we’re using agave nectar instead of sugar, the hard crack temperature might be different. If you try this, please let me know how it turns out!
I submitted this recipe to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays. As usual, the recipes look amazing, so check it out!
Without Adornment 
oh, i love peanut brittle! =) i didnt know it was this easy to do. thanks for the recipe!
Beautiful! I’m not a brittle or toffee person. I’ve never liked the super sweet, rich stuff like that. But, yours sure is pretty!
Thank you! I’m starting to become a bit less of a sweets person (I found these too sweet after my second piece :P), but I still enjoy them. 🙂
What a beautiful recipe and picture! I enjoyed reading about your “fast”. I am about to start one myself and am debating what I will eat. I like the no meat idea. Unfortunately I know I am sensitive to some fruits and veggies as well! Ugh!! Good luck to you on your quest!
My husband will FLIP when I make this for him. I’m thinking it would make a lovely Valentine’s Day gift!
National Peanut Brittle Day – what is this world coming too! I do love peanut brittle though! Thanks for stopping by my blog! I hope you make the pumpkin bars – they are so yummy.
I love toffee best! My mom made the best English toffee ever.
Thanks for your comment on my last post, that was really encouraging 🙂
Looks delicious! It is so easy to prepare too…
I am scared of making candy! This looks great, even if it wasn’t as brittle as you might have liked.
Hubs is a toffee lover, but I love a good brittle. I’ll have to dig out the candy thermometer and give this a try.
This looks interesting. I love peanut brittle and yours looks yummy. You did a good job photographing it.
Hi Christine! I have been looking for a few easy GF snacks for my kids to use as treats. These look scrumptious! I also like that they are balanced with a good amount of protien. All the best! alex
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What delightful treats!! I love your unique recipe!! Excellent as a special food gift!!
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Mmmmm looks delicious. Will have to try this with honey since we don’t do agave. Might be a fun Easter treat.
I tried it with agave and I was surprised at how long I boiled it without it actually reaching hard crack temp. I’m going to get a thermometer and try again. I had to keep it in the freezer and even then it was surprisingly liquidy.