Chile Brittle

This is a recipe a co-worker shared with me recently.  It may sound odd to some, then again maybe not.  If you are fan of chocolate with a bit of spice you should definitely try this one.

I will note any changes I made at the end.  Enjoy!

Chile Brittle

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup chile (half habanero & half dried ground chipotles)  <--Yes you read that right!  It says a 1/4 cup!! (see change below)

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 cup soft butter or margarine

1/8 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups of nut of your choice (whole peanuts, cashews or coarsely chopped pecans, walnuts or brazil nuts)

Boil together the sugars, corn syrup, water, chile and salt until the mixture reaches hard crack stage (300 degrees F on a candy thermometer).

Stir the mixture only until the sugar is dissolved so it doesn't scorch.  Add the butter and baking soda, stirring until the mixture foams up.  Add nuts and quickly stir them in.  Pour the mixture onto a greased heat-proof flat pan.  Spread the mixture until it is very thin.  Loosen from the sheet before it cools and hardens.  Break into crude pieces.

Changes or additions:

     - My co-worker used 1/4 tsp of chiles to the mix.  I however used closer to 1 tsp or so.  What I did, and would recommend is that you stir the mixture of sugar, corn syrup, water and salt in the pan BEFORE you put it on the heat.  This way you can gradually add the chiles to the mixture and taste, so that it reaches an acceptable heat/spicy level for you.  This isn't intended to be a fraternity prank!  Mine turned out with a subtle smoldering sensation, and that's meant in a pleasant way.  :)

     - To counterbalance the spicy, I took the advice of my co-worker and dipped the brittle in chocolate.  I melted down some of Baker's semi-sweet chocolate and dipped the cooled brittle pieces into the chocolate, covering them completely.  I then laid them out on a piece of parchment paper to allow the chocolate to harden.

Tip:  My Silpat was perfect for this, I poured the brittle mixture onto it to cool.  It made it a breeze to remove!