Nut and Seed Homemade Brittle (Updated)

When I wrote the original post for nut and seed brittle it was because we were “eating from the pantry”. Have you ever done that? It’s just a deliberate decision to eat from the stored food in the house. Anyway back then, as if often the case now, I had a wide variety of nuts and seeds that needed to be eaten. Thank goodness for Pinterest, where I found this recipe from Adventures in Cooking called Autumn Brittle. Her recipe makes homemade brittle without corn syrup. Instead it uses honey.

Where did brittle candy come from?

A brittle is a hard candy made from melted sugar and embedded with nuts. The candy is formed by pouring a hot mix of sugar and nuts onto a tray in a thin layer. After it has cooled, the candy is broken into irregularly shaped bits.

Peanut brittle is the most popular variety in the United States, but some variation of the candy is made all over the world using different nuts, seeds and dried fruits.

Making homemade brittle is also an opportunity to use my candy thermometer. It sits in my kitchen drawer, waiting patiently to be summoned into service, usually around the holidays.

You’ll need about four cups total nuts, seeds, dried fruit, etc for this recipe. I chose almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries. Feel free to use whatever you have on hand.

Choose a large saucepan to cook the candy. When it starts to boil it foams up and rises. It can be alarming. Clip the thermometer to the side of the saucepan and position the tip so it’s not touching the bottom of the pan. You want to heat the mix above 300°F/150°C, the hard crack stage, so the end result will be brittle instead of caramel or toffee. The temperature will rise in stages. Don’t fret if it seems like the temperature isn’t moving fast, and be prepared to hang out in the kitchen for at least 30 minutes.

Nut and seed brittle is actually a simple recipe. A first time candy maker would have no trouble with it, so I encourage you to make homemade brittle with your older children or grandchildren. While you’re supervising you’ll have plenty of opportunities to talk.

One word of warning: Don’t, under any circumstances, attempt to lick the spoon! You’ll be sorry!

(trust me, I know from past experience)

Chocolate chips have been part of this recipe since the first time I made it. After the last batch, I decided they’re really not necessary. Between the flavor and the hardness of the brittle, you don’t really get to enjoy the chocolate. So consider chocolate chips to be optional, despite the photos, hahaha.

Nut and Seed Homemade Brittle

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Course: Candy, Sweets

Servings: 0

Author: LydiaF

Ingredients

• 1 cup almonds
• 1 cup cashews
• 3/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips optional
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon butter

Instructions

• Choose a large saucepan with a heavy bottom. Add the sugar, honey, water and salt. Attach the candy thermometer and bring the mix to a boil over medium heat.
• Stir occasionally, keeping an eye on the temperature once the mix begins to boil.
• Line a small baking sheet (about 9" x 13") with parchment paper. Coat the parchment paper with cooking spray or butter.
• When the temperature of the mix is between 300 - 310F (149-154C), remove the pan from the heat. Allow the temperature to drop to 300F/149C, then stir in the butter. When the butter is melted, add the nuts and seeds and stir well to coat everything with the candy.
• Pour onto the prepared tray and spread as thinly as possible with a spatula.
• Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top, if using, and use the spatula to press them down into the brittle.
• Allow the brittle to cool completely before breaking into small pieces.

Like this recipe?Be sure to Pin It for later!

I can just see this homemade brittle packed up to give as Christmas presents. Have you made brittle before?

This post was originally published in August, 2013. Nut and seed brittle was a very popular post that year. Pinterest sent a lot of people to read the post. It must have been the awesome graphics as demonstrated in the image below. At the time those 3D shields were in fashion for those of us who made graphics in PhotoShop.