Salted Almond Brittle (easy!)
I’m so easy lately. Wait, that came out wrong. Can I start again?
I’m the queen of easy recipes lately. First, I gave you sticky buns made in 30 minutes with the help of frozen puff pastry. Then, I gave you macaroni and cheese that you make in a blender. A blender! And now, I give you brittle made in the microwave in 10 minutes.
My Mom made this recipe with salted peanuts when I was growing up. The baking process is dangerous, though, so I wasn’t allowed to help. I would watch from a safe distance while the sugar turned from clear to golden. I loved the part when she stirred in the baking soda and the brittle foamed up. So, just because this recipe is easy and consists of dumping 3 ingredients into a bowl and placing it in the microwave does not mean that your kids can help you. We’re dealing with sugar that is almost 300 degrees. You should also resist the urge to lick the spoon. It looks like hard candy, but it’s actually hot lava when it comes out of the microwave.
Please watch your brittle in the microwave while it cooks, especially after you add the almonds. If your sugar turns dark brown or black, it’s ruined. Sorry, start over. That said, don’t be afraid for the sugar to turn a rich amber color. Sugar must reach a certain temperature before it will set into the proper hardness of brittle. At most, you might need to shave 15 seconds off your cooking time. Any more than that and your brittle won’t set up. Use a very deep bowl because boil-overs are disasterous. Also, use raw almonds, or your nuts will taste burnt in the final product. You could also use raw peanuts, but in my experiments, they only need 2 minutes in the microwave after they’ve been added to the sugar in step #2.
One final tip: you might fear that your bowl is ruined after you’ve made the brittle. To clean your bowl, simply fill it up with warm water, let it set for an hour and the excess candy will dissolve. No scrubbing required!
After all those warnings and complicated instructions, I should tell you that this brittle is very delicious and quite impressive, too! The Mr. is always impressed by my homemade candy making skills. Speaking of, did you see our engagement photos here? You’re welcome 
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup whole raw almonds
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- First, have ready a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. In a large deep bowl, stir together the corn syrup and sugar. Place in the microwave on high for 3 minutes.
- After 3 minutes have passed, stir in the almonds and salt. Return the mixture to the microwave for another 2½ minutes. This is the part where you have to watch to make sure it doesn’t burn.
- Next, stir in the butter and vanilla. Microwave for another 30 seconds.
- Remove the bowl from the microwave and immediatley stir in the baking soda. Be careful-it foams up slightly. Then, immediately pour the mixture on the pan and spread it out quickly. Let set until cool, about 30 minutes, then break into pieces.
This looks absolutely delicious. I love to try it with lots of different nut variations, yum!
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Will you move in?
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Christina Reply:
August 20th, 2012 at 6:56 am
YES! I’ve been waiting for you to ask! I’m packing my bags nowwwwww!
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Love the pictures!! And this brittle. . .oh my!
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Love that this makes a smallish serving size (as does everything you make) because I can eat brittles and barks like they’re going out of style
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I love this whole blog post. There’s danger at every turn! Very exciting for my Monday morning.
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Christina Reply:
August 20th, 2012 at 1:37 pm
haha, Karly! My kitchen walks the line!
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I love your engagement photos!! Congratulations again!!
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My daddy is brittle obsessed. There is always some peanut brittle hanging around at Christmas, and the man can’t take just one piece – he shoves huge handfuls in his mouth like it is going to be taken away from him or something.
Moral of the story: He could probably eat this entire recipe in two bites, but I bet he would love it anyway.
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I love easy!
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Easy and so pretty! This turned out awesome!
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I love brittle! That caramel flavor is just so amazing! And with the added nutty crunch of nuts. Can’t wait to try this.
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girl, i know EXACTLY how you feel. i literally was thinking the EXACT SAME THING. I was like “man, i love easy recipes these days”…i really think it’s cause we’re SO busy and the only thing we can really do is EASY. which, i saw these on IG today and instantly craved brittle. this looks so so amazing, Christina!!
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Oh My! This could get ugly..real ugly. This looks to scrumptious!
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i’m afraid i would try to dive into the bowl of molten candy…
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Oh love this! My dad is a huge peanut brittle lover, I’ll have to try this on him!
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The easier the recipe, the better for me! This sounds great. I love salty sweet treats!
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Wow! I can’t believe you can make this in the microwave–that is nuts (and way too tempting). This looks delicious.
I’ve made brittle the other way and it is really is dangerous! So many sugar burns ready to happen, haha. This sounds much better! Thanks for the great inspiration.
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You’re such a darling! It has been YEARS since I’ve had peanut brittle and am dying to try your almond brittle recipe. Looks delicious and love that I can make it for two
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So satisfying when craving buttery and crunchy…always like easy!
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This looks so dangerous! Yum! PS: Loooove the engagement pics!
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I haven’t had brittle in years. Love that this can be made in the microwave! I hate candy making. The kind where you have to have a thermometer and all that business. Too fussy.
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I love it when I read a recipe and have everything to make it. This was cooling in the pan within 15 minutes of reading your website. Oh * so * delicious. Hubby even said it was like his grandma’s brittle – though I seriously doubt she got hers done so fast.
Next decision – try again with peanuts or cashews??
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Christina Reply:
August 23rd, 2012 at 4:42 am
That’s so good to hear, Jen! Thanks for sharing! Remember: if you use different nuts, make sure to decrease the middle microwave section. Good luck
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This looks absolutely amazing! And it’s so true, I always think I’ve ruined my bowls after doing anything with caramel. Bu then they’re miraculously clean
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I seriously cannot believe this was made in the microwave! It looks seriously good and I cannot wait to make it! I love to impress, especially when its easy for me
LOVE your engagement pictures too. You are utterly adorable!
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This is going to be dangerous for me:)
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We had a sweet little old man that lived by us and made my family brittle all the time just to let us know he cared about us. I had totally forgotten until now. So sweet.
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[...] first one is from my favorite mini-recipe website, Dessert for Two, and is Salted Almond Brittle. Not only is it a small recipe, but it was super easy! You use the microwave!! It took less than 10 [...]
yum I love this recipe, and especially the small recipe for that little craving!
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Your recipe looks good however I’m wondering about the measurements. If the recipe supposedly makes one pound of brittle, how is it that only 1/2 CUP of almonds is required? Shouldn’t it be 1/2 POUND of almonds? I’m very interested in making this recipe but want to be sure it’s accurate. Thanks so much for your speedy reply.
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Christina Reply:
September 3rd, 2012 at 4:07 pm
Hi Pat, I emailed you back. The recipe measurements are correct.
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Thanks, Christina. I made the almond brittle and thought it was FANTASTIC!
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