In this, the age of the Internet, it’s easy to stop buying cookbooks and just print recipe after recipe from the Internet. But there’s something about going to your local bookstore and perusing the vast selection of cookbooks, looking inside, seeing a bunch of recipes just calling your name, waiting to be made. It’s been a long time since I’ve bought cookbooks, but recently, it has been a blast looking, buying, and cooking from them.
I want to spread my newly rejuvenated cookbook love to you, so it’s time for my first GIVEAWAY! I’ve been a fan of Ted Allen for a long time, so I picked up his cookbook on my last visit to Barnes and Noble after looking inside and finding recipe after recipe I wanted to make. I think you’ll be as impressed as I am. In order to whet your appetite, I whipped up a batch of the Butter Pecan Brittle from the book.
I love brittle, but it can be kind of hard to find, and when I do find it, it is of varying quality, often times it can be quite disappointing. I’ve made it once before and it didn’t work out as planned. Still delicious, it may make it on the blog one day, but it simply wasn’t brittle. I put my faith in Ted Allen, tried again, and came out with fantastic results.
The process to make this is kind of long. Caramelizing sugar and waiting for the candy thermometer to creep ever so slowly to the desired temperature is no quick process. But with a lot of patience, the end product is fabulous. I love this brittle because the toasted pecans are the star. As opposed to peanut brittle, the snap of the pecans in your mouth, along with the sugar, is fabulous, and gives the brittle the perfect balance of crunchy and chewy. Toasting the pecans is absolutely necessary to give them that texture. The hint of salt is a welcome accompaniment to the caramelized sugar flavor. While the taste is clearly the more important factor, the intoxicating smell that filled the kitchen all day long was a nice bonus.
Ted Allen’s Butter Pecan Brittle is hands down the best brittle I’ve ever had, and I doubt I will ever top it. If the quality of this recipe is any indication of the others in the book, you will seriously enjoy it.
The prize: Ted Allen’s new cookbook In My Kitchen.
To enter to win this awesome giveaway, leave a comment below telling me your favorite sweet treat.
To earn an additional entry, Like Pies and Plots on Facebook, and leave an additional comment telling me you Like my page. If you already Like it, just leave a comment telling me that.
To earn an additional entry, follow me, @piesandplots, on Twitter, and leave an additional comment telling me you follow me. If you already follow me, leave a comment telling me that.
To earn an additional entry, follow me on Pinterest, and leave an additional comment telling me you follow me. If you already follow me, leave a comment telling me that.
You have until Monday, May 14, 2012, at 11:59 pm EST to enter. The winner will be chosen using the Random Number Generator from www.random.org. The winner will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond. If they do not respond in that time frame, another winner will be chosen. As soon as the winner is notified, I will post who the winner is on this page. Good luck!
Update: Congratulations to Lendon on winning Ted Allen’s cookbook! I hope you enjoy it and make lots of delectable food. Please leave a comment or send me an email to let me know how you like it.
Butter Pecan Brittle
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 30 1x
Ingredients
- ½ stick unsalted butter
- 3 cups pecans
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup light corn syrup
- ½ cup water
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ¾ teaspoon Maldon Sea Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread pecans on baking sheet lined with parchment and toast in oven for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pecans are fragrant and snap when broken. Set aside. The tray for the pecans may be used again later, just put new parchment down.
- Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is clear. This may take 10 minutes or more.
- Put a candy thermometer in the pan, increase the heat to medium-high and cook without stirring until the mixture reaches 230 degrees F on the candy thermometer. Once this happens, add the butter and toasted pecans. Stir the mixture constantly until it reaches 305 degrees F. It will bubble and be incredibly hot, so be careful. When it reaches the desired temperature, it should be caramel colored and fragrant. This process will take time.
- Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla. The mixture will bubble, so it is again important to use caution. If the mixture hardens too quickly, put it over either the still warm burner or low heat until it comes back together.
- Once the mixture is fully combined, pour roughly equal amounts on the lined baking sheets. Butter the back of a wooden spoon before using it to spread the mixture as thinly as possible. It is important to work quickly as the mixture will harden fast, but it does not have to be perfect. Sprinkle the salt over the brittle. Allow to cool completely on pans before breaking into pieces. May be stored in an airtight container for up to one month.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Ted Allen, In My Kitchen
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
Pecan Pie is my new favorite! I can’t find the recipe for the one I see here though, it looks awesome!
It’s on the back of the Karo syrup. Plus, it is really good. That is the only recipe to make pecanwood pies for my family
Looks amazing. Want to try this!
★★★★★
My favorite sweet is about anything with blueberries. Blueberry cobbler or muffins or SCONES!
I follow you on Pinterest and Twitter…..and I liked you on Facebook.
★★★★★
I follow you on Twitter…
★★★★★
I follow you on Pinterest
★★★★★
I liked you on Facebiij
★★★★★
I meant Facebook and I follow you on Pinterest!
Pecan pie is my favorite sweet treat.
I follow you on Pinterest.
★★★★★
I love your page 🙂
★★★★★
I normally do not eat brittle,but look to good to pass on glad i did was awesome.
★★★★
Wow! This was brittle alright! I really like pecans so this was a big hit with me.
★★★★★
Can’t wait to try this when I can get back to work again. Thank you for all the fabulous treats and recipes! As for my favorite sweet treat? Well, I guess I’m kind of plain because sugar cookies with my coffee is the best to me. ;o)
I had some of this peanut brittle. Off the charts, very good. I like the peacons alot more then just peanuts..
Thank you for the sample.
★★★★★
I should’ve stated peacon brittle not peanut.
My favorite snack so far has been the Momofuku Confetti Cookie. These were very good soft & crunchy @ the same time.
★★★★★
The butter pecan brittle was very good. I actually started weight watchers and I noticed that the peanut brittle is not high on the points list. I love pecans so I really enjoyed those! As for my fav, I will have to say the pecan pie!
★★★★★
The butter pecan brittle looks so good!!! I can’t wait to try and make it!! 🙂 <3
★★★★★
Hi Kristy, I hope you do make it. It’s the best brittle I’ve ever had. Let me know how you like it!
Laura I have been looking for a brittle recipe for a while. I can’t wait to try this one out. I looks amazing! Thank you for always posting such beautiful and delicious treats.
I am a sweet eater thru and thru. I love trying new recipes and getting new ideas from people and places. Even though I am a huge chocolate fanatic all sweet hold a soft spot in my heart. I recently stumbled appon a receipe for coconut thumbprints with salted carmel. I do have my favorites but this is beginning to top the charts.
★★★★★
This has very ggod flavor.
It looks fantastic! But don’t have a candy thermometer! Is there anything else I can do or is it completely necessary?
Hi Natalia! With some recipes, I think a candy thermometer isn’t necessary, but I’m afraid with this one it would be very difficult to make without one. Sorry 🙁
I got a candy thermometer shortly after I posted the previous comment; it has been two years and I still use this recipe! Family and friends all love it as well!
I’m so glad to hear that, Natalia! Thank you for telling me – you made my day 🙂
Wowww These were amazingg! I normally don’t like Pecan brittle because of it sticking to your teeth but this was beyond worth it! We used a cast iron skillet and pecan bits. I freaked out at the end though, It was only at 290 when It got really thick sticky and I took it off anyway. It poured perfectly and I had it spread out with plenty of time before it hardened, now it looks a lovely shiny caramel
★★★★★
Also I forgot the salt :/ I can imagine 5 stars wouldn’t be high enough of rating if I hadn’t forgot though.
I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much for leaving a comment 🙂 I hope you’ll try more of my recipes in the future!
I’ve made peanut brittle from a great recipe for 50 years. My kids earned Christmas gift buying money by taking their allowance money to buy ingredients and making and selling this peanut brittle!
I am looking forward to trying your recipe for pecan brittle out on my family this Christmas after reading the reviews.
Thanks, Lorelle Bacon
I hope you love the brittle, Lorelle!
Amy chance you can make this using brown sugar? I’m aunt used to make pecan brittle with brown sugar and I don’t have the recipe anymore. It was chewy and amazing.
Hi Jen! I am not entirely sure if this will turn out with brown sugar. You can certainly try it. If I had to guess, I would say it would work and be chewy versus crunchy, which is what you are looking for. You could also cook the mixture about ten degrees less for a chewier end product.
I was wondering how hard in texture was this brittle? I just recently had some at party and amazing. The texture was kind of soft not stick to your teeth hard like most brittle. I plan on making this recipe this weekend..
Hi Airell! This brittle is pretty crunchy. I have never had soft brittle, but if you cook this about ten degrees less, it should not set up as hard. Let me know how it turns out 🙂
Made this earlier today and it was great! I would definitely make it again. Next I might cut back on the corn syrup and add some more butter.
I’m so glad you liked it, Airell. Thanks for letting me know 🙂
This was just damn good.
★★★★★
Thank you so much. I can’t imagine a better compliment!
You are welcomed! I scarfed a whole bunch of pieces. I couldn’t stop myself. I didn’t realize how long it took for the mixture to reach 230F, then 305F. I was hoping I didn’t do anything wrong but learned it must be the reduction of the ingredients that thickens it and allows it to increase in temperature. It all came out just great! Thanks so much.
★★★★★
Is there a way to post pictures of the result?
If you’re into Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, you can post there and tag me @piesandplots 🙂
And don’t forget the salt!
★★★★★
I came across this Recipe Pecan Brittle is excellent, we lived in Louisiana and we had an abundance of Pecans, so I decided I would make brittle with them since Peanuts were more pricey. But a note to people who live in a humid climate. Brittle should be made on days with low humidty. Because the brittle will be very sticky due to humidty. Even with AC on. Even in the Fall and Winter months there were times I used AC. My husband loved this brittle.
★★★★★
I am so glad to hear the brittle was a hit, Betty! Thanks for sharing your tips or brittle success as well.
Adore this recipe! I’ve just finished the second batch, using hickory nuts (abundant in my area this year) and smoked salt for the topping. It’s to die for. Following these clear steps as written has produced perfect results twice in a row, even for an inexperienced candy maker and baker like myself. Thanks so much! There’s going to be lots more of this in my life this year (I collected a lot of nuts!)
★★★★★
Marie! Thank you so much for leaving a comment. I love how you switched up the recipe – that is something too many people are afraid to do.
I couldn’t get the temp to reach 305 degrees. It got up to 270 degrees and the mixture converted back to a solid sugar. I cooked out all the liquid. What did I do wrong?
Hi Daniel! I can’t say for sure what went wrong. My best guess would be that maybe your thermometer is not reading the temperature accurately. You could also try using a different saucepan, some conduct heat differently than others. I wish I could help more.
I don’t like peanuts but love walnuts and pecans. In fact I was searching for a pecan brittle when I found your recipe, I will be trying this!! And I’ll look up The cookbook for my Kindle I’m not taking the chance I won’t win it!!
Walnuts and pecans are my favorite nuts too, Cindy! You could also try a mix of the two in this brittle.
I tried the pecan brittle recipe and it is great. My family loved it. I’ve made 3 batches with 2 of them being today’. The first batch today turned out great but the second is good but it just wants to stick to your teeth too much. The only thing I did different was I used a metal spoon. The 2 times I used a rubbed spatchular. Do you think this caused the difference or something else?
Hi Melba! I am so glad you like the brittle. Since the rubber spatula works so well for you, I would stick with that. To be honest, I use metal spoons almost exclusively and haven’t had this problem, but anything from the temperature going too high to humidity levels can make candy go wrong.
Made this today…I added 1/2 tsp. cayenne when adding the baking soda and butter. This recipe hits all the right notes and the cayenne is a subtle pop of heat!
Great for Christmas and hostess gifts 🎁.
Diane – the cayenne sounds amazing! I’ll have to try that next time. Glad you enjoyed 🙂