Best New Pastry Chef
Why Weight
Total Eclipse of the Tart
Homemade Sprinkles
About BraveTartCoffee Bean Brittle · GF (enough to fill a large zippy bag)
Tweet
This brittle has all the buzz buzz buzz of chocolate covered coffee beans, but with an even more cruncherrific texture. The molasses really gives a complex sweetness to the candy, but feel free to substitute honey or corn syrup if you live in more Northern parts and can’t get a hold of good molasses. (Hint: “Grandma’s” brand gets an “F” from me.)
You can make and store this brittle for a week or so in an airtight container at room temperature. It makes a great garnish for everything from chocolate almond stout cake to ice cream, or just enjoy it out of hand.
1/4 ounce butter for greasing pan
7 ounces sugar
the seeds from one vanilla bean
4 1/2 ounces molasses, corn syrup, or honey
3 ounces water
1/8 tsp kosher salt
6 ounces Sumatra coffee beans (a heaping cup)
Lightly grease a sheet pan with butter and set aside.
Combine the sugar, vanilla seeds, molasses, water and salt in a medium pot. Turn the heat to medium and stir gently while heating to dissolve the sugar. Once the mixture starts to boil, stop stirring and let it carry on, undisturbed.
Clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pot to keep an eye on the temperature. Cook until the mixture reaches 375°.
Then shut off the heat, add in the coffee beans and stir to combine. Pour the mixture onto the sheet pan and spread it out with a spatula. As it cools, use your hands to pull the pieces into thin shards.
Any questions?
Mar 12, 2011 · 5:52 PM
I made a coffee brittle last Christmas and it was delicious! Yours looks great! ♥- Katrina
· Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen · inkatrinaskitchen.blogspot.com/
Mar 12, 2011 · 6:43 PM
Oh MY!!! An outrageous combo!! Nicely done!
· Kim - Liv Life · livlifetoo.blogspot.com/
Mar 12, 2011 · 7:17 PM
Well, I haven’t heard of it, that must be a good sign, right? Go for it Mousey!
Mar 15, 2011 · 8:15 PM
This looks really good I bookmarked it for later.
· Veronica Gantley · http://www.mycatholickitchen.com
Apr 03, 2011 · 11:36 PM
Hi Raro. I am so useless to answer your question! The only molasses I’ve ever really had (other than my horrific experiences with grocery store brands when I lived in New York… 
is from small Mom & Pop operations who only sell a few dozen jars a year at markets or country stores.
Your best bet is to hit up a farmers’ market and ask around. I don’t know what kind of molasses culture North Carolina has, but I’ll wager that if you can find anything made locally, you’ll love it!
E-mail me if you like and I’ll send you a jar of the good stuff. 
Jan 15, 2012 · 11:56 AM
This was delicious. I’m not one for brittle, but I do loves me lots of coffee all the time. The beans balanced the sweetness beautifully, and it looks fabu. Thanks!
· Megan. · $#&*makescake.wordpress.com
Jan 15, 2012 · 12:38 PM
@Megan, ahhh! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! If you find yourself not able to eat up all of it, you can grind the leftover brittle in a food processor with chocolate and make a crunchy coffee/chocolate spread, which makes a great brownie or cheesecake topping. Cheers!
Jul 08, 2012 · 2:39 PM
@Jixel, if you made it with the molasses called for in the recipe (rather than swapping for corn syrup, etc) it really does kinda stink. Molasses throws off some crazy funky smells. Another factor may be if the candy mixture is too thin and the thermometer bulb isn’t fully submerged, it may be scorching before the temperature actually registers…. I’m pretty sure the temp is right, I like cooking my brittles to a much darker stage than most, but I’ll double check the temp with my notes at work to make sure nothing’s been transcribed incorrectly.
Jul 19, 2012 · 9:41 AM
@O, You certainly can use it a springboard for your experiments! Just keep in mind that because it was formulated as a vehicle for coffee beans, the ratio of beans to candy is very low and, without baking soda, it isn’t quite like a traditional peanut brittle. It’s also a little sweeter to compensate for the bitterness of the beans.