Lemon-Scented Pine Nut Brittle

Snack

Crunchy, sweet, lemon-scented pine nut brittle makes a quick and simple snack or great gift for a friend or loved one.

By Marinka
December 21, 2019

The most known brittle may be the peanut butter brittle, so I wanted something different and used pine nuts, roasted pine nuts and lots of them.

This brittle can easily be broken into tine pieces, so you can savor them for a long time. Put them in your mouth and allow them to melt, then enjoy the pine nuts.

Key Ingredients in This Recipe

Old baking sheet with ingredients to make lemon-scented pine nut brittle

You’ll find the complete list of ingredients and exact quantities in the recipe below.

  • Pine nuts
  • Butter
  • Sugar
  • Lemon zest – orange zest can be used as well.

I recommend you roast the pine nuts prior to adding them to the syrup. It adds more flavor. I tried it both way and the roasted version if superior to the non-roasted version.

How to Make the Lemon-Scented Pine Nut Brittle

  • Step 1 – Butter a baking sheet, to prevent the brittle to stick to it
  • Step 2 – Heat sugar and water in a heavy sauce pan until dissolved. Stir regularly, gently. You don’t want the sugar to stick to the walls of the pan.
  • Step 3 – Once dissolved, bring it to a boil. Do not stir, but swirl the pan. Boil until you have a nice deep golden color. Attention!! Once the color starts to change and you don’t pay attention, you can easily burn the syrup/caramel.
  • Step 4 – Add the nuts, butter, lemon zest and salt and swirl to coat the pine nuts.
  • Step 5 – Spread the mixture out onto the baking sheet. You want to end up with 1 layer of nut, not with nuts stacked on top of each other. You can spread it out wide, or keep the nuts close together.
Baking sheet with warm lemon-scented pine nut liquid spread out.

Allow to cool and then break into pieces. Large ones, small ones, whatever you like.

Don't Miss a Single Great Recipe!

Store in an airtight container or pack for gift giving, like in a beautiful glass jar or a transparent plastic bag with a ribbon. The lemon-scented pine nut brittle is colorful enough that you don’t need necessarily a fancy container.

Lemon-Scented Pine Nut Brittle
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Lemon-Scented Pine Nut Brittle

Author: Marinka
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Course: Snack
Cuisine: American
Diet: Egg-free, Gluten-free, Grain-free, Vegetarian
Servings: 20 pieces
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Ingredients
 

  • 1/2 cup pine nuts, roasted
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1.5 tablespoons water
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 1 teaspoon butter

Instructions
 

  • Butter a baking sheet.
  • In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar and water and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until it turn golden. Don't stir, just swirl the pan every now and then. This will take max. 10 minutes. (NOTEe 1)
  • Add the nuts, lemon zest, butter and salt and mix until coated.
  • Pour mixture onto the baking sheet and spread with a spoon. Make sure you have 1-layer of nuts.
  • Cool completely and break into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

Notes

  1. Be aware that once the color starts turning it can quickly go too far.

Nutrition

Calories: 44kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 0.5g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 16mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 5g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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