After being stuck on a bus all yesterday trying to get back to my apartment, cooking was the last thing on my mind when I walked in at 10:30 pm.  Since I was home for five days, my fridge was also empty.   All my Christmas cookies that once filled up my freezer were gone (no, I wasn’t robbed…I just gave them all out).  I searched my hiding spots to see if I could find just one piece of peanut brittle, but there was nothing.  So here is the recipe for the world’s best peanut brittle- remember to save some for yourself after the holidays!

Peanut Brittle

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup light Karo syrup
2 cups raw blanched peanuts (not a lot of grocery stores carry these,  Wegmans and Whole Foods do,  but they are also available online)
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
Prepare a cookie sheet by spraying with cooking spray and set aside (also spray a heat resistant rubber spatula or regular spatula with spray; it will come in handy when spreading the sticky mixture.)  In a sauce pan over medium-high heat, stir together sugar and Karo syrup.  Once melted together, add in peanuts.  Stir constantly for 12-15 minutes, until peanuts start to turn brown (often the signal that it’s ready is a puff of smoke, but I am yet to see this puff.)  Stir in vanilla extract and baking soda (quickly because there is a chemical reaction that makes it turn hard.)  Once all the ingredients are completely stirred together, pour mixture onto greased baking sheet, using greased spatula to spread it out.   Spread candy out as far as you can without making holes in the middle (I aim for just having a single layer of peanuts).  After this is spread, leave for about 1 or 2 hours until completely hardened then break into small pieces.  Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

-K