Candy Making: Chocolate Brittle

This is an adaptation of this recipe for chocolate brittle. Normally when it comes to candy making I would never change a recipe. It is not like baking, there is not a lot of flexibility when it comes to rules but I really did not want to risk a whole pound of butter which is almost $5 on a recipe I had never tried before that was going to make waaaayyyy more candy than I needed. I just wanted a little bit to add to a small care package for my dad so I decided to just go for it and divide the recipe into a quarter of the original size. I do not recommend doing this in general, this could have been a disaster!

I melted 1 stick of butter (1/2 cup or 4 oz) in a saucepan with 4 oz of sugar. I brought it to a boil for two minutes and then stirred in 4 oz of almonds.

I stirred the almonds into the mixture and cooked until the nuts started to pop and turn brown, that was around 3 minutes. I probably should have cooked it for longer but I did not want them to burn. When sugar gets this hot it keeps cooking even when off the heat so I took it off a little early.

I poured the mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet and spread with an offset spatula. I melted half a cup of chocolate chips and spread them on top and then garnished with flaked hazelnuts (my dad LOVES nuts):

If I had cooked the brittle even more it would have gotten to a harder state and been a little tougher. This brittle ended up not being strong, it was flaky and in a melt-in-your-mouth state which I think was just fine for my dad.

I put some of the brittle in a Ziploc bag, along with bags containing the strawberry marshmallows and the chocolate brittle surprise (Skor). I put all the bags in a decorative box lined with bubble wrap and put a photograph of my husband and I on the top of our time at Greek Fest. It was a big hit with my dad and he loved the personal touches which was so nice. I am so relieved that it got there safe and sound, ready to be devoured and shared.

There are some things about making candy I like. For one, I appreciate that most of it is done on the stovetop so you do not have to turn on the oven in most cases. The other is that it is usually quite quick to make. What I do not like is the danger element,  I always forget to have ice water in hand in case I get some on my skin. I also do not like that there is absolutely no nutritional value to candy whatsoever, except perhaps the healing properties of chocolate. Candy is definitely something you make for special occasions and only eat in small doses.

It was fun though and I love making presents in my kitchen. I always say the most delicious ingredient to all recipes is love.