Learn how to make this Caribbean delicacy known as peanut drops. Made from roasted peanuts, raw cane sugar and spices that is made into a hard candy.
We love peanut drops, affectionately known as "drops" they are very easy to make and don't require a load of complex ingredients.
They basically satisfy a sweet tooth, believe me when you have tried this snack, you certainly won't forget it.
In the Caribbean drops are sold by street vendors or in the supermarket making them widely accessible but my family would make them from scratch.
We loved the gooey, stickiness from the sugar and equally enjoyed dropping the mixture on banana leaves (the traditional method).
Peanut drops vs peanut brittle
Although both are considered hard candy, they are not made the same way. Peanut drops are made made from peanuts, sugar, spices (cinnamon sometimes nutmeg), ginger vanilla, almond essence and water.
The peanuts are simmered down along with the rest of the ingredients until a very sticky syrup which coats the peanuts is made.
This mixture is dropped using a spoon onto banana leaves/parchment paper and left to cool.
On the contrary, peanut brittle tends to be made from butter, sugar, corn syrup, water, of course peanuts are used, vanilla and sometimes a leavening agent is used.
The mixture is more of caramelized buttery consistency and doesn't recede the same way that the mixture for drops does.
Instead it is poured onto a large flat surface like a tray and left to cool. Once cool, it is broken into uneven shards.
Drops have more of a raised/hump shape while brittle is more like a smooth slab.
Why roast peanuts
Roasted peanuts are such a game changer and there are a few simple reasons why I do this;
- Aroma (your house will smell amazing!)
- Taste (The taste is a million times better then raw peanuts)
- Texture (That crunchy texture is delicious)
The taste of roasted peanuts vs unroasted peanuts makes a difference. If you haven't made your drops with roasted peanuts then you are in for a treat.
Recipe preparation
The recipe is relatively straight forward. I do recommend purchasing blanched peanuts and not use red skin peanuts because removing the skin can be a time consuming process.
I only had red skin peanuts are pictured and had to allocate up to an hour to remove the skin (not fun!).
You peanuts should be roasted, I cannot empathise how much more tastier your drops will be if you roast the peanuts.
Granted this will take some time but........the end results are worth it!
Use a non stick pan to simmer the peanuts, I don't use any of my fancy saucepans as similar to when I'm making my Browning Sauce, things can get messy.
Allow the peanut to simmer in turns into a sticky sugar reduction, you don't want to rush this process, just keep baby sitting the saucepan to make sure everything is okay.
You might want to taste the liquid, just to make sure there is enough ginger to your liking.
Jamaican LOVE a lot of ginger in their drops and Sorrel so feel free to add more in ground form, if necessary.
Have your banana leaves/parchment paper and spoon ready and right next to you as soon as the mixture becomes sticky with very little liquid, you need to act quickly in setting your drops.
The steps
- If you are using red skin peanuts like I am then you will need to soak them in boiling water 30 minutes before using them and use your hands to rub away the skin (skip this step if you are using blanched peanuts).
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Arrange the peanuts on the baking tray ensuring they are spread out and don't overcrowd.
- Roast the peanut until they are golden brown (some may brown quicker than others, so keep a watchful eye and remove any that are brown before the others).
- Re-line the same baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place the roasted peanuts, raw cane sugar, ginger and water to the boil in a medium sized non stick saucepan.
- Once boiled, reduce to medium heat and leave to simmer (stirring frequently) until mixture has thicken and almost evaporated while covering the peanuts. This should take anything from 50 minutes to over an hour.
- Around 50 minutes add the cinnamon, vanilla and almond essence.
- When the mixture is very very sticky and is stuck to the peanuts with virtually no liquid, the drops are ready.
- Remove the saucepan from the stove and use a spoon to "drop" 1-2 spoons worth for each drop on the parchment paper, making sure there is a few inches of gap between each one.
- Leave to completely set/cool down before eating them.
Notes and tips
- Don't be tempted to increase the heat when the peanuts are simmering away, you may burn the sugar as it reduces or may even burn yourself from the syrup spluttering.
- If the drops don't stick or as too loose, that means you have too much liquid leftover, return it to the saucepan/stove and add 1-2 tablespoon of sugar as this will help to thicken up the mixture and it should set the second time.
- Be sure to use a study non stick saucepan.
- If you don't have fresh ginger then just use the equivalent in ground form.
- To freeze the drops, make sure you have wrapped the drops and sandwiched them in between parchment paper so they don't stick together.
- Don't allow the mixture to cool down once it is ready, work as quickly as you can to set the drops.
- Store any left over drops away from heat in an air tight container and eat within a few days of making them.
- You don't need the drops to be the same size a mismatch of shape and size is fine.
Other sweet treats to try
- Grater Cake
- Sugar Roti
- Coconut Drops
- Mango Tarts
- Besito de Coco
- Tamarind Balls
- Cranberry Coconut Energy Balls
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Peanut Drops
Ingredients
- 2 cups roasted peanuts (292g)
- 1½ cups raw cane sugar (300g)
- 2 cups water (475ml)
- 3 tablespoon ginger (21g) minced
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon (1g)
- 1 tablespoon vanilla (13g)
- 1 tablespoon almond essence (13g)
Instructions
- If you are using red skin peanuts like I am then you will need to soak them in boiling water 30 minutes before using them and use your hands to rub away the skin (skip this step if you are using blanched peanuts).
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F.
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Arrange the peanuts on the baking tray ensuring they are spread out and don't overcrowd.
- Roast the peanut until they are golden brown (some may brown quicker than others, so keep a watchful eye and remove any that are brown before the others).
- Re-line the same baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place the roasted peanuts, raw cane sugar, ginger and water to the boil in a medium sized non stick saucepan.
- Once boiled, reduce to medium heat and leave to simmer (stirring frequently) until mixture has thicken and almost evaporated while covering the peanuts. This should take anything from 50 minutes to over an hour.
- Around 50 minutes add the cinnamon, vanilla and almond essence.When the mixture is very very sticky and is stuck to the peanuts with virtually no liquid, the drops are ready.
- Remove the saucepan from the stove and use a spoon to "drop" 1-2 spoons worth for each drop on the parchment paper, making sure there is a few inches of gap between each one.
- Leave to completely set/cool down before eating them.
Notes
- Don't be tempted to increase the heat when the peanuts are simmering away, you may burn the sugar as it reduces or may even burn yourself from the syrup spluttering.
- If the drops don't stick or as too loose, that means you have too much liquid leftover, return it to the saucepan/stove and add 1-2 tablespoon of sugar as this will help to thicken up the mixture and it should set the second time.
- Be sure to use a study non stick saucepan.
- If you don't have fresh ginger then just use the equivalent in ground form.
- To freeze the drops, make sure you have wrapped the drops and sandwiched them in between parchment paper so they don't stick together.
- Don't allow the mixture to cool down once it is ready, work as quickly as you can to set the drops.
- Store any left over drops away from heat in an air tight container and eat within a few days of making them.
- You don't need the drops to be the same size a mismatch of shape and size is fine.
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