By the way...there are A LOT of peanut brittle recipes out there on the world wide web.
Peanut brittle itself is pretty basic - sugar, corn syrup, nuts, butter and vanilla. But the more I looked at Mom's, Golden Buttery, and Classic peanut brittle recipes on the web, the more I realized I wanted to create something...different.
Then I remembered my friend Stefanie.
Stefanie's son, Jordan, has a severe nut allergy. Very severe. To the point where it's almost killed him. Needless to say, they are very strict about monitoring what foods come in their home so as to not trigger an attack - they carefully check the labels to make sure that nothing has the "made in a facility which processes peanuts or nuts".
So I wondered....could I create a no-nut peanut brittle that her family could enjoy for Peanut Brittle Day?
I started scouring the internet for recipe ideas. At first, seeds seemed like a good idea; there are a lot of brittle recipes using pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds. But as I was gathering ingredients at the store, I hit a wall.
Slightly dejected, I wandered around the grocery store, gathering the rest of my ingredients, trying to come up with an alternative plan. Randomly grabbing some foods off the shelves, I saw more and more the "made in a facility..." notice on the labels. Never having any allergies myself, I suddenly realized just how difficult living with a food allergy must be; to not just be able to grab something and go without worry. Suddenly I found myself with a much greater appreciation for what people with allergies (and especially parents) have to go through to ensure their or their kids safety. Now more determined than ever to find an alternative, I wandered down the the canned food aisle. Suddenly...a revelation!!! A quick search of the internet showed me just one link to my idea - so this would be new-ish and different. And the final test...the label had no "made in a facility..." warning on it. I found a winner.
But...would it taste good?
It did. It does. AND, it's very easy to make.
I present to you - brittle made with.....
It's crazy...but it works. Garbanzo Bean Brittle still gives you that sweet, caramel-y, buttery brittle taste, and the same nut-like consistency...but without the nuts.
YAY!
Now, before we go any further, I did a little more research on the interwebs and found out that the garbanzo bean is a legume that is distantly related to the peanut. There are some cases of people with peanut allergies having reactions to garbanzo beans...and then there are those that do not. I ran my list of ingredients past Stefanie and got the green light to proceed - but before you make this recipe, please check with your doctor or allergist. Because although Garbanzo Bean Brittle is AWESOMELY GOOD - it's not worth going into anaphylactic shock over. Safety first!
Now let's get cookin'!!
Garbanzo Bean Brittle:
Ingredients-1 can Garbanzo Beans
1 1/2 tsp - Baking Soda
1 tsp - Water
1 tsp - Vanilla
1 1/2 cups - Sugar
1 cup - Water
1 cup - Light Corn Syrup
3 Tbsp - Butter (plus extra for buttering pans)
Special equipment - Candy Thermometer (or instant read that you can hold)
Directions-
Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans in a sieve. Remove the transparent skin from all the beans, rinse again, pat dry with paper towels and set aside.
This step takes the most time and it is a pain in the butt - but it makes a huge difference.
Heat your oven to 150 degrees. Butter two baking sheets and place in the oven to warm up. Clear a place near your stovetop for them to sit for when you pull them out of the oven and pour the candy onto.
In a small bowl, mix the baking soda, 1 tsp water and vanilla together. Set aside.
In a 3-4 qt saucepan, mix together the sugar, 1 cup water and corn syrup -do not use a smaller pot. Place over medium low heat and clip on your thermometer.
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| Sugar, Corn Syrup and Water - stir until sugar melted and liquid is clear |
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| Sugar is melted, liquid is simmering - temperature is rising |
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| Closer to 240 - the liquid will start to look thicker |
When your thermometer hits 275, remove the pans from the oven and place nearby - keep stirring the pot. At about 285, give the bowl with the baking soda mixture a stir with your free hand - just to make sure it's good and combined again - keep stirring the pot. Continue stirring and cooking to 300 degrees.
At 300, immediately remove from heat and quickly stir in the baking soda mixture. Your candy will quickly get light and fluffy looking - that's what you want, don't overstir.
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| It's so fluffy! Stir just enough to blend the mixture |
Quickly spread out the mixture slightly so it's about 1/4 inch thick. Don't spread it too thin - you want the baking soda to help give it a little height.
Set aside to cool (if it's humid, you can place it in the refrigerator).
Break into pieces and enjoy!!! (store leftovers in an airtight container)
So there you have it...a brittle that keeps to the original peanut-brittle taste, but without any peanuts in it.
I have to admit...I wasn't quite sure how this was going to turn out. But I guess that's the fun of creating recipes...the will-it or won't-it surprise at the end. And I feel even more proud of this recipe because hopefully it means Stefanie and her family can enjoy all of the caramel-y, buttery, brittle goodness I remember as a child.
Complete with all the aggravating little bits stuck in her teeth. :-)
Enjoy!!!!
Recipe created with a thanks and help from Stefanie, and the Betty Crocker Peanut Brittle recipe. You can find the original HERE
