Easy Edible Gifts
What a gift! I've finally joined the ranks of the people who can produce homemade holiday gifts of toffee and peppermint bark and chocolate-dipped fruit. The trick wasn't in any great leap in my cooking skills, it was last year's publication of Brittles, Barks, & Bonbons, a sweet little book devoted to candymaking. Somehow, Charity Ferreira's simple recipes and clear directions made me see the process really was as do-able as my more talented friends always said it was. The book, along with a digital thermometer, took me through last year's holidays, and I found myself returning to it throughout the year when I needed a splashy treat for a bake sale or party. (My 7-year-old, with minimal help, now uses the book's recipe for chocolate-coated graham crackers.) Probably Ferreira's most freeing tip is the idea that we don't need to deal with tempering chocolate when making most holiday gifts. Instead, she says, we can just melt the chocolate slowly and gently enough that it never falls out of temper, then refrigerate the finished treats. Now that December has come around again, I can't wait to stock up on supplies again. First on the list is another batch of this cayenne-spiked pumpkinseed brittle, a sweet and spicy highlight for any homemade gift basket. Ferreira kindly gave us permission to share the recipe.
Spicy Pepita Brittle
Ingredients:
Butter, for pan
1-1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups sugar
1 cup water
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 cups pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds, about 8 ounces), lightly toasted
Directions:
1. Lightly butter a 10-by-15 inch jelly roll pan. In a small bowl, stir together the cayenne and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, stir together the sugar, water, and corn syrup until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Increase the heat to high and boil without stirring until the syrup is golden brown (about 335 degrees on a candy thermometer), 10 to 15 minutes. When the sugar begins to brown around the edges of the pan, swirl the pan gently so that it caramelizes evenly. Remove from the heat and carefully (the mixture will bubble and the pepitas may "pop") stir in the pepitas and cayenne mixture.
3. Immediately pour into the prepared pan, using a spatula or wooden spoon to spread the nuts out flat if necessary. Let the brittle stand at room temperature until cool and hard, about 1 hour.
4. Bend the ends of the pan to release the brittle (run a spatula underneath the brittle to help release it, if necessary) and chop or break into chunks. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
Yield: About 2 pounds of brittle
-- Rebekah Denn
Nancy on December 05, 2009 at 05:58 AM
Okay, I can do this! Thanks so much for something other than a "cookie in a jar" recipe! I appreciate the ease and uniqueness of this recipe!
Quilly Mammoth on December 07, 2009 at 06:35 AM
Get a good thermometer. My wife had been using cheap thermometers...you find them for about five dollars at discount stores...until we spent about ten and got an old school type made by Taylor. Five more dollars made a great deal of difference in receipts that called for lower end temps.
You don't need a Williams and Sanoma fifty dollar one, but that extra five or so dollars will be a blessing.