Potato Chip Oven Brittle

Potato Chip Oven Brittle are an easy, fun and unusual twist on brittle, and highly addictive to boot. Affiliate links were used in this post, but only to link to items I would be discussing and linking to within the context of this post anyway.

I swear I meant to have a savory dish for you today. And I even do have one, a very tasty fish curry. But I am currently in Columbus celebrating Christmas with my family, and I forgot to bring the recipe I adapted from. I have my notes about my myriad changes, but no recipe to see what I was changing from. Ooops. Whereas I do have this recipe ready to share, so more sweets it is. And hey it is that time of year, right!?

The minute I saw the oven brittle recipe from Christina Tosi of Momofuku Milk Bar fame (you might also know her as the author of the fabulous Momofuku Milk Bar) I knew I was trying it. For 2 reasons: first the simplicity of making a brittle in the oven, without candy thermometers and boiling pots of sugar; and second because in typical Christina Tosi fashion, she suggests some more interesting toppings and flavors. I saw the recipe in my December/January issue of Fine Cooking, where Tosi discusses both this brittle and a more traditional brittle and suggests ways to enliven them with fun flavors. I was inspired to try cardamom (big hit) and cracked Coriander (undecided–I want to toast it and use more next time) in traditional brittle, and I was inspired to make this oven brittle, which she calls Crackle Brittle as the “batter” is reminiscent of the batter in her famous Crack Pie.

I topped my oven brittle with a combination of Rice Krispies and Cape Cod Reduced Fat Potato Chips. The rice is there for added texture, but it is the chips that make this Potato Chip Oven Brittle. Now you know that I am not a big pusher of low fat alternatives, but I genuinely prefer the Cape Cod lower fat chips, which do not involve any weird additives, and I thought that less oil might stand me in good stead in the brittle. Also, the Cape Cod chips are kettle chips and therefore are super crunchy, which I also wanted for this situation. Use whatever chips you prefer.

How did the Potato Chip Oven Brittle turn out? The potato chip flavor is much stronger than in a potato chip cookie. And so at first they are not bad, but they are startling, like you cannot decide what you think. I stood with a friend at a party (where I had brought some) who on 5th piece or so finally stopped saying she wasn’t sure what she thought and started saying she felt they were dangerously addictive and delicious. So try at your own risk! You will notice that unlike my other super sweet holiday candies, I do not salt these because I figure the potato chips have enough salt.

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Potato Chip Oven Brittle

Closely adapted from Chrstina Tosi; I doubled the recipe because I always need a lot during the holidays--cut the recipe in half for only one tray.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: brittle

Author: TheSpicedLife

Ingredients

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup AP flour
• 2 1/2 t kosher salt
• 9 T (4.5 oz) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 cup puffed rice cereal
• 1 cup lightly crushed kettle style potato chips

Instructions

1. Position the oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 2 rimmed half sheets (cookie sheets) with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Whisk both sugars, the flour, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in the butter, cream, yolks, and vanilla until well combined.
3. Pour half of the mixture onto one baking sheet and the other half onto the other baking sheet. Use an offset or silicone spatula to spread the batter to the edges of the pan. Do your best to keep it even.
4. Sprinkle half of the puffed rice cereal onto each pan, evenly over the batter. Then sprinkle half of the lightly crushed potato chips onto each pan, evenly over the spread batter.
5. Bake, rotating the pans top to bottom and front to back halfway through the baking. Bake for 20-25 minutes total, until the brittle is dark golden brown.
6. Cool on the baking sheet on a rack at room temperature for 30 minutes (leave the oven on). If it’s still malleable, if the brittle bends instead of snapping nicely, return the pan to the hot oven for another 5 to 10 minutes until it’s a shade or two darker. Let cool for another 30 minutes and test again. Once it’s no longer malleable, cool completely, about 1-1/2 hours.
7. Use your hands to break the brittle into serving sized pieces. Store in an airtight container for up to one month.