This is a dairy dish.

Part of Thanksgiving is that familial revolving door, as family arrives to visit. Grandparents, uncles, cousins, all are excited about the main event, the turkey with all the trimmings, and often linger over the weekend. Kids return from college for more than dinner one evening. Thanksgiving is typically far more than a stuffed turkey and cranberry sauce at the table. Everyone is milling about, and everyone has food on their mind. So part of my Thanksgiving repertoire includes fall-inspired treats. This recipe for brittle is deceptively simple. And while my favorite sort is the pistachio and sea salt variety, the beauty of this confection is that it will accommodate any nut or variety of nuts, even pumpkin seeds.

It’s a versatile sweet, delicious to munch on its own, and as a topping for ice cream, divine. I’ve even broken some brittle down into a finer crumble and rolled it onto a log of goat cheese. Toss it into a salad, or serve it alongside a variety of cheeses, crackers and olives.

Nut brittle made an assortment of cashews, peanuts, almonds and hazelnuts is often the most convenient. Most of us have a open tin or jar of assorted nuts just waiting to be used up. If you’ve got light corn syrup, baking soda, sugar and butter, you’re just about set.

Give this a try for the upcoming holiday, and see if it doesn’t become a staple for future occasions!

What You Need:

1 medium saucepan (nonstick is helpful)

A wooden spoon

1 C. sugar

1/2 C. light corn syrup

1 C. unsalted, shelled, plain nuts, very coarsely chopped

3 T. water

1 tsp. kosher salt

1 T. unsalted butter

3/4 tsp. baking soda

Nonstick spray

Coarse gray sea salt or pink Himalayan sea salt

A candy thermometer is optional but recommended for novices

Parchment paper

A rimmed cookie sheet or jelly roll pan

What To Do:

Line the baking sheet or jelly roll pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray.

Blend the water, sugar, corn syrup, and 3 tablespoons water in the saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. At this point you can insert and attach the candy thermometer. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for three to four minutes. (The candy thermometer should read 290 degrees.)

Using the wooden spoon, stir in the nuts, kosher salt and butter. The concoction will suddenly tighten but as it sits on the heat, it will melt again. Continue cooking, stirring with the wooden spoon. The nuts will brown a bit and when the caramel reaches a pale, golden brown color, it is ready for the next step. (The candy thermometer would read 300 degrees at this point.)

This is the sort of dish where instinct and common sense are your best assistants. Never let the caramel burn. You will know when it has reached the proper color. Do not allow it to darken. Above all, NEVER taste it off the spoon. Melted sugar is brutally hot and can cause extremely serious burns.

The final step is to sprinkle the baking soda along the caramel nut mixture, then stir quickly, blending it into the caramel. The baking soda will make the mixture bubble wildly, then it will calm down.

Using the wooden spoon, pour and then scrape the nut and caramel blend onto the sprayed, parchment-covered baking sheet, spreading it out quickly to create as thin a layer as possible. Immediately sprinkle your choice of sea salt over the hot brittle mixture. Sprinkle lightly. A little sea salt goes a long way, and is intended to heighten the sweet, crunchy confection, not overpower it with salt.

When the brittle has cooled completely, gently break it into medium pieces, erring on the side of larger since pieces will break along the way.

Store in an airtight container, layering the pieces between sheets of parchment paper to prevent them from sticking together. Properly stored, the brittle lasts for a week. But be sure to factor in a wee bit of theft; it’s awfully tempting!

Enjoy!

By Lisa Reitman-Dobi