Cashew Brittle

We make it look easy.
Ingredients

• 1/2c granulated sugar
• 1/4c light corn syrup
• 1/8c water
• 1/8tsp salt
• 1/2c cashews, broken up
• 1/2tsp baking soda
• 1tbsp butter

BE SURE TO MEASURE EVERYTHING OUT AHEAD OF TIME and have it ready to go. A lot of the steps here have to be done pretty quickly - it's not a problem, but if you are busy measuring things out, you'll be too slow. Also have a pan with parchment paper waiting nearby before you start.

To a small saucepan, add the sugar, corn syrup, water, and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Once sugar is dissolved (or the mixture starts to get bubbly), add the cashews. Continue stirring until the mixture reaches 300 degrees (the hard crack stage). We used a digital thermometer - a candy thermometer is best, though.

When it reaches that hot, add the butter and baking soda (we had them both sitting in a measuring cup by the side and just dumped them in all at once) and stir vigorously until the butter is melted. Spread mixture across the parchment paper (with a spatula) as best you can. Let it cool, then break into pieces.

Thoughts: This was so easy - we were both surprised. Claire says the cashew flavor wasn't very strong, and that we should break up the cashews into smaller pieces. Maybe we can sprinkle them with salt? Claire suggests we could sprinkle the top when we spread it out. Or just add more at the beginning, I guess.

A lot of recipes say not to stir vigorously the whole way through - why didn't ours seize up?

Disaster Index: 1/10