Here’s my recipe for brown sugar brittle! It’s a throwback to the one I was eating as a child in the Caribbean. In Martinique peanut brittle is made with brown sugar (instead of granulated sugar) and spices (traditionally nutmeg and cinnamon, but you could add whatever you fancy).
The crunchiness of the caramel and peanuts, the warmth of the spices, and the depth of flavor brought by the cane sugar, all combine to make one heck of an addictive treat!
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🌴 Caribbean recipe
On my island, brown sugar brittle is called nougat pistache in French (which is weird because it’s not a nougat and it doesn’t have pistachio) and sik-a-pistache in Creole (meaning pistachio sugar). I have no idea why we are referring to peanuts as pistachios. I don’t think many people made their own brown sugar brittle as it was so widely available. But when I feel homesick (especially in the depth of winter), it’s so great to be able to make my favorite childhood treat with just a few ingredients.
In primary school, a lady was coming every Thursday during recess to sell sweets and traditional Caribbean confections. I used to bug my parents until they would give me a couple of coins so that I could buy some brown sugar brittle. I said that she was coming to our school, but technically she wasn’t allowed in. She was passing us the sweets through the school’s fence. Now I get why my parents weren’t too keen on me buying sweets from a stranger through a fence. But I could be such an annoying child when my mind was set on something. I don’t blame them for yielding. I was extremely thankful for my Thursday brown sugar brittle (and so were my friends, yes I was sharing).
🌡️ Making caramel
This is not an intricate recipe as the main steps involve making the caramel and mixing in the other ingredients. Then you pour everything onto parchment paper and voila, your brown sugar brittle is done! However, caramel can be tricky so you should always:
- use a stainless steel pan: It takes a longer time to heat up, but the caramel will cook evenly as stainless steel offers great heat conductivity. You don’t want heat pockets where patches of your caramel will burn while most of it isn’t even properly melted. It’s also easier to gauge the color of the caramel with a stainless steel pan rather than a black non-stick pan.
- melt the sugar over medium-low heat: You might be tempted to increase the heat to speed up the process and that’s a no-go! Cooking your caramel over low heat is way safer. You’ll be more in control and changes won’t happen in seconds. If you have pieces of crystallized sugar they’ll have more time to melt away. If your caramel burns, all the peanuts and spices in the world won’t cover the bitter taste so be patient. It might take half an hour for your sugar to melt. However, since it’s a dry caramel you don’t have to do anything. Just let it cook without stirring. Always keep an eye on it though!
📋 Step by step
Rub the lemon juice into the sugar with your fingertips. Melt the sugar over medium-low heat in a large stainless steel pan.
Once dark brown and smooth, lower the heat and quickly stir in the spices and peanuts.
Scrape this mixture onto a sheet of oiled parchment paper and shape it into a rough rectangle. Wait until the peanut brittle is mostly set and cut into pieces.
💭 Common questions
➝ How to double the recipe? This recipe recipe makes a small amount of brown sugar brittle. If you want to make more I would suggest doubling the ingredients but making two batches of brittle at the same time (or one after the other if you don’t have space on your cooktop). I have tried doubling the ingredients while using one single wider pan but it took ages for the sugar to melt. So I recommend making two batches in two separate pans. Stay vigilant as one batch might caramelize faster than the other.
➝ Can I use granulated sugar instead of brown sugar? Yes. I’ve made this recipe several times with granulated sugar, and it works just fine. My husband prefers it made with granulated sugar because it tastes sweeter and he’s not used to the toffee-like taste of brown sugar. I prefer peanut brittles made with cane sugar because that’s what I grew up with. To me, it also has a much deeper flavor. Brown sugar brittle has my vote but you do you!
➝ How can I make peanut brittle without corn syrup? Easy! Corn syrup is invert sugar. It prevents the sugar from crystallizing and keeps everything smooth. The good news is, that adding a little acid before heating the sugar (here lemon juice, but a small pinch of cream of tartar or citric acid dissolved into 1 tbsp of water also works) does the same thing! It keeps your caramel fluid. So if corn syrup isn’t available in your country, these substitutes will help you in all your sugar work endeavors.
If you don’t have any of these, you could use honey instead. Honey is mostly made of invert sugar and water.
Brown sugar brittle
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 9 pieces 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Caribbean
Description
Brown sugar brittle was my favorite sweet while growing up in the Caribbean. It’s deliciously spiced, crunchy, and full of peanuts!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 150g brown sugar (¾ cup)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 125g unsalted peanuts (1 cup)
Instructions
- Prepare a baking sheet. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly brush the parchment paper with oil and set it aside for now.
- Melt the sugar. Put the sugar in a large heavy-bottomed pan (preferably a stainless steel pan) and rub the lemon juice into the sugar with your fingertips. Shake the pan slightly to level the sugar. Set the pan over medium-low heat and cook without stirring until the sugar has completely melted, about 20 min. As a guide, my induction cooktop can be set from 1 to 9 (9 being the highest temperature) and I melt the sugar on 4. When ready the caramel should have a dark amber color and be smooth. If you still have patches of unmelted sugar after 20 min, reduce the heat to low and drag the patches of dry sugar into the melted sugar with a wooden spoon. Keep cooking over low heat until all the sugar has melted, about 5 to 10 min more. Don’t be tempted to increase the heat to make the sugar melt faster because if your caramel burns and turns dark, it will become bitter and you will have to start over.
- Make the peanut brittle. As soon as your caramel is smooth, reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Add the spices, lemon juice, and peanuts. Quickly stir everything together with an oiled rubber spatula. Scrape the mixture onto the parchment paper and use the spatula to shape the brown sugar brittle into a rectangular shape, about 2.5cm (1 inch) thick. The caramel will be sticky and burning hot so be careful. It will also harden quickly so you need to be fast.
- Cut into pieces. Let the brown sugar brittle cool down at room temperature for 10 min. At that point, it should be almost set. Peel off the parchment paper and transfer the brittle to a cutting board. Slice the brown sugar brittle into 9 pieces with a chef’s knife. I use a straight-down motion instead of slicing backward and forward. Put the pieces back onto the parchment paper and wait for them to be cold before serving or storing them.
Notes
You can keep the brown sugar brittle in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. It might soften over time.
You can individually wrap the pieces in cellophane or wax paper for a prettier look if you plan on gifting them.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 piece
- Calories: 157
Keywords: brown sugar caramel, caribbean sweets, caribbean treats, homemade peanut brittle without corn syrup
Looking for other confections? Here are some of my favorite recipes:
Debra Ross
Thank you for this recipe I am from the English Caribbean and I a looking forward to making this soon. It is Winter now in Canada.
Amélie
I hope you’ll like it! I can’t imagine going through a Canadian winter. You’re braver than I!
Suhail
we have a summer that may go up to 46 degree C, how to preserve it in that temperature. Can it be manufactured on medium scale for shops?
Amélie
Wow it’s a tough one. I definitely wouldn’t recommend placing peanut brittle in the fridge because it will lose its snap and get all soggy due to the moisture level in any refrigerator. If you leave them at room temperature I would suggest individually wrapping each peanut brittle piece in wax paper to prevent them from sticking together. But I’m not sure that it would be 100% effective if it’s really this warm. One solution to preserve shelf life would be to actually freeze the peanut brittle. I’ve never done it but apparently pieces of peanut brittle freeze really well in airtight freezer bags. You could even use 2 freezer bags to prevent the risk of freezer burns. By medium scales do you mean making a bigger batch? I think you could totally double or triple the ingredients. The instructions would be the same but you’ll probably have to wait longer for the sugar to melt completely.
Michaela
Interesting recipe, very eager to try it. Do you just put the dry sugar in the pan with no liquid? I didn’t know you could do that…
Amélie
Yes that’s why this type of caramel is called ‘dry caramel’, in contrast to ‘wet caramel’ where water is added along with sugar to the pan 🙂
I find dry caramel to be pretty foolproof (as long as it’s kept over low heat). I’ve never had crystallization issues when only putting sugar in the pan.