Bacon Pecan Brittle Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is pecan brittle made of? ›

In a nonstick saucepan, heat and stir sugar, corn syrup, water and salt over medium heat until sugar has dissolved. Over high heat, using a candy thermometer, cook sugar mixture to a hard crack stage (290 °F). Add pecans and butter and cook to 300 °F stirring all the time to keep the nuts from burning.

You may have used all the right ingredients and followed the steps with precision but the problem was likely the temperature. If it is even a couple of degrees off, you'll lose the crunch completely. To avoid this in the future, the mixture needs to be at least 300 degrees Fahrenheit to result in a crunchy candy.

Baking soda also raises the pH of the mixture, promoting the Maillard reaction and giving the brittle its particular color and flavor profile.

Why did my peanut brittle turn out chewy? The likely cause is that the sugar mixture didn't reach the proper hard crack stage temperature. Ensuring it reaches 300˚F is key to getting that classic brittle texture.

Brittleness describes the property of a material that fractures when subjected to stress but has a little tendency to deform before rupture. Brittle materials are characterized by little deformation, poor capacity to resist impact and vibration of load, high compressive strength, and low tensile strength.

Brittle is a kind of smooth, crisp candy made by stirring toasted nuts into a sugar mixture cooked to the hard crack or caramel stage, then turned out onto an oiled surface to cool. Peanut brittle is the most popular type of brittle.

What's important to know is that the corn syrup controls the grain of the brittle so adding too little and you have a grainy textured brittle, while adding too much will result in a stringy and sticky brittle.

Reviving stale peanut brittle is possible to some extent. You can try placing the stale peanut brittle on a baking sheet and gently heating it in an oven at a low temperature, around 250°F (120°C), for a few minutes.

To accomplish this, spread a layer of wax paper along the bottom of your airtight container. Then add a layer of brittle, ensuring there is a bit of space between each piece. Next, add a second layer of wax paper and a second layer of brittle. Repeat the process until all your brittle is properly stored.

It's so important because if you cook your brittle much beyond the 300 degree F point, it could burn, and if you don't cook it long enough, the peanut brittle won't set as hard and be more sticky and chewy than crunchy and, well, brittle. Be ready to move quickly once the temperature reaches 300 degrees F.

What's the difference between toffee and brittle? ›

Brittles are typically composed mostly of sugar, while toffees contain a fair amount of butter and in some cases milk. This makes toffees fuller and richer in taste, while brittles are more purely sweet and sugary. Brittles are also much thinner than most toffees.

Praline is a softer candy, while brittle is very crunchy. This is determined by what temperature the sugar mixture reaches. At a lower temperature, the sugar, when cooled, will be chewy and soft. If cooked to a higher temperature, or "hard crack" stage, the sugar will be brittle when cooled.

Didn't get it hot enough. You have to hit hard crack stage heat or it's not going to harden. From internet: Hard-Crack Stage is a cooking term meaning that a sugar syrup being heated has reached 149 – 154 C (300 – 310 F.) It is a test of how hot a sugar syrup is, and of how much water is left in it.

What Makes it Brittle? The sugar will be cooked to 300ºF (149ºC)—hard crack stage; which when set up would be hard like a lollipop. But peanut brittle is delicate and you can easily bite into it—how? The secret is in the baking soda.

You will want the cookie sheet to be non-stick. Use parchment paper, a silicone baking sheet or a greased cookie sheet. Spread the peanut brittle as thin as you can. Immediately add your sea salt.

The praline is a southern tradition, commonly made with sugar, corn syrup, milk, butter, and pecan halves. It's a confection with a history as rich as its flavor.

Pralines have a lot in common with nut brittle, with the difference being mostly in the addition of cream and the cooking temperature––the sugary syrup used to coat pralines is heated to a soft-ball consistency, a lower temperature than the hard-crack stage of peanut brittle.

Pecan is a hardwood. Unfortunately, many people do not consider it a true hardwood, given its low density. However, the term hardwood refers to trees that shed leaves during fall. Because pecan does not retain its leaves all year round, it is hardwood.

Brittles are typically composed mostly of sugar, while toffees contain a fair amount of butter and in some cases milk. This makes toffees fuller and richer in taste, while brittles are more purely sweet and sugary. Brittles are also much thinner than most toffees.