Simple Honeycomb Brittle Candy

5 from 1 vote

Honeycomb Brittle Candy resembles light and airy honeycomb due to the reaction between baking soda and caramelized sugar.

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Additional Time1

Total Time1 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: cups

Calories: 324kcal

Author: Erica Schramek

Equipment

thermometer
heavy-bottomed saucepan
pastry brush
baking sheet
parchment paper

Ingredients

½ cup granulated white sugar
¼ cup honey
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Pre-measure all of your ingredients.
Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
Combine the ½ cup granulated white sugar, ¼ cup honey, and ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt in a light-colored heavy-bottomed saucepan. Attach your candy thermometer to the edge of the saucepan, and make sure it is submerged in the liquid, but not touching the bottom of the pot.
Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-low heat. If you see sugar clinging to the sides of the pan, use a pastry brush dipped in water to brush down the sides of the pan. DO NOT STIR the sugar mixture. Stirring the sugar mixture may cause sugar crystals to form creating a grainy texture. You may swirl the pan gently about halfway through the cooking time to incorporate any uncooked sugar.
Cook the honey/sugar mixture until it reaches 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon baking soda. Whisk until the baking soda is completely incorporated. The mixture will bubble and triple in size as the baking soda reacts with the acidic caramelized sugar mixture.
Immediately pour the sugar mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and allow it to cool for about one hour. Do not spread the mixture around you will pop the bubbles that give honeycomb candy its signature texture.
Once the honeycomb has cooled, break or chop it into smaller pieces with a knife.

Notes

Servings Suggestions

Dip it in melted semi-sweet chocolate, top with flakey sea salt, and place in freezer until the chocolate has set.
Use it as a crunchy topping for cakes and cupcakes.
Crush it up and mix it into your next batch of chocolate chip cookies.
Top a bowl of vanilla ice cream with it or mix it in this Honey Almond Ice Cream.

Storage

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Humidity can cause the honeycomb candy to become sticky and it likes to absorb the moisture in the air so make sure the container is well sealed. Do not refrigerate.

Tips

Candy-making is best on days when it isn't really humid outside. Ideally, the humidity should be less than 35%.
Prep your baking sheet and ingredients before you begin caramelizing the sugar. Once the sugar begins to caramelize the process moves quickly.
Don’t stir the sugar. Stirring the sugar will encourage sugar crystallization which will make your honeycomb grainy.
Don’t wander away from the sugar while it is caramelizing. It will go from the perfect shade of brown to burned quickly.
Melted sugar is extremely hot! In fact, sugar has a higher boiling point than water. Don’t touch the melted sugar and be careful to not drop any on your skin. I usually wear oven mitts when pouring the melted sugar onto the baking pan. Don’t use your fingers to taste or stop drips.
Melted sugar is very sticky and hardens quickly. To clean your saucepan fill it with hot water and return it to the stovetop. Bring the water to a boil which should melt the sugar away from the sides of the pan. Use a heatproof spatula to help scrape the sugar from the sides of the pan. Pour out the water/sugar mixture and allow the pan to cool before washing with soap and water.

Nutrition