I have to start my telling you a little bit about this special woman. Grandmother Wiginton, who we just call "Grandmother," is my dad's mom. Grandmother and Grandaddy live in a teency tiny town called Golden, Mississippi. Population 200. Yes, you read that correctly. TWO HUNDRED. Talk about a small town. Grandmother has always been one of those women who seems to know how to do just about everything, and it is from her that I have learned so many things that I cherish today. She taught me how to quilt, how to crochet, how to dig potatoes, how to gather eggs from the chicken coop, and had a huge influence on me in the kitchen.
Some of my fondest memories are from summers spent in Golden at Grandmother and Grandaddy's house. One summer I had a pet pony, Buttercup, who was rejected by her mama (my other horse, creatively named "Black Beauty") and who we brought home to the pasture behind their house. Being my only real friend there, I would dress Buttercup up in hats and scarves and feed her from a bottle. Another summer, I had a pet chicken, who I later accidentally killed by dropping it on the ground after it pooped in my hand. Whoops.
Every day my job was to gather the eggs from the chickens before I began my afternoon of cutting "paper dolls" from the gigantic Sears catalog.
Although my trips to Grandmother and Grandaddy's house have become fewer and far between through the years, we still visit every Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. Daddy and I are somehow always the last ones to get there, but I always go straight for the kitchen, where I know I will find Grandmother over the stove and a jar of peanut brittle on the counter. This is hands-down the most wonderful peanut brittle you will ever have.
The reason that this is my favorite holiday treat is simply because of how deliciously irresistible it is. It is actually very addictive. I often eat so much of it before Thanksgiving or Christmas lunch that I'm not hungry by the time we say the blessing.
This recipe is so special to me that I almost feel like a traitor giving it out, but it is so wonderful that I just can't keep it to myself. There are lots of family recipes that I love, but have always been intimidated to try myself. This is one of them, and for that reason, I'm going to give you a step-by-step explanation of the recipe in detail. Don't be discouraged if you have to throw away a few batches before you get it right- I definitely did. My first was too sticky, my second burnt completely, but the third batch was just right. This is a tricky recipe, but well worth the effort. So, let's get started!
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light Karo syrup
1 cup water
1 cup RAW redskin peanuts
1/4 stick butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Directions:
Tips: Do not try to multiply this recipe. It is tricky on its own and must be done so quickly that it won't work in large quantities. There simply isn't enough time. Also, NEVER leave the stove and NEVER stop stirring.
1. In a saucepan, combine sugar, Karo syrup, and water. Combine and stir.
Tip: Grandmother says to cook at 1 notch above medium, but I got impatient and cooked at 2 notches above medium and it worked just fine. All stoves are different, so just cook accordingly.
2. Cook until it spins a thread. I didn't know what that meant, so I figure that some of you don't either. When you lift your spoon from the mixture, an ultra-thin wispy string should form and fly back from your spoon. The string should be long.
3. Add raw peanuts- Mixture will be white and bubbly at this point. Mixture will thicken greatly after adding the peanuts so you MUST STIR CONSTANTLY.
4. Cook until it's a light honey color- Not too long or the baking soda won't react properly.
5. Set saucepan off the eye.
6. Add butter and vanilla extract and stir, then add baking soda. Combine completely.
Tip: This must be done VERY quickly, so it's best to have your peanuts, butter, vanilla extract and baking soda measured out beforehand. Also, BAKING SODA MUST BE ADDED LAST!
7. Pour mixture onto greased cookie sheet and immediately spread it a little with your spoon, spatula or whatever you're using. Don't do this too much or it will string and be ugly.
8. Pull the brittle.
This is the step that I was the most nervous about. When Grandmother was explaining this recipe to me over the phone, I told her how nervous I was about this step and she told me that I didn't really have to pull the brittle, but Grandaddy immediately yelled from the other room that it's not worth eating unless it's pulled- and boy was he right! The thing that makes Grandmother Wiginton's Peanut Brittle so wonderful is that it is almost paper thin.
With a knife, gently lift edges and pull brittle thinner, but without tearing. Be careful- it's hot!
Pull every minute or so until hard- it's better when paper thin.
Tip: DO NOT taste test until brittle is completely hard- You will break a tooth!
If, in the end, your brittle is too sticky and is impossible to get out of your teeth, you've messed up in one of three places. Either, you didn't let the mixture spin a long enough thread, you didn't let the mixture cook long enough after adding the peanuts, or you didn't put in enough baking soda. Without being there, I can't tell you which one of these it is, but through trial and error, you'll figure it out.
Also, if you're making this as a gift and plan on making multiple batches, keep in mind that 1 bottle of Light Karo Syrup will give you four batches.
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