I like candy. No, scratch that, I LOVE candy. All kinds of candy. Chocolate, jelly beans, chocolate, licorice, chocolate and toffee and brittle. Most of my impulsive candy purchases are made while standing in the checkout line of the grocery.
There comes a time, however, when my desire for “really good homemade candy” trumps my need for convenience. That’s when I break out the candy thermometer and start making toffee and brittle.
Toffees and brittles are candy made from sugar syrup cooked to a high temperature. The difference between the two kinds of candy is the addition of specific ingredients to the recipe. Both toffee and brittle are made with specific proportions of butter, sugar, corn syrup and or molasses, and sometimes milk or cream. Baking soda is added to produce a lighter texture and the resulting candy is hard and snaps easily, hence the term “brittle.” Taffy, butterscotch, and caramel are candy relatives that involve many similar techniques and slightly different ingredients.
Toffees and brittles can be sensitive and you have to pay strict attention to the recipes. Most of the time, when making toffee and brittle you will need a candy thermometer. I repeat, you need a candy thermometer, deal with it. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and the ability to use a candy thermometer is a skill that, while it won’t help you change a tire or get a raise at work, will, on a good day, let you make lots of goodies. The ingredients must usually be boiled until to the hard crack stage (302-320 degrees); a few degrees difference in either direction can drastically affect the finished texture, resulting in too hard a candy or one that doesn’t set up.
True brittles are “pulled” in order to achieve a very thin, crisp texture. If you want to pull your brittle, cool it for five minutes. It should still be very warm, but you should be able to handle it without burning yourself. Spray your hands with nonstick cooking spray, and use a spatula to lift some of the brittle off the baking sheet. Pull it into a thin layer, trying not to tear too many holes in the brittle. Continue to work sections of the brittle until it is very thin, or until you cannot pull it any longer. Allow the brittle to cool completely.
All of the recipes that follow are dairy. The use of butter in the recipes makes for the full flavor. You can try substituting pareve margarine but you will find that while, acceptable, the resulting candy will not be great. My suggestion is keep it dairy.
Extra special ingredients like peanuts, pecans, walnuts, pistachios and chocolate (especially chocolate) are just the “frosting on the cake” of your candy making experience. While I can’t promise you that the candy you make will come out perfectly the first few times you make it, trust me, even the disasters are delicious.
Baked Goods
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