Bacon Peanut Brittle

4 from 1 ratings

When we first opened the shop, we sold individually wrapped chunks of bacon peanut brittle made by our friend Lori Baker, who is coincidentally also a baker. She made the brittle at her house and brought it to the shop. It was called Bacon Peanut Brittle By Lori. It was a perfect arrangement. We didn’t want to make them (lazy) and she has tons of talent. Sadly, when she opened her restaurant, she understandably didn’t have time to make us brittle anymore (sniff, sniff). We were forced to make our version, and as it turns out, ours is pretty good, too. The key is to crisp the bacon really well. The other key is the bacon itself; it makes everything better. Collect all ingredients before you start cooking, and read the recipe all the way through, because things move quickly once you get going and you don’t want it to burn. The hardest part of making it is hiding it from Sean, because he usually eats half of it before it’s done. Click here to see the Elvis (The Fat Years) Peanut Butter Ice Cream recipe.

Servings

servings

Ingredients

2 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cup roasted peanuts
2 slices bacon, cooked until very crisp, drained, and finely chopped. or more, if you happen to fancy bacon
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Directions

In a medium, heavy-bottomed, nonreactive saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, and butter and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring often with a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon, until the mixture turns golden brown, 10-15 minutes. If you’re using a candy thermometer, it should register about 300 degrees.
Remove from the heat (immediately — this is important!) and immediately add the vanilla, salt, peanuts, and bacon. Stir briskly to combine everything.
When everything is nice and integrated, finally add the baking soda. Try not to just plop it on top sloppily, but to sprinkle it evenly. (This is important because the baking soda is what aerates the brittle. In other words, it’s what keeps it from breaking your teeth.) Stir until thoroughly combined. The mixture should foam up. Spread the batter as evenly as possible on a clean baking sheet. Let cool completely before you chop or break into pieces.
Bacon peanut brittle will keep for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container at room temperature. Do not refrigerate!