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Hatch Chile Cashew and Coconut Brittle

Hatch Chile Cashew and Coconut Brittle

Prep 10 mins   Cook 8-20 mins   Chill 30+ mins   Eat 1 hour

I made this Hatch Chile Cashew and Coconut Brittle for the Food Bloggers of Los Angeles annual Cookie Exchange.  I was inspired by a package of Hatch Chile Cashews I received in the summer from Melissa’s Produce and a Martha Stewart recipe for a similar cashew brittle.  The Hatch Chile flavor in this brittle makes it addictively spicy, sweet and wonderful. Don’t have Hatch Chile Cashews? Don’t let that stop you.  Read below for substitutions. You probably have most of the ingredients in your baking pantry, and…Once you have the ingredients, it’s fairly easy to make as long as you have patience to learn how to caramelize sugar, which gets super hot, and great fun watching the magic that happens to simple sugar.  (I DON’T RECOMMEND MAKING WITH CHILDREN.) 

A display of Hatch Chile Cashew and Coconut Brittle at the Food Bloggers of Los Angeles Cookie Exchange.

Our Food Bloggers Los Angeles group is a lively bunch that can talk about every detail of a recipe and talk about food for hours.  At our Holiday Cookie Exchange event, 20 of us sampled a bounty! We’re talking delicious home made cookies worthy of a cookbook picture, a yummy potluck lunch (all vegetarian, BTW) and oodles of produce (Cinnamon persimmons-OMG) and swag from Melissa’s Produce. I love this group!!

Get your mise en place. (Everything in it’s place.)

Mise en Place for the Hatch Chile Cashew and Coconut Brittle recipe.

Whenever you cook or bake, it’s important to get all your ingredients together in one place.  But with this Hatch Chile Cashew and Coconut Brittle recipe, it is ESSENTIAL.  The action moves very fast and you have to be ready with your ingredients and equipment in the right place at the right time.

I had Hatch green chile cashews. As a substitute, use a Hatch chile powder or other red or green New Mexico chile powder.

If you don’t have (like I did) Hatch Chile cashews, which I received from Melissa’s Produce, use plain cashews and add chile powder from your pantry.

Combine baking soda, cinnamon and ground chile powder if using.

Combine the baking soda and cinnamon (and ground chile powder, if not on cashews already).

Brush canola oil onto the baking sheet and offset spatula.

Grease an 11″ x 15″ rimmed baking sheet and offset spatula with canola oil to prevent the brittle from sticking to either.

Once you have the baking sheet along with the mix ins ready, the next step is to caramelize the sugar.

Measure out the coconut and have it ready next to the cashews and baking soda-cinnamon-chile mixture.  It’s super important to have the baking sheet and mix-ins ready alongside your cooktop with a hot pad where you will be working.

Learn how to caramelize sugar and corn syrup.

Step 1: Combine sugar, corn syrup, water and salt. Stir until dissolved. Step 2, Discontinue stirring and continue to cook. Step 3. The mixture will begin to bubble furiously and be clear. Step 4. Remove from heat, once the mixture becomes a golden brown.

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, water and salt.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved in a few minutes.  The second step is to leave the mixture alone and continue cooking until the mixture is golden brown.  This takes a lot of patience and it may take 8-20 or so minutes for the magic to happen, depending on the heat of your cooktop. You will need to continually monitor the progress, because once it starts to brown, it happens very quickly.  Swirl the mixture in the pan to determine what stage of browning you are at. As soon as the mixture becomes a dark brown, remove the pan from the heat.

Immediately stir in the cashews & coconut, followed by baking soda mixture.

What the mixture looks like once the baking soda mixture is added to the saucepan.

With your mix-ins ready by the side of the saucepan, you have to move quickly.  Once the mixture is a dark brown, you must add the cashews and coconut with one quick stir, followed by the baking soda mixture. (It will foam up and grow like magic.) Be ready for it!

Be fast when pouring the caramel mixture onto the baking sheet.

With one swift move, pour the mixture from one end to the other onto the baking sheet.

The final step is to pour the mixture onto your prepared baking sheet.  You only get one chance at this, so with one swift move, pour the saucepan mixture from one end of the baking sheet to the other while trying to spread it evenly to cover the entire baking sheet. Use the offset spatula to scrape as much of the mixture out of the saucepan before it hardens. Then, use your offset spatula to spread it further to the edges.  THE ENTIRE BAKING SHEET DOES NOT NEED TO BE COVERED!  Just do the best you can to spread the brittle so you don’t have a giant lump of brittle in the center.

The mixture will begin to harden within a minute so MOVE FAST.

The Hatch Chile Cashew and Coconut Brittle is shiny and beautiful as it begins to harden.

This is what it will look like after you spread the mixture onto the baking sheet and smooth it out with the offset spatula.  It is shiny and beginning to harden.

Chill the Hatch Chile Cashew and Coconut Brittle for at least 30 minutes.

Breaking up the Hatch Chile Cashew and Coconut Brittle is fun!

I chill the Hatch Chile Cashew and Coconut Brittle overnight in my garage fridge (or if you have, on a cold porch) to harden. The next day, break up the cold Brittle on the counter.   I used a small spatula to punch it apart or take the sheet pan, lift it up and drop it on the counter to get started.

The Hatch Chile Cashew and Coconut Brittle is ready for displaying with my holiday treats. Naughty or Nice – you decide!

Before you know it, you have a beautiful sweet treat ready for the holidays.

Hatch Chile Cashew and Coconut Brittle.

Enjoy your holidays with more sweet treats from Fresh Food in a Flash!

Try more Fresh Food in a Flash cookie recipes by clicking here.

Print this Recipe.

Hatch Chile Cashew and Coconut Brittle

For this recipe, I used Hatch Chile cashews. If you don’t have this ingredient, add in Hatch Chile or other New Mexico Chile powder. It is ESSENTIAL that you have your “mise en place”. The action moves very fast and you have to be ready with your ingredients and equipment in the right place at the right time. You will learn how to caramelize sugar and corn syrup which requires patience and safety, because it gets super hot. (NOT RECOMMENDED TO MAKE WITH CHILDREN!) Once the caramelization takes place, you must MOVE FAST to pour it onto your baking sheet, as the brittle will harden within a minute.

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
8 ounces cashews or Hatch Chile cashews (about 2 cups)
1 Tablespoon Hatch or New Mexico Chile powder (if not on cashews already)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
5/8 cup water
1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (not table salt)

1. Get everything ready before cooking. In a small bowl, combine the baking soda and cinnamon (and ground chile powder, if not on cashews already).

2. Grease an 11″ x 15″ rimmed baking sheet and offset spatula with canola oil to prevent the brittle from sticking.

3. Measure out the coconut and have it ready next to the cashews and baking soda-cinnamon-chile mixture.  It is super important to have the baking sheet and mix-ins ready alongside your cooktop with a hot pad.

4. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, corn syrup, water and salt.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved in a few minutes.  The second step is to leave the mixture alone and continue cooking until the mixture is golden brown.  This takes a lot of patience and it may take 8-20 or so minutes for the magic to happen, depending on the heat of your cooktop. You will need to continually monitor the progress, because once it starts to brown, it happens very quickly.  Swirl the mixture in the pan to determine what stage of browning you are at. As soon as the mixture becomes a dark brown, remove the pan from the heat.

5. With your mix-ins ready by the side of the saucepan, you have to move quickly.  Once the mixture is a dark brown, you must add the cashews and coconut with one quick stir, followed by the baking soda mixture. (It will foam up and grow like magic.) Be ready for it!

6. The final step is to pour the mixture onto your prepared baking sheet.  You only get one chance at this, so with one swift move, pour the saucepan mixture from one end of the baking sheet to the other while trying to spread it evenly to cover the entire baking sheet. Use the offset spatula to scrape as much of the mixture out of the saucepan before it hardens. Then, use your offset spatula to spread it further to the edges.  THE ENTIRE BAKING SHEET DOES NOT NEED TO BE COVERED!  Just do the best you can to spread the brittle so you don’t have a giant lump of brittle in the center. The brittle will harden within one minute, so MOVE FAST!

7. Chill the Hatch Chile Cashew and Coconut Brittle at least 30 minutes or overnight in the fridge to harden. The next day, break up the cold Brittle on the counter.   I use a small spatula to punch it apart or take the baking sheet, lift it up and drop it on the counter to get started. It is fun to break up the brittle. I try to break the pieces into 2″ x 2″ pieces, but nature will take its course. Store in a container with parchment or wax paper separating the layers.

Servings: 60   – 68 calories per serving