David Lebovitz’s Candied Peanuts

Or, another reason why I’m shooting for five hours of cardio per week. These things are positively addictive.

I had about five pounds of raw peanuts in my freezer, taking up valuable space. “Five pounds of raw peanuts, Madam Chow? Why? Who needs that many raw peanuts?” Because I like to be prepared. I have all sorts of things laying about my pantry, like corn husks for tamales, rice noodles, rose water, and banana leaves. Because those of us who like to cook and bake, like to be prepared! You never know when some harassa or frozen passion fruit pulp will come in handy. I have the same philosophy about toilet paper. A couple years ago, Master Chow and I thought we would be moving, so I decided to use up my back stock of TP – it took me 18 months to get through it. I kid you not.

As for our freezers, here is a shot of the one in our refrigerator. Our stand alone freezer is in similar condition:

One of the reasons that things are jam-packed (besides my ridiculous supply of flour, passion fruit pulp, butter, etc.) is that our dogs eat a raw diet, and one of the things I get in bulk (of course – what did you think?!) are chicken necks. Currently, I have 60 pounds of raw chicken necks in my stand alone freezer. Sigh. But that’s another story. Back to the peanuts.

I saw this recipe on David Lebovtiz’s blog, and instantly I knew that I had to make them. So I did. Before breakfast. I flavored them with some fleur de sel and a bit of Penzey’s Vietnamese cinnamon, and I look forward to making the recipe again using almonds and some chili powder. You see, I have four pounds of almonds in my freezer. But you probably already knew that, didn’t you?

David has excellent photos and suggestions, so I urge you to check out his blog. Here are my results. My peanuts still had the skins on, which doesn’t bother me a bit, but if you don’t like that, then look for skinless ones.

Peanuts bubbling away in syrup

The sugar has crystallized and is starting to turn into syrup

This was fun, quick, and easy.  The peanuts are great for a party, or as a topping for vanilla ice cream.

Tip:  I have one tip (besides following David’s instructions): Safety first. You are working with hot sugar syrup, so that means keep all children, pets, and other distractions out of the kitchen.