Mmmm...Peanut Brittle!

Okay, today's treat is not so healthy - it's full of corn syrup and sugar - but it IS delicious. I'm making a few treats to add to some holiday gift baskets and today's project was peanut brittle.

I never knew how easy it was to make peanut brittle and the ingredients are quite inexpensive (if you go for fancier nuts, it gets more expensive of course). Whenever I've tried to buy pre-made peanut brittle around here, it's incredibly expensive, but a quick search at Amazon shows a wide variety of prices...you American's are lucky! :-)

Regardless, it's pretty easy-to-make and as little Christmas gift and you can wrap it up with extra care.

Here's what you need to make one cookie sheet of peanut brittle and it's very nutty:

- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup corn syrup
- 1/2 cup cold water
- pinch of salt
- 2 1/2 cups nuts
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking soda
- butter to grease cookie sheet

Here's what to do:

1. Grease your cookie sheet liberally with butter.

2. Place sugar, corn syrup, water and salt in saucepan and boil over medium heat. Cook until temperature of ingredients reaches 234 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Add peanuts and cook until 290 degrees.

4. Stir in vanilla and baking soda...mixture will foam up.

5. Quickly pour into your cookie sheet and cool completely.

Enjoy!