Cherry Almond Brittle

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cherry almond brittle
Cherries! Almonds! Crunchy! Chewy!

One of us got a notice to report for jury duty on Monday (possibly), the same day we volunteer downtown, which is when we bring treats for the other volunteers. Jury duty might mean that one of us would be gone most or all day, so any treats we made would have to be made ahead of time, which eliminates an awfully lot of baked-fresh goods. Now, if we add to the mix that we want our treats to match somewhat an adjacent holiday, month, or season (Bourbon-Pecan Mini Pies or Kings Cakelets for Mardi Gras, Peppermint Stick Ice Cream for December, etc), it gets difficult to figure out just what to make. After all, the only holiday this time of February is President’s Day.

Difficult, but not impossible, at least not for scratchers like us. With President’s Day in mind, we decided to go with something made from cherries, in Washington’s honor — no, he didn’t actually chop down the cherry tree; that’s something a presidential candidate would say on the campaign trail. Something we could make a day or two ahead of time. After some deliberation, we settled on a simple modification of Apricot Pistachio Brittle.

Cherry Almond Brittle

Servings: 1 pound
Author: Shawn

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup corn syrup (170 g)
  • 1 cup sugar (200 g)
  • 1/2 cup water (125 g)
  • Pinch salt
  • 1 cup almonds (150 g)
  • 1/2 cup dried cherries (75 g)

Instructions

  • Generously butter a baking sheet. Alternatively, line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.
  • Finely chop cherries and spread them across the baking pan in a roughly oval shape.
  • In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, bring corn syrup, sugar, water, and salt to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Once dissolved, insert candy thermometer and cook, without stirring, until temperature reaches 275°F.
  • Add almonds and stir. Continue cooking without stirring until temperature reaches 300°F.
  • Stir brittle and pour over chopped cherries, spreading the brittle quickly before it cools.
  • Once cool, break apart, and store in an airtight container.

Ingredient discussion:

Corn syrup: we use the kind without high fructose corn syrup. We know that some people claim it doesn’t matter, but, if it doesn’t matter, then why have it? Almonds are unsalted and roasted. For the cherries, we used dried Montmorency cherries from Trader Joe’s. They’re just a bit tart, making a nice foil for the sweetness of the brittle.

Procedure in detail:

Since all the instructions are the same as for Apricot-Pistachio Brittle, we’ll let you follow those instructions, and just show you how ours turned out.

cherry almond brittle
Cherries! Almonds! Crunchy! Chewy!

Candy is one of those things that seems as if it would be a lot of trouble, but it really isn’t. If you have a thermometer and can boil a liquid, you can make candy, and brittle is one of the easiest for beginners. Plus, it’s tasty, and it’s not as if you can buy Cherry Almond Brittle in stores; however, you can make up a pound in under half an hour. Five stars.

Worth the trouble?

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