Pistachio and Pine Nut Brittle

6 Reviews
ADD YOUR REVIEW
Photo: Marcus Nilsson; Styling: Robyn Glaser
Hands-on Time
20 Mins
Total Time
2 Hours 20 Mins
Yield
Serves 10 (serving size: about 1 ounce)
By Ann Taylor Pittman
December 2011
RECIPE BY Cooking Light

Pistachio and Pine Nut Brittle is a sweet spin on the traditional peanut brittle. This nut candy also includes dried cranberries, giving the brittle a festive color of red and green (from the pistachios) for the holidays.

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup light-colored corn syrup
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup unsalted dry-roasted pistachios, coarsely chopped
  • 1/3 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Nutritional Information

  • Calories 176
  • Fat 7.7g
  • Satfat 1.7g
  • Monofat 2.8g
  • Polyfat 2.5g
  • Protein 2g
  • Carbohydrate 27.3g
  • Fiber 1g
  • Cholesterol 5mg
  • Iron 0.5mg
  • Sodium 162mg
  • Calcium 10mg

How to Make It

Step 1

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 2

Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring just until combined; bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 335° or until syrup is dark golden brown. Remove from heat; stir in pistachios and remaining ingredients (mixture will bubble). Quickly pour mixture onto prepared pan; spread to about 1/2-inch thickness. Cool completely (about 2 hours). Break brittle into bite-sized pieces.

Chef's Notes

Make-ahead tip: Cool the brittle completely, break into chunks, and store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.

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Ratings & Reviews

CathyOloo's Review

ESmith6
December 23, 2013
N/A

SingingGourmand's Review

CathyOloo
December 31, 2012
Wow, this is a keeper. I used toasted chopped cashews instead of pistachios, so I didn't have the festive green color, but it still looked and tasted amazing. I followed the recipe exactly and had no trouble. Have everything prepared in advance so you can move fast once it hits 325F.

Amy31773's Review

afoodiefriend
December 16, 2012
Four stars for the instructions, five stars for the results. 1 don't remove the liquid from the heat completely when you add the pistachios, baking soda etc just turn the heat to low, then add. It makes the candy much easier to pour! 2. 10 oz is a TINY portion! If you want to make this for gifts or a party which I highly recommend, you should at least triple the recipe. I did and it worked great! 3. Don't wait for 335 degrees, 300 is fine and the product is much prettier IMO. 4. To echo what the other reviewers have said it does take 20 minutes or so to get candy to ideal temp Super yummy! This will be a holiday staple for yea to come!

ESmith6's Review

detailaddict
January 01, 2012
Delicious! I ended up making 2 batches because the first one went so fast. The combination of flavors was yummy and it looked so festive with the green pistachios and the cranberries. I'd never made brittle before and I thought it was pretty easy. I will make it again!

afoodiefriend's Review

Amy31773
December 27, 2011
This brittle was delicious! The sugar took a while to reach 335 degrees, and it was quite sticky, even when it dried, but all the flavors worked very well together. I added a bit more salt and cranberries to give it a boost of salty-sweetness. So good for the holiday season!

detailaddict's Review

SingingGourmand
December 12, 2011
So good...The directions were spot-on, as I rarely make candy and found this quite easy; although one does have to babysit the sugar mixture for several minutes. My first attempt involved sucanat with honey instead of white sugar (don't try this unless you want to scrape scorched sucanat out of your saucepan), but the second went exaclty according to recipe. The liquid turned dark right at 335F (watch it as it heats quickly after 230F or so), although I took the pan off at around 338F. The amount of nuts is generous, and the flavor combination is a nice change from traditional peanut brittle. I took this to a gathering and everyone raved about it. I'll definitely be making this again.