by Ms. T
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by James Ransom
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by James Ransom
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by Ms. T
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by francesca gilberti
A&M's Testing Notes:
Expand CollapseMs. T's Notes:
Expand2 cups sugar Ask a question about this ingredient
2 1/2 cups pine nuts Ask a question about this ingredient
8 tablespoons (one stick) unsalted butter Ask a question about this ingredient
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary Ask a question about this ingredient
1 tablespoon finely ground sea salt (I used grey sea salt) Ask a question about this ingredient
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.
Ask a question about this stepStir 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.
Ask a question about this stepTurn 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.
Ask a question about this stepAllow 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.
Ask a question about this stepI 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!
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.
This sounds incredible!
Just made this and I can't wait for it to harden up...love the buttery pine nuts melting in my mouth!
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!
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!")
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!
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!
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...
Just made this! Love, love love! So very tasty. Thanks for sharing.
Love a savory, hard herb in candy - definitely trying this when I get home. http://francoiseeats.wordpress.com/
I toasted them, too, along with the rosemary. This is freaking amazing!
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!
Thanks for letting me know- I'll try that variation next time. Glad you liked it!
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.
Thanks, glad you like the recipe. I will be making lots for gifting also :)
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.
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....
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.
Congratulations! I can't wait to make this.
Congratulations Ms. T for a great win and a fabulous recipe. I just finished making the first batch of what I'm sure will be a lifetime of this brittle, and all I can say is WOW....amazing. "I pity the fool" who takes a pass on this one.
Congrats on the win! I know firsthand how ridiculously addictive this is, and I second Ms. T's sentiments about the Christmas tree. I think this will have to become a holiday go-to.
Thank you! It was so nice to meet you. I'm enjoying your gorgeous food photos on your blog (and on Food52).
Wonderful recipe - something new, different, and I am sure delicious!
Made a half batch of this (pine nuts are expensive! hehe) just a couple hours ago and it is almost gone! Maybe I'll try it with some pumpkin seeds and pumpkin pie spice, just for fun =) thanks for sharing the recipe Ms. T!
Yes, pine nuts are crazy expensive--this is definitely a "special occasion" recipe. I think I'll save it for the people on my list that have been especially good this year :) The pumpkin variation sounds lovely--let me know how it turns out.
I love the idea of this, but I have a pine nut allergy (thankfully that's the only nut I'm allergic to). Would almonds be a good sub do you think?
Bummer that you can't have pine nuts, but yes, I think almonds would be great. I often make candied almonds with rosemary: http://www.food52.com/recipes/10771_candied_rosemary_almonds, which was my starting point for developing this recipe. And I've also made brittle (same butter/nut/sugar ratio as this recipe) with a mixture of almonds, pistacios and pumpkin seeds. I would recommend toasting the almonds first. Let me know how it turns out!
How long do you think this will keep?
It definitely keeps for at least 10 days--I just had the last bite from my November 5th batch and it still tasted great :) I think you could probably stretch to two weeks--there's plenty of sugar in there!
Hats off to you!
Congratulations Ms. T! What a great, and creative, holiday treat!
Thanks fiveandspice! Hope it helps you rack up some points with the in-laws ;)
Amazing headnotes from you Mrs T and simple execution. A must make.....Many congratulations
Thank you! It IS ridiculously simple to make...and deceivingly "fancy" when it's done ;)
Oh yay! So very happy for you! Warm congratulations.
Congratulations, Ms. T! I'm looking forward to making these.
We just finished off the jar you brought to the lunch on Saturday - everyone loved it! Congratulations, Ms. T!
Thanks TasteFood! I'm very happy that my recipe will get to keep such good company on that iPad app :) Go team rosemary!
I had noticed the iPad app is heavy in rosemary recipes! 4 of the 5 winners have rosemary in the title - that's one popular herb!!
Indeed! The people have spoken and apparently, the people like rosemary. Luckily, I don't see any submissions for rosemary punch. But should you ever be compelled to do an all-rosemary meal, and need something to wash it down with, I do have a good recipe (not my own) for a cranberry-rosemary cocktail...
Congratulations!!! It really is exceptional, thank you so much for sharing!
Congrats, Ms. T!! This sounds FAB, so earthy and sweet all in one...
Wow! I'm totally honored and thrilled. Thank you all for your votes and lovely comments. I better start saving up to buy more pine nuts--I have a lot of brittle to make to fulfill on my campaign promises ;)
congrats, ms. t! i love that my first taste of this delicious brittle was made by you!
YAY!!!!!!!!! So many congrats to you - I know first hand how delicious this is!! Anytime you have a little extra, you just let me know and I'll walk down to your house!!!
Congratulations! This brittle is divine and I'll be making it again for holiday gifts.
What a wonderfully creative yet simple holiday treat! I have all the ingredients right now... I think I'll be making some soon. Congratulations!
Mmm this sounds amazing! I am expecting a sampling next month for CC :)
Mmm this sounds amazing! I am expecting a sampling next month for CC :)
yum
I bet this would be great with a few toasted pepitos thrown in, as well. This is on the holiday give-away project plan, to be sure. ;o)
Great idea!! I think I'll try that version too!
Mmm. I'll bet that texture would be divine. Let me know if you try it.
This looks FANTASTICO!!!
Cannot wait to try it while sitting around the fire at Christmas.
Thanks for the inspiration Ms. T. You ROCK.
I can't wait to give this a try!
I had some of this too, at the potluck yesterday, and oh me, oh my, is it tasty!! Addictive, in fact. Such a perfect solution, too, to the nut allergy challenge of holiday treat serving/giving. Great, great recipe!! ;o)
There were absolutely delicious at our Food52 party yesterday!!! Soooo good, and perfect for my nut allergies.
Thanks ChezS! I loved your apple tart also. I think I am still in a food coma from that party, but what fun!
That explains everything ! The constantly diminished supply of tinsel on the tree. Can't wait to try this with pine nuts. I am now seriously addicted to your rosemary almonds....
Ha ha, thanks mom. Is that why you stopped hanging tinsel on our tree? Santa's watching, so if you're good, maybe you'll get some pine nut brittle in your stocking this year ;)
This is my favorite brittle, EVER! Nicely done, Ms. T. This will be on my holiday gift list for sure.
Thanks My Pantry Shelf--glad you liked it! I will have to eat lots of sausage and kale tarts for dinner, since I blew my grocery budget on pine nuts this month ;)
One of the best brittles I ever had. I had the real thing from Ms. T herself.
MsT this recipe is just the most mouthwatering thing I've seen in weeks! What a splendid idea. My husband and my in-laws are all pinenut-aholics and when I make this this year, I am going to earn so many brownie points! Woohoo! I'll give you all the credit, of course. :)
This recipe is absolute genius. I'll be making this over the holidays for sure!
Yeah, that tinsel in the teeth is a bugger. This is one of the very few submissions I can actually eat, as I'm allergic to chocolate and nuts with the fortunate exception of pine nuts. You can't go wrong with rosemary, and to put them all together in a buttery brittle is, well, genius.
Thanks! Ha ha, I'm feeling a little silly for writing that tinsel line...I think I was a little sugar-happy from too much brittle, and cracked myself up :) glad this recipe works for those allergic to nuts. I wish I could say it was intentional, but really just a nice coincidence.
I want to make this brittle than fold it into ice cream -- has anyone else tried the Rosemary Pine Nut Praline ice cream at Ici in Berkeley?
That sounds like a brilliant idea. If you try it, please report back. No, I've never heard of that ice cream, but it sounds like I might need to make a field trip across the bay :)
Congratulations on being a finalist! This looks divine - I'll be making some very soon.
Congrats! I LOVE brittle of all sorts so I can't wait to try this wonderful version!
Thanks EmilyC. I love brittle too--so easy to make and dangerously easy to eat too much :)
Congratulations, Ms. T! This sounds fabulous.
Congrtulations on being a finalist, such a wonderful recipe so good to see a nut free brittle and with Rosemary, really delicious!
Yay!!! Congrats Ms. T! I'm making these for sure!
The rosemary and caramel flavors work really well together. I love that you made a brittle w/o nuts, too, as some of my favorite people are allergic.
Congrats on being a finalist! I had a feeling this might be chosen.
Thank you! And I'm glad to see your caramels are up for a community pick :) Go rosemary!
This looks just wonderful Ms. T!! Saved to make these - especially since they don't have nuts in them :-) I particularly like the rosemary with the pine nuts!
Thanks ChezSuzanne. I didn't know that pine nuts weren't nuts (never thought about it before), so thanks for that tip and prompting me to do a little research. I learned something new today!
i think I'll just put the tinsel around the bag when I make these for friends! Do you ever have a problem with it not setting up? Is there a particular temp range you like to use?
Cute idea! Nope, I've never had a problem with them setting up--it's a very easy/forgiving recipe. I don't use a thermometer--that's too sophisticated for me--but I start with the flame on high and then turn it down to medium as the sugar melts and begins to turn golden. I just judge by color and smell.
Love this Ms. T, the addition of herbs takes this to another level and makes it stand out! NICE!
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Simple elegance: pine nuts, sugar, rosemary, butter, salt.
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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.
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Snow it is -- see the tracks?
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Bring the sugar to a rolling boil ... you're a veritable Willy Wonka!
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En route to caramel. Now that's science for you. Where's Harold Magee when you need him?
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Finally, stage three, is clear and auburn caramel. Should you choose to abandon this project, stop here and dunk an apple.
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It took a forest of pine trees to produce the nuts we needed. Makes pesto look like the peewees, no?
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Why, hello lover. Is there anything about that pot that doesn't make you want to jump for joy?
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And, as a reminder of the pine nuts' woodsy roots, here come the herbs: chopped rosemary. Trust us -- it's key.
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Ms. T uses gray sea salt -- and so did we -- but just add the best version you have on hand.
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This brave brittle's a thing of beauty even before it sets!
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Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Do not forget the parchment paper.
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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.
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All the little pine nuts are waiting to be showered with salt. Go, Amanda, go!
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And, how about a bit more rosemary, just for kicks?
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Too pretty to break.
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Shards of sweet and savory glory.
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But not for long ...
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!