Well... mixed impressions with this recipe. I will freely admit I'm mostly used to working softball stage candy, so this might just be a learning curve. First, the syrup came to hard-crack stage at about 260 degrees. I live in Alberta, Canada, so it could be the elevation (or my thermometer) but I would suggest checking the stage manually very often. Hard crack sugar should string into threads that break when bent when dropped into cool water off of a spoon. When I got the right temperature, I poured the sugar over the nuts in a large metal saucepan and had a really hard time mixing them with the butter and vanilla, the mixture firmed up very quickly. When I transferred the nuts to the pans, they were in balls. I cooled and greased my hands to press the mixture flat (be VERY careful you don't burn yourself) I may try pouring the sugar/vanilla/butter/salt mixture over the nuts next time. I put the pans in the freezer to cool more quickly. The brittle was very easy to remove from my metal pan with just a slight twist of the pan, the glass pan I used was a total disaster. I couldn't get the darned stuff out, I tried spatulas, knives, even a meat tenderizer. I finally wound up chipping it out in small bits.. it was horrible. Don't use glass!!! The brittle itself tasted quite good. I will try this again but my kitchen is a mess. Good thing sugar cleans up fairly well :)

I absolutely love this. It is super simple, and tastes great. Made several batches last holiday season, and starting all over again tonight.

This recipe was very easy and super quick. The clean up was even easier. I was going to make it for an office party so I had had a few people test. they loved it! The first batch came out really good..I used almonds and cashews. Atfer I realized how easy it was I made the second batch a day later, but I tweaked it a little. I add about a tablespoon of brown sugar and an extra splash of vanilla. Yummy! Thanks Mrs. James Merriman