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You are here: Home / My Authentic Italian Recipes / ITALIAN CROCCANTE -caramelized almond brittle bars recipe

ITALIAN CROCCANTE -caramelized almond brittle bars recipe

11/21/2017 by Filippo Trapella 8 Comments

Italian Croccante is one of the things because Italian kids are waiting for December! This simple sweet is so good, and sold at the corner of the streets, along with roasted chestnuts and other candies. The dried fruit is caramelized into a mixture of sugar and honey, then shaped into bars: crunchy and delicious!

ITALIAN CROCCANTE -caramelized almond brittle recipe

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  • 10 oz (280 g) raw almonds
  • 5 oz (140 g) honey
  • 5 oz (140 g) brown sugar
  • 1tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp orange juice
  • 2 tbsp peanut oil
  • 1 pinch table salt

ITALIAN CROCCANTE -caramelized almond brittle recipe

TRADITIONAL ITALIAN CROCCANTE

Italian Croccante is a typical Christmas street food dessert, sold all winter long. Starting from the end of November until the first days of January, it is common to find in all the Italian cities, stalls selling Croccante and other delicacies, like roasted chestnuts or sugar bars.

The origin of Croccante is Arab and introduced in Italy on the XIII Century. Even if nowadays, Croccante is popular in all the parts of Italy, the region that most clam the recipe of this sweet is Molise.

Croccante is made with almonds, but also with hazelnuts and other dried fruit.

ITALIAN CROCCANTE -caramelized almond brittle recipe

ITALIAN CROCCANTE MIXTURE

Preheat the oven to 355° F (180° C), then bake the almonds 5 minutes. Now, if the caramel is not yet ready ,set the temperature to 195° F (90° C) and keep the almonds warm.

Meanwhile, pour the honey into a thick-bottomed heavy pan along with the sugar, the lemon juice, and the orange juice. After that, place the pan over low/medium heat and melt until reach 265° F (130° C), occasionally stirring with a metal spoon. Now, pour the hot almonds into the caramel sauce and cook until the mixture reach 330 °F (165° C). It is critical do not step over the 340° F (171° C).

Finally, pour the Croccante mixture into a tray lined with oil-greased parchment paper, and shape into a uniform layer with the help of two lightly greased metal spoons.

ITALIAN CROCCANTE -caramelized almond brittle recipe

ALMOND BRITTLE BARS

To cut the Croccante properly, you have two different choices, both traditional.

The first one: wait until the almond brittle layer is almost solidified, then cut into regular pieces, and finally, let them reach the room temperature.

The second way: wait until the Croccante is hard solid, then break it with a big knife into irregular pieces.

Do not refrigerate; otherwise the Croccante becomes mushy.

Did you like this recipe? please click here, leave a comment and vote 5 stars!
This simple action help the growth of this blog and make very happy 🙂

ITALIAN CROCCANTE -caramelized almond brittle recipe

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS:

ROASTED CHESTNUTS RECIPE “Caldarroste”

ROASTED CHESTNUTS RECIPE caldarroste

PRINTABLE RECIPE

5.0 from 2 reviews
ITALIAN CROCCANTE -caramelized almond brittle bars recipe
 
Print
Prep time
45 mins
Total time
45 mins
 
Author: Filippo Trapella - philosokitchen.com
Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 10 oz (280 g) raw almonds
  • 5 oz (140 g) honey
  • 5 oz (140 g) brown sugar
  • 1tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp orange juice
  • 2 tbsp peanut oil
  • 1 pinch table salt
Instructions
  1. ITALIAN CROCCANTE MIXTURE
    Preheat the oven to 355° F (180° C), then bake the almonds 5 minutes. Now, if the caramel is not yet ready ,set the temperature to 195° F (90° C) and keep the almonds warm.
    Meanwhile, pour the honey into a thick-bottomed heavy pan along with the sugar, the lemon juice, and the orange juice. After that, place the pan over low/medium heat and melt until reach 265° F (130° C), occasionally stirring with a metal spoon. Now, pour the hot almonds into the caramel sauce and cook until the mixture reach 330 °F (165° C). It is critical do not step over the 340° F (171° C).
    Finally, pour the Croccante mixture into a tray lined with oil-greased parchment paper, and shape into a uniform layer with the help of two lightly greased metal spoons.
  2. ALMOND BRITTLE BARS
    To cut the Croccante properly, you have two different choices, both traditional.
    The first one: wait until the almond brittle layer is almost solidified, then cut into regular pieces, and finally, let them reach the room temperature.
    The second way: wait until the Croccante is hard solid, then break it with a big knife into irregular pieces.
    Do not refrigerate; otherwise the Croccante becomes mushy.
3.5.3226

ITALIAN CROCCANTE -caramelized almond brittle bars recipe

Filed Under: Desserts, Faster Than 45 Mins, Gluten Free, My Authentic Italian Recipes, Paleo, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: almonds, brittle, brown sugar, caramel, christmas, croccante, dessert, dried fruit, honey, sweet, vegan, vegetarian, winter recipes

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Comments

  1. Sabine says

    11/22/2017 at 12:15 pm

    I can image how it heavenly cracks between my teeth. On my bucket list.

    Reply
    • Filippo Trapella says

      11/22/2017 at 7:33 pm

      It is one of my best childhood memories in Italy 🙂

      Reply
  2. Barb says

    12/03/2017 at 4:43 pm

    Always looking for gluten, dairy,corn free recipes. My husband has a scillian background and I am trying to incorporate it into our Christmas traditions. Thanks for the recipes!

    Reply
    • Filippo Trapella says

      12/03/2017 at 7:57 pm

      Thank you Barbara, let me know how you like it!
      merry Christmas 🙂

      Filippo

      Reply
  3. patricia lerch says

    12/11/2017 at 4:10 pm

    A real treat! Thanks for making this for our Thanksgiving! Patricia

    Reply
    • Filippo Trapella says

      12/11/2017 at 4:25 pm

      Hi Patricia, it was my pleasure! Thank you for your nice hospitality

      Reply
  4. Lisa Amico says

    01/02/2018 at 7:38 pm

    This is my favorite dolci!!! Grazie for posting the recipe

    Reply
    • Filippo Trapella says

      01/02/2018 at 7:55 pm

      Thank you Lisa, happy new year 🙂

      Reply

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