Suburban Homesteading – Frugal Living

Bees are a versatile addition to any homestead and kitchen. A single hive can produce enough honey to maintain a family for a year, with a bit left over to sell, trade or share. From the earliest times honey was a prime commodity for selling or bartering. Many early-Americans came from beekeeping countries and used honey extensively in cooking and for medicinal uses. This rendition of southern peanut brittle is inspired by those early homesteaders. For a change of pace try using other nuts like pecans or almonds, or use this brittle crumbled over ice-cream for a cool and crunchy summer treat.

Honey Peanut Brittle

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups roasted & salted peanuts

1 cup sugar

1 cup honey

½ tsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp. baking soda

1 tbsp. butter

Pinch of salt (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

In a deep pot bring peanuts, sugar, honey and lemon juice to a boil, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves. Continue boiling until a candy thermometer reaches 300. Remove from heat.

Carefully stir in baking soda, butter and salt (if you are using it), but be careful, the baking soda will make the mixture frothy. Spread mixture over a well-buttered baking sheet and cool completely (about an hour). When cool, break into pieces and store in an airtight container in a cool dry place. Keeps for a week, but guaranteed it won’t last that long.