Spicy Brittled Peanuts

- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt
- â…› teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ÂĽ cup (60 ml) water
- 2 cups (280 grams) shelled raw or roasted unsalted peanuts, papery skins removed
Instructions:
These spicy peanuts are addictive. They seem kind of harmless—candied nuts, nothing new here, right?—but they’re loud with flavors, from a dark, almost over-toasted caramel, pops of crunchy salt, a little punch of spice, and the smallest amount of butter to make them even richer.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat. If you don’t have either, coat your baking sheet with a thin slick of vegetable oil.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the baking soda, sea salt, and cayenne, and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, the heaviest one you’ve got, heat the sugar, butter, and water over medium-high heat until it just begins to turn golden, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add the peanuts and start stirring, coating them with the sugar mixture. After a minute or two, the sugar will seize up a bit, making the peanuts look grainy and crusty, and it will be harder to stir them—you’ll be convinced that it’s gone irreversibly south, cursing me under your breath, but fear not, keep stirring, and in about 3 minutes it will melt back into a golden caramel. Keep stirring, breaking up any clumps with your spoon, until the nuts are evenly coated, then remove the pot from the heat. Stir in the baking-soda–spice mixture as fast and evenly as you can, then spill the caramelized nuts out onto your prepared sheet, spreading them in a single layer and breaking up any clumps that you can before they set. Cool completely.
- Once they’re cool, break the nut clusters into smaller pieces and put them in a serving dish. The nuts will keep in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks, but rarely do because they are habit-forming.