Recipes Desserts Candy Best-Ever Nut Brittle 5.0 (2,858) 10 Reviews Tina Ujlaki adapted this crunchy, buttery, slightly salty brittle from a recipe by James Beard Award-winning pastry chef Karen DeMasco. When her children were younger, Tina would make it as a holiday gift for their teachers. As she recalls, "Come November, I'd start getting these looks from teachers who were hoping for the brittle but too shy to ask me about it." By Tina Ujlaki Tina Ujlaki Title: Executive Food Editor At Food & Wine since: 1985 Born and Raised: New York City background: My mother's family made Pick salami, the Hungarian classic; my father was a restaurant-obsessed gourmand. My first kitchen job was making drinks and desserts at the legendary Caffè Lena in Saratoga Springs, NY, followed by an awesome two years as a stagiaire (/sites/default/files/ntern or apprentice) at Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne in Paris. When I got back, I worked on The Good Cook book series at Time-Life for two years before coming to Food & Wine. What I Do at Food & Wine: I'm responsible for making sure all the food we feature is delicious, interesting and doable. That requires a lot of eating, drinking, tasting, scouting and recipe-smithing. Biggest Thrill: Getting to work with so many incredibly inspiring people throughout the food universe and tasting new things every day. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on November 3, 2022 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Active Time: 30 mins Total Time: 1 hrs Yield: 2 pounds Ingredients 2 cups sugar 1/2 cup water 1 stick unsalted butter 1/3 cup light corn syrup 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 12 ounces roasted salted peanuts, cashews, pistachios, and/or pecans Fleur de sel or crushed flaky sea salt, such as Maldon Directions In a large saucepan, combine the sugar, water, butter, and corn syrup and bring to a boil. Cook over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until the caramel is light brown and registers 300°F on a candy thermometer, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and carefully stir in the baking soda. The mixture will bubble. Stir in the nuts, then immediately scrape the brittle onto a large rimmed, nonstick baking sheet. Using the back of a large spoon (oil it lightly if it sticks), spread the brittle into a thin, even layer. Sprinkle with salt. Let cool completely, about 30 minutes. Break the brittle into large shards. © Tina Rupp Make Ahead The brittle can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 month. Rate it Print