Peanut Brittle

A holiday memory that pops into my head whenever December rolls around is my Dad's love of peanut brittle.  Around the holidays, Dad would almost always receive his brittle as a homemade gift, packaged in a tin box.  This special box was sometimes shaped as a bell, but more likely star shaped and usually topped with the requisite adhesive bow.  As my Dad walked into and out of the kitchen each day, he could never resist quietly opening that tin lid and sneaking a piece of the crunchy, peanut-laced candy.  As a kid, I would sometimes sneak a piece too, but it never held the same appeal to me as it obviously did for my Dad.  As I find myself getting ready for Christmas this year, I've decided to make my Dad some of his cherished brittle. I used roasted, salted peanuts but I'm sure this candy would be divine with any nut. Carefully boil sugar, syrup and peanuts.  Add a bit of butter, baking soda, vanilla and salt.  Spread out on a silpat-lined baking sheet.  Let cool.  Quite easy, and completely buttery, crunchy and delicious.  A nostalgic, old-fashioned candy that is sure to please anyone in your family this holiday.

Peanut Brittle
adapted from this recipe

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
2 1/2 cups roasted and salted peanuts
1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp baking soda
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp kosher salt

note:   a Silpat liner works great here, but if you don't have one just generously grease your pan with butter before spreading out the hot brittle.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with a Silpat mat and set aside.

In a large sauce pot, combine sugar, corn syrup and peanuts.  Stir gently to combine.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, gently stirring occasionally with a heat-proof rubber spatula until a candy thermometer reads 295 degrees.  Be sure to watch the boiling sugar and peanuts carefully as they can very quickly burn.

Remove the pot from the heat and immediately stir in the butter, baking soda, vanilla and salt.  Use caution as the mixture will bubble.  Pour the mixture onto the Silpat and spread out as thinly as possible.  Allow brittle to cool completely. Crack brittle into small pieces, package in an airtight container and enjoy.

A silicone sheet makes easy work of clean-up. 

Spread the hot candy onto the sheet and let cool.

Makes a handsome holiday gift packaged in a mason jar and sealed with a bow.  

Lemon Sugar-Dipped Blueberry Muffins

There is nothing like a warm blueberry muffin on a cold winter morning.  Or, for that matter, any sort of morning.  Break one in half, slather it with soft butter and sink your teeth in.  Breakfast nirvana.  There are many recipes for blueberry muffins that claim to be the best, however, I've found that the recipe in this book is my ideal.  Moist, with just the right amount of density and filled with blueberries.  I like to use frozen wild blueberries because they are available year round and because I find them to be sweeter and taste more like blueberries than the larger off-season fresh variety.  Of course, use whatever type of blueberries you prefer.  I also find it delicious to top the warm muffins with some melted butter and then dunk them in a mixture of sugar and fresh lemon zest.  Lemon zest and blueberries are best friends in my book, so I use any excuse I can to combine the two flavors.  Tart, sweet, buttery and soft.  These muffins are quick, delicious and the perfect addition to any weekend breakfast menu.  Any time of year.

Lemon Sugar-Dipped Blueberry Muffins
makes 12
recipe barely adapted from The New Best Recipe Cookbook, from the editors of Cooks Illustrated


for the muffins:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 1/4 cups sour cream, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries, preferably wild

for the lemon sugar topping:
1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp fresh lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 12 cup muffin tin liberally with non-stick spray and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the egg and sugar vigorously for about 30 seconds or until light in color and combined.  Add the melted butter and whisk until combined.  Add the sour cream and whisk until combined.

Add the frozen blueberries to the flour mixture and toss around until they are evenly coated with flour.  Add the sour cream mixture to the dry mixture and, using a rubber spatula, fold the two mixtures together until they are just combined.  Do not over mix at this point, the batter should be very thick.

Divide the batter between the 12 muffin cups and bake for 25-30 minutes until just golden around the edges and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean.  When cool enough to touch, remove muffins from the pan and allow them to cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes while your prepare the lemon sugar topping.

for the lemon sugar topping:
While the muffins are cooling, begin the topping.  Melt the butter and set aside to cool.  Combine the sugar and lemon zest in a food processor and process for 30 seconds or until the zest and sugar are thoroughly combined.  Transfer lemon sugar to a bowl.

When the muffins have slightly cooled, take your first muffin and dip the top of it in the melted butter.  Next, dunk the top of the muffin into the bowl of lemon sugar.  Return muffin to the wire rack to allow the sugar to set.  Repeat with remaining muffins.

Warm, delectable blueberry muffins, golden around the edges.

Lemony sugar.  The perfect topping for these muffins.

A bit of soft butter to slather on the warm insides.  Perfect.