Maple Nut Brittle

Maple Nut Brittle is a scrumptious dairy-free confection that is super easy to make and hopelessly addicting.  Crunchy, slightly sweet, and incredibly delicious, Maple Nut Brittle is made with 9 ingredients:

• macadamia nuts
• pecans
• coconut flakes
• cacao nibs
• maple syrup
• sorghum syrup
• canola oil
• coconut sugar
• salt

The recipe for Maple Nut Brittle is a variation of a recipe (Coconut Cacao Nib Brittle) from Ageless Vegan (an excellent plant-based cookbook) by Tracye McQuirter, who claims cacao nibs are the star of the show and I have to agree with her.  Cacao nibs offer a subtle but deep chocolate flavor without the added sugar or cocoa butter.  McQuiter’s recipe does not include pecans or sorghum syrup but mine does because the addition of sorghum syrup makes the brittle crunchier while the pecans add more flavor especially when combined with maple syrup.

Maple Nut Brittle

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1/4 cup cacao nibs
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup sorghum syrup
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt, optional

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Combine the macadamia nuts, pecans, coconut flakes, cacao nibs, coconut sugar, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Blend.

Pour the maple syrup, sorghum syrup, and canola oil in a small sauce pan, blend with a whisk, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer (so the mixture doesn’t boil over) and cook for 3 minutes.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and blend using a large spoon.

Line a small cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Pour the mixture on to the baking sheet and using the back of a spoon, flatten out the mixture into a large square.

Don’t worry about moving the batter out to the edges because the batter will spread out naturally during baking.

Bake for 15-17 minutes, making sure not to burn the mixture (nuts burn easily..watch carefully).

The mixture will be bubbling and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to sit for at least 1 hour.  Break into pieces and flip over as the bottom side is the shiny side. Serve.

Store the remainder on parchment paper in an air-tight container at room temperature.