This pine nut brittle is made with only 5 ingredients plus salt. And you may already have them on hand. Sugar, pine nuts (also called piñón or pinoli), unsalted butter, fresh rosemary and sea salt.
It’s a candied holiday treat that’s easy to make, a huge hit with all ages, and is the perfect holiday gift. And it takes just 30 minutes to make.
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This brittle is a popular treat all year round, but especially around the holidays. I made pine nut brittle holiday gifts years ago, and found the recipe for it last weekend. For this version, I cut back a little on the pine nuts, and added pumpkin seeds. It will be in this years gift boxes, and you may want to add it to yours too.
🤷♀️ What are pine nuts?
Also called piñón, pinola and pignola, pine nuts are the edible seeds from pine cones. The squirrels are onto a good thing when you see them tearing up cones in the late fall.
But before you head to your back yard to harvest your own, most pine trees produce pine cones that have seeds (pine nuts) that are too small to be worth harvesting for human consumption. Out of all the pine varieties, only the pine cones from 20 types of pine trees are harvested for us.
And they're expensive, which is one of the reasons I decided to cut back on pine nuts and add much more economical pumpkin seeds in this brittle. Harvesting the seeds is very labor intensive, as they're nestled between the scales of pine cones.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- It super easy to make. If you've never made candy before this is a great recipe to start with since you won't need a candy thermometer.
- It makes a great hostess gift and holiday gift for friends and family.
- Eat this pine nut brittle on its own, or break it up over ice cream, or add to a parfait.
- You only need 5 ingredients, plus sea salt.
- It keeps well on your counter in an air-tight container for as long as 3 weeks.
🧅 Pine Nut Brittle Ingredients + Notes
- Sugar - granulated sugar is best.
- Pine nuts - they can usually be found in the baking aisle with packages of other nuts, and in bins.
- Pumpkin seeds - these are raw and unsalted. Save roasted pumpkin seeds for snacking or other uses.
- Unsalted Butter
- Fresh rosemary
- Sea salt - I used a combination of black Hawaiian salt and white sea salt, which made it look gray.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to products and foods I use in my kitchen. This means that at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. To view my entire storefront of recommended kitchen tools and equipment, check out my shop on Amazon.
🔪 Recommended Equipment
📝 Instructions Overview
Detailed instructions for making this pine nut brittle are in the recipe card below, but here's an overview!
Step 1
Melt the sugar. Add the sugar to a heavy bottomed pot like a Le Creuset Dutch oven (linked above under Recommended Equipment), and heat it until it completely melts into a liquid. Continue to heat until it turns a caramel color.
Step 2
Add the seeds and butter. Stir in the pine nuts and pumpkin seeds. Immediately add the butter. Stir using a wooden spoon, until the butter is completely absorbed into the caramel.
Step 3
Add seasoning. Stir in ½ of the fresh rosemary and sea salt.
Step 4
Press into a baking sheet. Dump the gooey caramel mix onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Work fast with a wood spoon to flatten and spread the candy over the surface. Sprinkle the remaining rosemary and sea salt over the top surface.
Step 5
Rest. Let the candy cool on the countertop. When cooled, break it up into pieces.
⏰ Tips to Simplify and Save Time
- This recipe moves quickly, so have the baking sheet already prepared with parchment paper, and the rosemary minced before starting to melt the sugar.
- Don't push around the sugar too much as it will clump. The clumps won't melt at the same rate as the rest of the sugar, and the caramelizing can get away from you. Once you see it melting, nudge it around a little into the melting portion.
- Once the sugar melts, it caramelizes quickly. So don't leave it unattended while you chop the rosemary.
- When pressing the candy into the baking sheet, work fast as it hardens up quite fast. Use the bottom of a wooden spoon to flatten the candy to a sheet.
- Don't worry about getting the edges even, since you'll be breaking it up into pieces. It's more important to get an even thickness.
- If you're not able to flatten it all before it begins to harden, rewarm in the oven.
- After cooling for an hour, you should be able to break it into pieces very easily. If that doesn't happen, it could be because you're in a very humid climate. Just slide it into the refrigerator for 15 minutes, and try again.
👩🍳 Preparation Tips
My biggest tip is to work fast - both when stirring the pine nuts, pumpkin seeds and butter into the caramel, and when pressing it flat into a baking sheet to cool.
If you don't work fast enough when stirring everything into the caramel, the sugar could caramel too much, making it bitter. The caramel should be a dark golden color when you take it off the stovetop and dump it onto the baking sheet.
🤷♀️ Pine Nut Brittle FAQ
What's the best way to store this pine nut brittle?
I've kept it in an air tight container on the counter for 3 weeks without a problem.
How will I know when the brittle is done?
It will be a dark golden color.
Can I use other nuts?
Yes. Just make sure the volume is about the same, or you won't have enough (or too much) caramel.
Don't have time to run to the grocery store? Order the ingredients for this recipe using Instacart (affiliate link). Just click on the Instacart button in the recipe card below, and the ingredients will all be organized for you on their site. Plug in your zip code, choose the store you prefer, and select the ingredients you want delivered to your home.
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Pine Nut Brittle with Pumpkin Seeds and Rosemary (recipe)
Equipment
- baking sheet
- Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot
- Wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 ¾ cups pine nuts
- ¾ cups pumpkin seeds
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter sliced into pats
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tablespoon finely ground sea salt I used a mix of black and white sea salts
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place it next to the stove.
- Pour the sugar into a large, heavy bottomed pot, like a Dutch oven. Begin to melt the sugar over medium-high heat. When it begins to melt, use a wooden spoon to nudge unmelted sugar into the pool of liquid sugar developing.Lower the heat to medium, and continue nudging the sugar into the melted part until all the sugar is liquified. Continue to heat until the sugar turns a caramel color. This entire step will take about 10 minutes.
- Stir in the pine nuts and the pumpkin seeds. Add the butter, and stir constantly with the wooden spoon until the melted butter is completely absorbed into the caramel and seeds. It will take a few minutes to get the melted butter absorbed. Just keep flipping the caramel around with the wooden spoon. The caramel will be stiff from all the seeds, so just be patient. The butter will be absorbed.
- Stir in half of the finely chopped rosemary and half of the sea salt.
- Immediately dump the gooey caramel mixture onto the prepared baking sheet, and immediately start to flatten and spread it using the bottom of the spoon. Spread it as evenly as possible to the thickness you want. I spread mine as thin as possible. If the brittle hardens up too fast, slide the baking sheet into a 300˚F oven to rewarm the caramel.
- While the brittle is still warm, sprinkle the remaining rosemary and sea salt over the top and gently press in.
- Completely cool on the counter - this could take as long as an hour. Break into pieces and store on the counter in an air-tight container.If it doesn't firm up enough to break easily into pieces, it could be because you're in a humid climate. Just slide the baking sheet into the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes, and try again.
Kim Beck
I received this brittle from my sister for Christmas. My comment to her - "This is deeeeelicious send me the recipe"
The Wimpy Vegetarian
That makes me soooooo happy!! Thank you so much for letting me know!! A very Merry Christmas to you!
Renee Bouck
I've made 3 batches of this brittle and about the make my fourth. It' been a popular gift for friends. The right balance of flavors lends to the perfect umami experience. Salty and sweet, a great crunch, the scent of rosemary a lovely part of each bite. This is a wonderful recipe! Renee Bouck
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The Wimpy Vegetarian
I'm so happy it's been such an incredible hit! I made 2 more batches a couple days ago too! Thanks for letting me know!