Italian Almond Brittle
By: Patricia Turo
Published: Monday, December 7, 2009 - 11:55am

Ingredients




Ingredients
4 cups whole almonds, roasted
3 cups sugar
4 drops almond oil or
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 tablespoon water
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup light corn syrup
OTHER THINGS NEEDED
Candy thermometer

Preparation

1 Heat the oven to 400ºF. Place the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and toast them until lightly golden brown (about 15 minutes) and set aside. 2 Prepare a separate baking sheet and brush it with almond oil or 1 teaspoon almond extract. If you have a Teflon baking mat, place it on the baking sheet and brush it with the almond oil. If you are using extract, first brush the sheet with butter. 3 In a medium or heavy-bottom saucepan, combine sugar and water and cook over medium-high heat until it registers 238ºF on a candy thermometer (hard crack stage). When the sugar and water turn to liquid add the honey and corn syrup and 2 drops of almond oil or 1 teaspoon of extract (almond oil is stronger). If you don't have a candy thermometer, use a glass of cold water and after about 15 minutes, drop a little of the syrup into the cold water. If it turns into a hard ball the candy is done. If not, keep cooking it and testing the syrup until you get a hard ball. Do not stir; brush the sugar crystals from the sides of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water when necessary. This will prevent hard crystals from dropping into the candy. Once the sugar begins to brown, watch 4 Immediately add the toasted almonds into the candy and stir quickly to coat them. They should be completely covered with the syrup. Work very fast at this point, as the candy will begin to cool and turn hard. Spread the brittle quickly to an even thickness in the pan. Let the almond brittle cool completely and then break it into pieces by dropping the sheet on the counter. At this point you can wrap each piece in cellophane wrapping paper or serve on a candy dish.

About


Vendors along the streets of Bologna sell Brocante con Mandorle in large sheets. It can be made with toasted filberts also. In Italy they it is made with whole almonds and is very thick.  It is very hard but delicious.  I found that if you use sliced almonds it is a little thinner and a little easier to eat. The flavor is more intense with the whole almonds.
Blog Post: Italian recipes for a Holiday Gift package & Brocante con Mandorle
http://turosdolci.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/italian-recipes-for-a-holiday-gift-package-brocante-con-mandorle/

Comments:
Kerry

Hi your web site has a picture of Italian almond brittle on it, but the recipe underneath is for something containing pork chops???? Just thought you would like to know. Well i'm sure your almond brittle recipe is a good one anyway....maybe I will try to look at it again some other day..... regards