Sesame Peanut Brittle
This is an easy recipe with nutty toasted sesame seeds and peanuts and a subtle honey undertone.
Ah. If only my orthodontist knew what I have been up to. Well, if she knew the sentimental value of this candy, she wouldn’t mind. Right? This candy always makes me think of childhood. There are many variations of this candy throughout Asia. Although, the ones I remember from younger days are made simply with sugar and water, I decided to make it with honey and brown sugar for those wonderful undertones.
The hardest part about this recipe was finding the raw peanuts. Okay, maybe that wasn’t the hardest part, but the peanuts are the trickiest, especially removing the red skins from the peanuts. The best method to remove the skins is, after you toast them and while they are still warm, rub the peanuts in your hands. The skins should come right off. Then the best way to separate the skins from the peanuts themselves is to take your bowl of peanuts outside and huff and puff and blow the skins out. They will go flying out. What? It’s biodegradable. Do it over your compost pile.
One other thing to note on the peanuts, while toasting peanuts, don’t multitask like I did. Constantly stir them. You can avoid getting those dark spots.
Also I over estimated the size of the pan to use for the final product. An 8 x 8 square pan is perfect. That’s the pan I ended up transferring the final product into.
If you want to use a candy thermometer, let the sugar mixture come up to 240F (softball stage) to 260F (hardball stage) before you add the sesame and peanuts. Don’t over think this too much if you don’t have a candy thermometer. I doubt many of the candy makers in the street-side little shops in Asia have a candy thermometer in their kitchen. Allow your mixture to get to that rapid boil for a couple of minutes and then add sesame and peanuts. You may want to spray down your spatula with cooking spray to help prevent the mixture from sticking, but I enjoyed picking the mixture off the spatula, so that wasn’t a problem for me. 🙂
Sesame Peanut Brittle
Yields 16 (2 in) squares or 32 (1 in) rectangles
Cook time: 15 minutes
¾ cup (165g) light brown sugar
¼ cup (85g) honey
1 cup (85g) white sesame seeds
½ cup (80g) raw peanuts
¼ teaspoon salt
- Toast your peanuts in a heavy pan over medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Stir constantly. Remove from heat. Gently rub warm peanuts in hands to remove the red skins (if you using peanuts with skins.)
- Toast your sesame seeds in the same warm pan used to toast peanuts. This will speed the toasting and it will be quick, maybe two minutes. It will be fragrant and golden. Remove pan from heat and remove sesame seeds from the pan so they don’t continue to cook in the residual heat.
- In a sauce pan, add light brown sugar, honey and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 5-7 minutes until you get a rolling boil. Allow to boil for at least another two minutes.
- Add the toasted sesame seeds and peanuts. Quickly pour onto baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray.
- Allow to cool slightly for about 5 minutes until it is manageable. Cut into squares or rectangles pieces. Then allow to cool completely and harden (about an hour).