I love homemade sweets and they’re so easy to make (which can be a bad thing if you’ve got a sweet tooth like me). We used to make sweets with Mum when we were young. Things like marshmallow, toffees, fudge, coconut ice, honeycomb and peanut brittle. Mum and my sister now appreciate a pack of homemade sweets for a birthday treat more than anything else. I was feeling up to a batch of peanut brittle tonight. It really didn’t take much effort at all.

Peanut Brittle
(from “Day to Day Cookery” by I M Downes – my high school cooking textbook)


2 cups sugar
3/4 cup water
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp bicarb of soda
1 cup peanuts

Place sugar, water and cream of tartar in a saucepan. Stir over heat until sugar has dissolved. Boil without stirring until toffee is a pale amber colour. Remove from heat, add soda free from lumps and peanuts which have been roughly chopped. Stir lightly then pour at once onto a greased baking tray or tray lined with baking paper. Spread thinly with a large buttered knife. When set, break into irregular pieces. Store in an air tight jar (if it will last that long).