Pistachio Honey Brittle Recipe

This "Pistachio Honey Brittle" recipe provides a nice sweet treat! I was so excited to find a candy recipe made with easier-to-digest honey (a monosacharide) instead of harder-to-digest sugar (a polysacharide). I made 2 different versions of this recipe at the same time using the same ingredients (wildflower honey and pistachio nuts) and identical cookware: version 1 (with the optional raw sugar); and version 2 (without the optional raw sugar). I substituted lard for butter because I am dairy intolerant. I also tried 2 different ways of crushing the pistachio nuts: (1) with a mallet; and (2) in a mini food processor. The food-processor method especially generated a lot of "nut dust," and I had to sift the nuts in a strainer to remove this "nut dust." I will leave the nuts whole next time (no initial crushing) since: (a) they are very attractive whole; and (b) they got crushed anyway when I used a mallet to break the candy into sugar-cube size pieces (the serving size at our home). Version 1 was slightly easier to work with because it reached 305 sooner (40 vs. 45 minutes). Version 2 was more attractive because it was shinier and spread out more on the pan such that the nuts rose above the surface of the honey brittle. My husband and I both thought that version 2 tasted better, and also liked it better because it was much easier to break into pieces by hand. The next time I try this recipe I will use a lighter honey (clover vs. wildflower) for a lighter taste. I find this recipe hard to rate because: I personally do not actually like hard candy (I have yet to find one that "I love"); we don't eat much "sugar" at our home (less than 2 kilograms of honey a year for 2 people); and I haven't made hard candy in more than 30 years (so I don't have much to compare it to). Nonetheless, this "Pistachio Honey Brittle" (version 2) is perfect to put on our Christmas buffet for dessert for all the people in my family with food intolerances (milk, grains, sugar, and chemicals) (and there are a lot of us!), which is what I actually intend to do. Thank you Keni for sharing your recipe! (Keni developed this recipe for me and Hazelnut at Allrecipes a couple of years ago).

This is a copied review from a user on another site. She doesn't have a GR account. Mrs. J.
Oct. 20, 2013 8:35 am
My review: This "Pistachio Honey Brittle" recipe provides a nice sweet treat! I was so excited to find a candy recipe made with easier-to-digest honey (a monosacharide) instead of harder-to-digest sugar (a polysacharide). I made 2 different versions of this recipe at the same time using the same ingredients (wildflower honey and pistachio nuts) and identical cookware: version 1 (with the optional raw sugar); and version 2 (without the optional raw sugar). I substituted lard for butter because I am dairy intolerant. I also tried 2 different ways of crushing the pistachio nuts: (1) with a mallet; and (2) in a mini food processor. The food-processor method especially generated a lot of "nut dust," and I had to sift the nuts in a strainer to remove this "nut dust." I will leave the nuts whole next time (no initial crushing) since: (a) they are very attractive whole; and (b) they got crushed anyway when I used a mallet to break the candy into sugar-cube size pieces (the serving size at our home). Version 1 was slightly easier to work with because it reached 305 sooner (40 vs. 45 minutes). Version 2 was more attractive because it was shinier and spread out more on the pan such that the nuts rose above the surface of the honey brittle. My husband and I both thought that version 2 tasted better, and also liked it better because it was much easier to break into pieces by hand. The next time I try this recipe I will use a lighter honey (clover vs. wildflower) for a lighter taste. I find this recipe hard to rate because: I personally do not actually like hard candy (I have yet to find one that "I love"); we don't eat much "sugar" at our home (less than 2 kilograms of honey a year for 2 people); and I haven't made hard candy in more than 30 years (so I don't have much to compare it to). Nonetheless, this "Pistachio Honey Brittle" (version 2) is perfect to put on our Christmas buffet for dessert for all the people in my family with food intolerances (milk, grains, sugar, and chemicals) (and there are a lot of us!), which is what I actually intend to do. Thank you Keni for sharing your recipe!