I recreated a recipe for pistachio brittle that one of my favorite pastry shops sells. I fell in love with the sweet and salty combination of this recipe.

You have the option to skip the chocolate layers and just sprinkle nuts on to the warm brittle, but if you have the time and patience, it makes that much more special.

Pistachio Brittle
* Make sure you have all your ingredients scaled out and ready to go– you won’t have time to measure things in between. It requires you to react quickly.

Ingredients:
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup hulled pistachios, chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate, tempered and melted (optional)
+ candy thermometer

Directions:

1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silpat. In a heavy, large (!you need a large sauce pan because the sugar will foam and almost double in size when you add the baking soda) saucepan, over medium heat, bring to a boil sugar, corn syrup, salt, and water. Stir until sugar is dissolved.  Set candy thermometer in place, and continue cooking. Stir frequently until temperature reaches 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). You’ll want to brush the sides of the pot occasionally with cool water to prevent any crystalization. This will take about 7 to 9 minutes, and it will turn an amber color.

2. Remove from heat and stir in stir in butter, vanilla and baking soda – it will immediately get foamy. Working quickly, spread nut brittle onto prepared baking sheet.  Allow to set completely.

3. Once the brittle is completely set (approximately 30 minutes), spread a thin layer of chocolate on one side. Let it fully set, carefully flip the brittle over, and repeat. Sprinkle pistachios on the chocolate and allow to set.

4. Once the chocolate is set, you get to break the brittle into pieces. You can use a blunt object to get the process started, but it should be fairly easy.