Pecan Brittle

Back in October I attended a chili festival in my hometown. At this event I purchased a small plastic bag of peanut brittle. Due to my pre-holiday diet I decided to hide this bag of candy from myself high in my pantry closet. I finally broke down and opened the bag sometime after Christmas. I couldn't get enough of the yummy airy candy. My husband and I tried to ration out small portions of the peanut brittle until eventually it was all gone! That started my journey to find a similar recipe so that I could make brittle whenever I wanted!!

After searching many different recipes I came up with a delicious version. I wanted a recipe that was fast and easy but still developed the sweet airy flavor of brittle.  I knew that baking soda was a necessary ingredient to add the fluffy texture. Since I was too lazy to make a trip to the commissary I chose to use chopped pecans instead of peanuts. I've been saving this particular bag of shelled pecans that we bought on a road trip through Texas recently. I simply chopped the pecans into small pieces and measured almost 2 cups. 

I also used a large glass bowl so that it would be easy to microwave and mix together. Just be careful when you remove the glass bowl….it can get quite hot in the microwave!

Also make sure you have the baking sheet prepped before heating the brittle. I lined the cookie sheet with a piece of parchment paper and then sprayed it with Pam cooking spray.  

Pecan Brittle

2 cups pecan halves, chopped

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp butter (1 small slice)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

Mix pecans, sugar, syrup and salt in a large glass bowl.  Microwave on HIGH 4 minutes; stir with a large spoon. Microwave on HIGH 3 minutes. Stir in butter and vanilla; microwave on HIGH 2 minutes. Remove from microwave and add baking soda; stir quickly. Pour out onto a greased baking sheet. Let set until cool and then break into pieces. Store in a airtight container.