In our families, grandma usually does all the holiday candy-making to create our yearly dose of buttery toffee, peanut clusters and peanut brittle. But grandma never made peanut brittle like this. The Fluffy Gourmet Peanut Brittle made locally by "Grampa" Michael Apodaca at Grampas Candy is "injected with air to make it easier on you teeth," according to the website. Not only is the texture nice and crunchy without the normal teeth-pulling hardness of other brittle, but the flavor blends the sweet, butterscotch notes of the sugar with the salty peanuts to create a treat that really is hard to resist.
Apodaca, a Denver native, started selling the brittle at the beginning of July, and he makes, weighs and packages everything himself. The recipe comes from his father-in-law (the original Grampa). "He made this candy every Christmas and everyone would eat it up," Apodaca told us. "Before he died, he not only gave me his recipe, but he also showed me his secret process on how to cook it and inject it with air to make it more fluffy."
A quick perusal of the list of ingredients and some internet research tell us that at least part of the secret is the inclusion of baking soda, which explains all the little air bubbles and the cloudy look. While we're not so sure that the addition of baking soda is enough to elevate a traditional candy to "gourmet" status, we have to admire the Grampas marketing efforts, including a website that is bare bones and looks a bit more suited to a tech company than a candy maker. Nevertheless, it serves its purpose and explains that a half-pound batch can be yours for $10 (shipping included), or you can buy a case of twelve boxes for $100. Plus, Apodaca made the site all by himself, and it's sure a heck of a lot better than our grampa could do.
Overall, we like what Grampas has done with peanut brittle, and after eating more of it than we ought to, we have to agree that the fluffy texture really is a tooth saver. Won't our dentists be sad?
Would we finish it? With help from our office mates, we finished off the half-pound box in no time flat.
Would we buy again? This first box was a gift, but we'd definitely consider buying some in the future.
Rating: 4 out of 5
