Sesame Seed Brittle

Chinese New Year is today, Monday, January 23, 2012; and it will be the beginning of the year of the Dragon.  I'm pretty excited this year because my parents are here and we get to celebrate it together for the first time after a long time being apart.  This type of celebration is truly felt different when is experienced with family members.  Everything seems more festive, happier, and has truer meaning.

My mom has already planned to cook quite an array of dishes at the end of the week.  But unfortunately she and my dad had to fly to California for their friend's memorial.  So the plan of eating my mom's cooked Chinese-Indonesian meal was scraped off, but instead we were invited for a Chinese New Year dinner yesterday by one of my friends.  Since she's a Chinese-Indonesian, unsurprisingly we found dishes that we're familiar with.  These were not fancy dinner but nevertheless, they tasted delicious.  If this is an indication of what the year forecasted to be, I love it! :)

I've a chance to make sesame seed brittles this week for a friend and I've some left for me.  Sesame seed symbolizes abundance among the Chinese and it's used prominently in Chinese cuisine.  I'm not superstitious but I love eating things with sesame seeds.  Just last year I made sesame seed balls and those were yummy!

Here's the recipe for sesame seed brittles and a Happy Chinese New Year to you!

Sesame Seed Brittle

Makes about 1 1/2 pounds



1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup light corn syrup

2 cups lightly toasted sesame seeds



Lightly spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.  Dissolve the baking soda and salt in the vanilla extract and set aside.

In a large pot over medium heat, stir together the sugar, water, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup butter until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted.  Increase the heat and boil, stirring occasionally with a heatproof spatula or a wooden spoon, until the mixture turns a deep golden brown and measures 335° to 340° on a candy thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and carefully (the mixture will bubble up) stir in vanilla mixture and peanuts.

Immediately pour into the prepared pan. If necessary, use a spatula or lightly sprayed wooden spoon to spread the mixture flat. Let stand at room temperature until cool and hard, about 1 hour.

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 in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Source: Brittles, Barks, and Bonbons: Delicious Recipes for Quick and Easy Candy by Charity Ferreira

Macadamia Nut Brittle-Bake sale #1

Around this time of the year my son's school has a fall festival where there are produce, baked goods sold, games and activities for the family to participate, a cook-off; basically a day to try to enjoy fall day :)  The day actually started very rainy since the night before.  It was rainy on and off with some sunshine peeked through.  This year the activities and booths are located inside the gym which means braving the cold becomes easier.

I usually bake some goodies to be sold in the baked goods booth, and this year I restrained myself and made only five items.  Out of five, I only had to bake two, so the load wasn't so heavy.  Plus, this year I worked by myself instead of having another mom helping me.  All the goods are kid-friendly and I hope everyone would love them.

In this post, the first of the five series, I'm posting macadamia nut brittle recipe.  I love eating brittles, especially when they are crunchy and buttery.  Last year I made peanut brittles, this time macadamia nut takes a stand.  The recipe is from a book by Charity Ferreira:  Brittles, Barks, and Bonbons; a small book filled with good candy recipes.  Not too complicated yet the flavor of each recipe really shines through.  My favorite candy book so far!

Macadamia Nut Brittle

Makes 2 pounds brittle



6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, plus more for pan

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups macadamia nuts (about 12 ounces), lightly toasted and roughly chopped



Lightly butter a 10-by-15-inch jelly pan.  Dissolve the baking soda in the vanilla extract; set aside.

In a large pot over medium-low heat, stir together the sugar, water, 6 tablespoons butter, the corn syrup, and salt until the sugar is dissolved and the butter is melted.  Increase the heat and cook, stir occasionally with a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon, until the mixture turns a deep golden brown and measures about 335 degree F on a candy thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and carefully (the mixture will bubble up) stir in the vanilla mixture and nuts.

Immediately pour into the prepared pan.  If necessary, use a spatula or wooden spoon to spread the mixture flat.  Let stand at room temperature until cool and hard, about 1 hour.

Bend the ends of the pan to release the brittle and chop or break into chunks.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.