Coconut and Marcona Almond Brittle | Secret Recipe Club

Have you heard the secret yet? The secret has to do with a group of food bloggers and a site called – The Secret Recipe Club. In a nutshell, it is a group of food bloggers who joined an online cooking club. The premise is based upon the concept that once a month each blogger is assigned another blogger’s website, selects a favorite recipe to make and post their version on the magic reveal day. You are given creativity rights to make changes or keep exactly the same version.

For February, I was matched with Veronica from My Catholic Kitchen. She is a self taught cook who adores her family that she treads throughout her blog. As she calls them, her family is the core of her cast of characters with “The Hubster”; her daughter is “Monkey Girl” and her rescue doggie “Meeka”. She views her family and friends as her “ingredients for her life” – how appropriate with publishing her food blog. Veronica has many wonderful recipes on her site and it took a bit of time to narrow it down to my final selection – an adaptation of her coconut brittle.

Growing up, I was fortunate that my parents sent me to Catholic school from first grade through high school. I was provided with a wonderful education along with the enhanced learning associated with my faith. It is something that I will always be grateful for and cherish the friends, education and lessons I gained from that experience. Having been matched with Veronica was a great pairing.

I have a true affinity for Marcona almonds and toasted coconut, so why not incorporate these two loves into the brittle. In addition, I have yet to make brittle, so why not carpe Diem – seize the moment. Veronica’s recipe was both simple and straight forward. The result was pure heaven and not to mention rather addictive. Knowing this, I decided to bring the batch of goodness to my office, where by the end of the day, only crumbs remained.

Coconut and Marcona Almond Brittle

2 C. sugar
1 C. light corn syrup
½ C. water
¼ C. butter
2 C. Marcona almonds
¾ C. Shredded coconut, toasted
1 ½ t. baking soda

Directions

Butter two large baking sheets with side. Set aside. In a three quart sauce pan combine sugar, corn syrup, water and butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture reaches 275 degrees on a candy thermometer. (soft crack stage) Stir in nuts and continue cooking until mixture reaches 295 degrees (hard crack stage) on a candy thermometer.

Remove pan from the heat, add baking soda, and stir to combine. Immediately pour onto prepared baking sheets. While hot sprinkle with the toasted coconut. Cool completely and break into pieces and store tightly covered for up to 1 month. Makes approximately 2 pounds.