Looking for a quick yet delicious treat this holiday season? This Macadamia Nut Brittle recipe with coconut is extremely easy to make and is the perfect food gift for the holiday. This post is sponsored by MacFarms® but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
I grew up with peanut brittle and peanut candies, but as a kid I was never a big fan of them. I’m still not a huge fan of peanuts but macadamias though, now that is more my speed. This macadamia brittle recipe hits it out of the park. You’ve got buttery, sweet and salty caramel, with nutty macadamia and coconut giving it that tropical vibe.
These crisp, buttery candies are the perfect food gift for the holidays. They also don’t take a lot of time to make, which is just what you need for this busy season. Along with with my coconut truffles and chocolate covered macadamias, they make the perfect trio for a sweet treat bag!
Table of Contents
Helpful tools
You don’t need any special tools for this brittle recipe since everything is cooked in a medium saucepan which you should already have at home. A silicone mat is useful to have when letting the candy cools because it’s easy to peel off.
Ingredients and substitutions
As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips:
This macadamia nut brittle is made without corn syrup, without a candy thermometer, and just 4 ingredients. Water, baking soda and salt are all readily available ingredients that I think most of us have at home. But if you want to count them all, it would be a 7 ingredient recipe.
- Macadamia nuts – you can use raw or roasted unsalted macadamias. I like to toast them before making the candies either way. I don’t recommend using salted macadamias since we will be adding salt to the caramel already.
- Coconut flakes – I’m using unsweetened coconut flakes here. You could try sweetened ones, but I didn’t think this recipe needs any additional sweet ingredients since it is a candy afterall.
- Sugar – granulated sugar is called for. You can make caramel with brown sugar if you wish, it will impart a slightly different flavor.
- Butter – unsalted butter is used. Salt is added separately later in this recipe. If you need to substitute salted butter, you may want to reduce the added salt by half.
- Water – just a little bit is used to dissolve the sugar and prevent it from burning while cooking.
- Baking soda – this is used to aerate the caramel. There is no substitution for this.
- Salt – I used kosher salt, if using table salt, reduce amount by half. Don’t skip this, it gives balance to the candy.
How to make macadamia coconut brittle
Before you start making the caramel, toast the macadamia nuts and coconut flakes, and set them aside in a bowl to cool. They don’t need to cool completely, but it’s better to do this first so you don’t get distracted while making the caramel. Ok, now let’s move on to our caramel for the brittle.
- Put sugar, water and butter into a medium saucepan.
- Cook the mixture over medium heat without stirring, swirl the pan around to ensure all the sugar dissolves, and the caramel browns evenly, just until it achieves a deep amber color.
- Take it off the heat and add the toasted macadamias and coconut to it.
- Mix with a rubber spatula to evenly coat the nuts and coconut.
- Sprinkle baking soda and salt over the mixture and stir quickly to incorporate. You may see the mixture bubble and change color. The color will turn lighter, you may be able to see in the photo above.
- Immediately, spread the mixture onto a lined baking sheet and allow to cool before breaking into smaller pieces.
More baker’s tips
- Pan size matters – I use a medium saucepan that has plenty of surface area for the caramel to cook evenly and quickly. Also, a good size pan is safer just in case the caramel bubbles over when cooking and aerating. I tried making this in a smaller size pan and found that it took too long for the caramel to cook and the volume was reduced quite a bit as compared to a larger size pan.
- Be careful about overcooking the caramel, once it achieves a deep amber color, it could burn very quickly. Burnt caramel will result in bitter brittle, which is no fun.
- Toasting the macadamias – When using roasted macadamia nuts, you don’t need to toast them again, but sometimes I still do if I feel like they need a little bit more color.
- Toasting the coconut – Make sure to reduce the heat when toasting the coconut flakes and watch them carefully since they can burn quickly.
- Variations – You can use just macadamia or just coconut to make this brittle either macadamia brittle or coconut brittle. Simply increase the amount of macadamias or coconut depending on which one you’re using.
Storage
Moisture or humidity is brittle’s worst enemy, so make sure you store them in a cool dry place, in an airtight container as soon as they harden and cool. Don’t store them in the fridge or freezer.
When storing these, make sure to leave some space between the pieces so they don’t stick together. It is best if you can place parchment paper between each layer when storing, or wrap them individually.
If stored well, your macadamia nut brittles should last 2 – 3 weeks.
Candy recipes for Holiday gifting
- Graham Cracker Toffee
- Peppermint Chocolate Truffles
- Raspberry Truffles
- 4-Ingredient Strawberry Truffles
- White Chocolate Pistachio Truffles
📖 Recipe card
Macadamia Coconut Brittle
Equipment
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 1 cup macadamia nuts (roasted, 129 g)
- ½ cup unsweetened coconut flakes (toasted, 26 g)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (150 g)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 oz, 57 g)
- 2 tablespoon water
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- If using raw macadamia nuts, toast the nuts in a skillet over medium heat for 3 – 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until they are golden and smell nutty. Transfer to a bowl or dish and allow to cool.
- In the same skillet, toast the unsweetened coconut flakes over medium low heat for 1 – 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until brown and fragrant. Transfer the coconut to the same bowl as the macadamia nuts and allow to cool
- Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, butter and water, cook over medium heat without stirring, only swirling the pan around to dissolve the sugar and to make sure the syrup brown evenly, until it turns a deep amber color, about 8 minutes.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat. With a rubber spatula, stir in the toasted macadamia nuts and coconut set aside earlier to coat evenly. Add baking soda and salt and stir quickly to incorporate. This may bubble as the baking soda aerates the caramel, you should see a color change in the caramel.
- Scrape the brittle out onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it out as thin as you can before it starts to harden.
- Let the brittle cool completely. Break into pieces and enjoy.
Video
Notes
- I use a medium saucepan that has plenty of surface area for the caramel to cook evenly and quickly. Also, a good size pan is safer just in case the caramel bubbles over when cooking and aerating. I tried making this in a smaller size pan and found that it took too long for the caramel to cook and the volume was reduced quite a bit as compared to a larger size pan.
- Be careful about overcooking the caramel, once it achieves a deep amber color, it could burn very quickly. Burnt caramel will result in bitter brittle, which is no fun.
- When using roasted macadamia nuts, you don’t need to toast them again, but sometimes I still do if I feel like they need a little bit more color.
- Make sure to reduce the heat when toasting the coconut flakes and watch them carefully since they can burn quickly.
Nutrition
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