Easy Microwave Peanut Brittle Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my microwave peanut brittle chewy? ›

Store your microwave peanut brittle in an airtight container at room temperature. Avoid storing in the fridge because any condensation could make the brittle chewy.

The main reason why peanut brittle doesn't get hard and have the crunch we expect is because the sugar was not cooked long enough. The sugar needs to be cooked to what is called the hard crack stage, 300ºF.

Baking soda is also very important at this stage since it reacts to the heat, creating carbon dioxide that aerates the caramel, enabling it to snap when someone bites into it rather than requiring them to gnaw at it until it breaks or pulls apart.

#1 - Store in an airtight container

It should come as no surprise that storing your peanut brittle in airtight containers is one of the best ways to store peanut brittle. Keeping air out helps maintain your brittle's freshness by minimizing the amount of moisture that might come into contact with your sweet treat.

Why is it too hard? Using baking soda usually prevents peanut brittle from being too, well, brittle. However, if you cook the candy past the set temperature or overwork the candy once you spread it out onto the cookie sheet, that can cause it to become very hard and difficult to bite through.

For a 1200W microwave: microwave the peanuts for the following times, mixing after each time: 2:30 minutes, 2 minutes, 1:30 minutes, 30 seconds. At the end, the peanuts should be toasted and fragrant.

From the results obtained in Table 5, it can be concluded that microwave heating of peanuts is not recommended, even for short periods. This is due to the formation of oxygenated compounds (epoxy and hydroperoxides), as well as conjugated fatty acids.

For a light roast, microwave on HIGH for 2-1/2 minutes; stir, microwave 2-1/2 minutes longer. For a darker roast, stir and microwave 1 minute longer, in 30 second increments. Season to taste. Peanuts will be crisp when cool.

It is important to coat cookie sheets with butter and put in the freezer to get them really cold before you need to pour the brittle. After you pour the candy you should put the pans in the fridge or outside if it is cold, so the brittle will set up quickly and stay fluffy.

It's what's missing — corn syrup. A common brittle ingredient, Asare said, corn syrup causes brittle to go all gooey, gummy and tooth-clingy as it melts in your mouth, whereas sugar crunches, crumbles and dissolves.

Can you use parchment paper when making peanut brittle? ›

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.

To store: Once it's completely cooled, store peanut brittle in an airtight container at room temperature. Do not refrigerate as the moisture from the fridge will cause the brittle to soften. Store for 6-8 weeks. To Freeze: Peanut brittle can be frozen and stored up to 3 months.

Peanut brittle has one redeeming quality: peanuts. Outside of that single ingredient, peanut brittle is painfully unhealthy. It contains: sugar, corn syrup, and butter, all of which are unhealthy for your body in different ways.

When candy cools slowly on a stone slab, more crystals have a chance to form. With a higher number of micro-crystals, the sugar has more sites on which to crystallize, and so crystallization ultimately happens faster.

So, I Googled Salvaging Undercooked Peanut Brittle and followed Tiffany's helpful instructions to throw the pieces back in the pan, turn the heat up and stir, stir, and stir to a raging boil and wait to pour it in the pan until it reaches 300 degrees.

When one of those sugar molecules reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit, it melts, which softens it. This is why bread can actually feel soft and fluffy when it first comes out of the microwave. But then when it cools, that molecule recrystallizes and hardens, causing the bread to become chewy and hard.

Low and slow. Simmering the syrup for English toffee to the requisite 300°F temperature can (and should) be a slow process — up to 20 minutes or so. Don't hurry this gradual transformation; syrup that doesn't reach 300°F, or close to it, will make candy with timid flavor and chewy (not crunchy) texture.

The peanuts will be slightly underdone (a little chewy) when you remove them from the oven, but they will continue to cook once you remove them. Allow to cool for 5 minutes. Serve warm.