Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Coconut Macadamia Nut Brittle


This brittle is super delicious! I think I even like it better than classic Peanut Brittle.

2 cups sugar
¼ cup coconut milk
¼ cup amber agave syrup
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup coconut oil
1 ¼ cups macadamia nuts, unsalted and chopped into quarters
¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Heat your oven to 350 F. Spread the coconut and macadamia nuts evenly on a baking sheet and put it in the oven for 10 minutes to toast them. Remove the nuts from the baking sheet and place the baking sheet back in the oven. Turn the oven off. It’s important this baking sheet is warm so the brittle spreads easily before it solidifies.

In a medium saucepan, add the sugar, coconut milk, agave syrup, and salt. Stir it together with clean fingers. Fill a large bowl (bigger than your saucepan) with ice water to cool the hot syrup. Bring the sugar mixture to a boil on high heat, covered, then remove cover. Stir in the coconut oil and reduce heat to a simmer. Do not stir the mixture from now on because natural convection currents will do the stirring for you.

Insert a candy thermometer and bring the mixture up to 300 F. Reduce heat to medium. After 300 F the temperature will rise rapidly. Once the mixture reaches 325 F, remove it from heat and dip the saucepan into the ice water for about 10 seconds to stop the caramelization process.

Stir in the macadamia nuts and shredded coconut with a wooden spoon. Pour the mixture onto the baking sheet and spread it with a spatula until it’s ¼ inch thick. Allow the mixture to cool completely before breaking the brittle into small pieces. Enjoy!

No comments: