White Chocolate and Smoked Salt Pistachio Brittle

It is the most wonderful time of the year~

In other words, it’s the only time when I can bake as many cookies as I want and get very little judgement. I like and eat it all during this season: The Christmas cookies, the breakfast casseroles, the spiked drinks, the consistently circulating appetizers at holiday parties…the list goes on. All in all, I can’t wait for all of the festivities to start this weekend!

We decorated our apartment with dangling lights on our balcony, a Christmas tree sparsely decked with our new apartment ornaments, and a wreath on our door. Our TV even has a fire place crackling and Christmas music on in the background. Though our apartment is fully decorated, there is nothing like finally going home for the holiday season. My sister, fiancé, and I are heading back to Savannah, Georgia for the usual holiday cheer and for our engagement party! I finally have a chance to introduce my fiancé to village which helped raise me. It is the perfect holiday treat!

Speaking of treats, during his travels, I am sure Santa needs a break from cookies every once and awhile. As much as I love the short bread cookies we bake every Christmas, I wouldn’t want to have to eat them all night long. As we are a bunch of 20-something-year-olds setting out the cookies, I think we can get away with a recipe that is a bit more sophisticated for our Santa Clause (though my sister and I know that in our house it is Mrs. Clause that brings the magic, not Mr. wink wink)

This pistachio brittle is a perfect pause from all of the excessively sugary holiday sweets. Yes, it is still sweet, but the brittle adds another flavor profile into the mix. The toasted pistachios provide a nutty and savory aspect to the brittle. The course smoked sea salt enhances and heightens that nutty flavor to a different level. On the other hand, the creamy white chocolate comes into play to balance out and calm the salt.

I personally believe this is an excellent dessert for those without a sweet tooth. The combination of all the ingredients allows the pistachio brittle to straddle the line between savory and sweet. I highly recommend our White Hot Chocolate or eggnog to go with this pistachio brittle. In conclusion, try our brittle and let us know what you think! Also, what are you planning for the holidays?

Finally, the brittle is adapted and refined to fit my taste from an old Bon Appetit recipe. I have made this recipe my own. 

White Chocolate and Smoked Salt Pistachio Brittle

Recipe by Emily

5.0 from 1 vote

Course: Desserts

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup corn syrup

• 3 Tbsp water

• (heaping) 1 cup unsalted, shelled raw pistachio, coarsely crushed

• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• 3/4 tsp. baking soda

• coarse smoked sea salt

• 3 oz melting white chocolate

Directions

• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray with nonstick spray and set aside.
• Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in a medium pot and whisk. Then stir over medium low heat until sugar has completely dissolved.
• Bring to a boil and cook until candy thermometer (or rigged meat thermometer like us) reaches between 285 and 290 degrees F. (approximately 3 to 5 minutes)
• Next, mix in pistachios, butter, and kosher salt with spatula. Continuously stir so that the bottom and pistachios do not burn. Stir until thermometer reaches at least 300 degrees F and pistachios are toasted.
• Add the baking soda into the mixture and stir vigorously to blend completely without burning the mixture.
• Immediately pour the mixture onto the baking sheet and spread thinly with the spatula. Sprinkle the smoked salt over the brittle and let cool.
• While cooling the brittle, add and inch of water into the bottom of a double boiler. Set the boiler on simmer. (If you do not have a double boiler place a metal bowl over the top of a pot with water. Make sure it covers the pot. Do not let the water touch the bottom of the bowl.)
• Add the white chocolate in the top section of the double boiler. Stir with a spatula until the the white chocolate is melted.
• Using a spoon, sprinkle the melted white chocolate over top the cooled pistachio brittle. Let the white chocolate cool. Once cooled, split the brittle into pieces and serve.

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