Pine Nut Brittle with Rosemary
But not for long ...
Simple elegance: pine nuts, sugar, rosemary, butter, salt.
For your eyes only: it's caramel, people. Into a copper saucepan goes the sugar, a bit like an avalanche. Or waterfall? We couldn't decide.
Snow it is -- see the tracks?
Bring the sugar to a rolling boil ... you're a veritable Willy Wonka!
En route to caramel. Now that's science for you. Where's Harold Magee when you need him?
Finally, stage three, is clear and auburn caramel. Should you choose to abandon this project, stop here and dunk an apple.
It took a forest of pine trees to produce the nuts we needed. Makes pesto look like the peewees, no?
Why, hello lover. Is there anything about that pot that doesn't make you want to jump for joy?
And, as a reminder of the pine nuts' woodsy roots, here come the herbs: chopped rosemary. Trust us -- it's key.
Ms. T uses gray sea salt -- and so did we -- but just add the best version you have on hand.
This brave brittle's a thing of beauty even before it sets!
Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Do not forget the parchment paper.
Using a wooden spatula, we spread the nutty caramel around a parchment lined sheet pan. Doesn't have to be perfect, but it's nice to have an even layer.
All the little pine nuts are waiting to be showered with salt. Go, Amanda, go!
And, how about a bit more rosemary, just for kicks?
Too pretty to break.
Shards of sweet and savory glory.
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Author Notes: Pine nuts and rosemary are two flavors that scream "holidays" to me. It's probably the closest you can get to eating the Christmas tree without getting tinsel in your teeth. So I decided to combine them here with another Christmas classic that dentists love to hate: brittle. Enjoy! - Ms. T
Food52 Review: We love pine nuts and rosemary together (could anything be more evocative of rolling Tuscan hills?), but the idea of combining them in brittle form struck us as groundbreaking. Ms. T has you cloak the pine nuts in a buttery caramel, and while it’s still hot you stir in plenty of chopped rosemary, which then infuses the brittle with its perfume. A shower of crunchy sea salt is the finishing touch. A word of caution: be careful, or you may find yourself demolishing half the batch in one sitting, like we did! – A&M - A&M
Makes enough for one big tin or about 6 little bags of treats
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 1/2 cups pine nuts
- 8 tablespoons (one stick) unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon finely ground sea salt (I used grey sea salt)
- Place the sugar in a large, heavy saucepan over high heat and stir with a wooden spoon until sugar begins to melt. Lower the heat to medium-high and keep stirring just until the sugar is melted. Stop stirring and watch for it to turn a medium caramel color. About 10 minutes total.
- Stir in pine nuts, and then butter. Allow pine nuts to cook for about two minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in half of the rosemary and half of the sea salt.
- Turn the mixture out onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, and spread it evenly to the desired thickness with a wooden spoon or stiff rubber spatula. Sprinkle remaining rosemary and salt on top, while brittle is still warm.
- Allow to cool completely--at least one hour--then break the brittle into pieces and store in an airtight container at room temperature. If your brittle isn't brittle enough to break into pieces, pop it in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes, until it hardens enough to snap easily.
- Your Best Holiday Confection Contest Winner!
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4 months ago ChefFace
Yummm... Made this twice over the holidays, it was a huge hit, thank you so much for sharing ;)
5 months ago Bunnie1
The best gift I gave this year..... I used fresh rosemary I grow in my pot outside and sprinkled black cypress flake salt with pink river salt to the finished brittle ...... Beautiful !!!!!!!! Love love love this recipe!
5 months ago Karli
Has anyone used organic cane sugar for this recipe? I just tried to use I & quickly realized my conundrum...color, the sugar is already a light brown, so I had no way of knowing when it was ready for the pine nuts. Black, I waited till the sugar was waaayyy too dark/burned (after letting it cook for 10 min, per the recipe's instruction). Is there a temp that the sugar should be before putting in the pine nuts? Has anyone under browned the sugar before putting in the nuts & then not had it turn out right?
Thanks!
K
5 months ago hardlikearmour
hardlikearmour is a trusted home cook.
I use organic cane sugar for making caramels all the time, so I know what you're talking about. I find tilting the pan and checking what a thin layer of sugar looks like helps visualize the color change better. The sugar turns a nice golden brown in the 325-330º F range.
5 months ago Karli
Thank you! So helpful. Trying again...
about 1 year ago cheese1227
My oh my! Just made this to serve as a garnish to a blood orange and fennel salad I am serving tomorrow. It is fabulous!
over 1 year ago Choirbell
I made this brittle for Christmas and it was a huge success!!! Everyone loved the slightly sweet, salty savory flavors. It was a nice foil for all of the overly sweet goodies at the Christmas table!
over 1 year ago chop chop
Made this for christmas gifts to send out of town. A different confection for sure. Love it. So did the receipients. I had quite a bit myself in the process.
over 1 year ago charlotte au chocolat
This sounds incredible!
over 1 year ago CookingMomTR
Just made this and I can't wait for it to harden up...love the buttery pine nuts melting in my mouth!
over 1 year ago Kris Collett
This is a great recipe. This probably goes without saying for many of you, but make sure you have everything well prepared and measured out before you start this recipe. I'm an experienced cook, so sometimes, especially if working on just one recipe at a time, I don't set everything up, and just measure my ingredients in short pauses that a lot of recipes require. This one doesn't have too many pauses, so I was scrambling a bit! Nevertheless, the brittle looks beautiful and turned out wonderfully. I used a flaky fleur de sel (sp?) rather than grey sea salt, and it's still delicious. Thanks for a great recipe. I'm so glad I found this site!
over 1 year ago pamelalee
Nameless no longer......I am so lucky to be your secret Santa recipient! Your pine nut brittle is out of this world. I can't wait to make the recipe myself. Thank you, Ms.T for such a thoughtful, yummy package! (A confession: as I was opening each little gift, I kept saying aloud, although no one else was around,"This is so much fun!")
over 1 year ago Ms. T
Yay! Your confession makes me smile from ear to ear. I felt the same way when I opened my box. This secret santa stuff is fun--I hope it becomes an annual tradition. Cheers!
over 1 year ago nannydeb
I'm fortunate enough to have received this in my secret santa box (thanks Bevi!) and it's fabulous! And dangerous! I can't stop eating it! Wonderful recipe!
over 1 year ago Ms. T
So glad you liked it! I just tucked some into a box for my secret santa recipient, who shall remain nameless for the time being...
over 1 year ago MelanieinSegur
Just made this! Love, love love! So very tasty. Thanks for sharing.
over 1 year ago Ms. T
Thanks, so glad you loved it!
over 1 year ago Francoiseeats
Love a savory, hard herb in candy - definitely trying this when I get home. http://francoiseeats.wordpress...
over 1 year ago boulangere
Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
I toasted them, too, along with the rosemary. This is freaking amazing!
over 1 year ago MAP
I toasted the pine nuts first and it is amazing, had to hide it from my family so that there
Is some left for tomorrow. Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
over 1 year ago Ms. T
Thanks for letting me know- I'll try that variation next time. Glad you liked it!
over 1 year ago neighome
Holy cow! This ridiculously good.
over 1 year ago freshjam
Started dry brining my turkey last nite from recipe on this site and saw this brittle mix. Pretty addicted to pinenuts and rosemary anyway. Knew I had to make this- just this morning. More than awesome! It will be a fantastic addition to the dessert buffet and maybe for gifting this next month! Thanks so much.
over 1 year ago Ms. T
Thanks, glad you like the recipe. I will be making lots for gifting also :)
over 1 year ago ZiggyPiecrust
Wow - just made a batch because I'm procrastinating about packing and have been jonesing to make this. It's incredible and made it with fresh rosemary from our garden - if they're's any left, hope to smuggle some up to Canada tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving Ms. T.
over 1 year ago Ms. T
Thanks! Hope the smuggling was a success :)
over 1 year ago Bevi
Well, I made a batch this afternoon, to take to our Bird in CT. The husband came home for dinner and took a bite. His feeling was I would have to make another batch, stating that this brittle was going to be gone days before I planned to serve it as a dessert treat. So I shortly finished making the second batch. There may be a third and even fourth in the making....
over 1 year ago Ms. T
Ha ha, the husband sounds wise ;) glad you liked the recipe!
over 1 year ago Bevi
The brittle was the hit of the Thanksgiving dessert table. I was cursed for bringing it - a few people said everything would have been fine diet-wise, but for the brittle! Oh well.
over 1 year ago Summer of Eggplant
Congratulations! I can't wait to make this.