Quick & Easy, Sweet & Spicy

A week or so ago Daughter told me about a taste treat she'd had at her office but unfortunately the recipe was not to be shared. And she really liked the candy.

Hhmmm. I thought I could remedy that and went looking on the internet. I found several recipes, read through them all and with what I already knew about making candy like this, I came up with my own version of

Jalapeno Peanut Brittle

Some might be thinking - Ugh! Jalapenos in peanut brittle - YUCK!

Now I'm not a huge fan of jalapenos - a few small pieces in a recipe are ok - but I'm just a wimp when it comes to jalapenos. So I had to rely on AD and Daughter to do the final taste test. They approved as did G1 (who I thought would NEVER let a piece pass his lips.)

So here's what I came up with (and sorry for lack of photos but this was just going to be a test so I didn't take any).

Jalapeno Peanut Brittle

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup (I use Griffin's of course)
1 cup coarsely chopped raw peanuts
1/4 cup finely diced jalapeno peppers (about 2 jalapenos and be sure to REMOVE ALL SEEDS and RIBS before dicing)
2 tablespoons butter
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Spray a cookie sheet and a spatula with pan spray. Or you could use a non-stick baking mat in the pan like I did. I still lightly sprayed the baking mat with pan spray though just in case something went wrong.

Mix the sugars and the syrup together in a large glass bowl (I used my 2 quart Pyrex measuring bowl with a handle.) Microwave the mixture for 4 minutes at 100% power.

Remove from microwave and stir well. Then stir in peanuts, butter and diced jalapenos until blended.

Microwave for 5 1/2 to 6 minutes at 100% power.

Finally, working quickly, stir in the vanilla and baking soda. (If you've never made peanut brittle please know that stirring in the baking soda will cause the candy to bubble up kind of like the volcanos kids make in school.) Quickly spread candy onto prepared pan and spread out with the spatula. The candy starts to set up almost immediately so you have to work fast.

Cool until firm and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container. Note that from my experience the candy will come to stick together if it's put into a plastic container so you might want to put waxed paper between the layers.

If you like jalapenos and peanut brittle I hope you'll give it a try. If you're a wimp like me when it comes to jalapenos, I totally understand.