This basically just a list of words of things that taste nice. It’s salty, it’s sweet, it’s crunchy, it’s sticky, is the texture & flavour sensation your taste buds have been yearning for.  Vegan/vegetarian alternative: you can of course just remove the bacon from this recipe and you’ll still have a very delicious maple peanut brittle. Bacon alternatives vary in their crispy-ness and for this we want a good crisp finish, to replicate that I’d recommend using a rice paper or tofu based alternative.

Method

If using the bacon – lay on a baking tray and grill/bake for 15 mins or so until crispy. So crispy, when you cut it, it should shatter in little shards. Set aside.

Combine the sugar, golden syrup & maple syrup in a saucepan with 100ml of water. Stir & heat over a medium-high heat. Stir to prevent it from burning at the bottom. Use a sugar thermometer to bring up to 120C (hard ball stage).

If you don’t have a thermometer, get a bowl/ramekin over water and add a drop of the sugar mix to the water, when it forms a ‘hard ball’ in the water, it’s done. It will be bubbling a lot!

Add the peanuts to the mix and stir, then add the baking powder. It will bubble a lot, but keep stirring. Turn the heat down a it and keep stirring until the mix turns a dark golden brown – about 3-5 mins. 

Pour the mix on to a silat mat or sheet of baking paper on a metal tray (if using greaseproof paper, make sure to oil it first). Leave to set for 30-45 mins until solid, hard & cool. 

Then bash it up.