Chocolate Brittle

 

Chocolate Brittle is a hard piece of confection that consists of sugared, nut-encrusted  brittle candies coated with chocolate. The recipe for the confection varies from place to place with different types of chocolates as well as different types of nuts being used to prepare the brittles.

 

While the brittles were derived from the French croquant and the Italian croccante, the chocolate covered variety is a relatively recent invention that is available commercially. Variations also include adding chocolate bits to the ingredients instead of covering it completely.

 

The chocolate brittle recipe cannot be linked to any particular area of America, unlike the original brittle which was prepared in the Southern States of Virginia, Louisiana and South Carolina.

 

The traditional brittles were prepared on stove tops earlier, but the method involves microwave cooking in recent years.

 

 

Ingredients and Preparation Overview of Chocolate Brittle

The ingredients that are used traditionally for preparing brittles include sugar, corn syrup and butter along with vanilla extracts and shelled nuts which can vary from peanuts to hazelnuts. Pecans are also used occasionally to give the candy an all-American character. Chocolate chips or a bar of dark chocolate is used additionally when it comes to this specific type of brittle. Some amount of soda is also used for dissolving the vanilla extract.

 

The sugar, corn syrup and water are heated together until the mixture turns stringy and chewy. Butter and nuts are added to the chocolate brittle at this point, with the vanilla extract dissolved in soda being added at the last moment.

 

The mixture is placed on a greased tray and pulled to form a thin and flat layer. It is then allowed to harden by cooling it at room temperature.The final part involves breaking the pieces unevenly which are then covered with melted chocolate. A small quantity of nuts are used to garnish the candy.

 

 

Chocolate Brittle Recipe Variations

  • Almond Roca- This is a popular chocolate toffee crunchy candy encrusted with almond bits.
     
  • German Nougat- This is a kind of praline containing chocolate and hazelnuts.
     
  • Graham Toffee Bark-This is a toffee prepared on a layer of Graham’s crackers. Chocolate chips and macadamia nuts are sprinkled on the top before the cold candy is broken into small pieces.

 

 

 

Trivia

Chocolate brittle, baked in the form of a brownie, is the latest form of American candies now.