How to Sell Peanut Brittle From Home

Peanut brittle is an old-fashioned candy with staying power, and the gap between what it costs you and what it sells for is wide. It costs little to make, keeps for weeks when it is sealed, and sells as a nostalgic gift and holiday treat. A pound of brittle takes about $3.42 in sugar, corn syrup, peanuts and butter, and small-batch candy shops charged $12.53 to $17.00 for half that much. If you enjoy candy-making, brittle gives you a bag that keeps about 3 to 4 weeks sealed at cool room temperature and sells hardest as a gift in November and December.

This guide covers why peanut brittle sells, what 8 states actually allow, the label, the real cost and price, how to get the crunch, how long it keeps, shipping, and how to reach gift and holiday buyers.

You can cook brittle days before a pickup day or delivery run, and where your state allows payment online, you can set up a Homegrown storefront so regulars order and pay before you start.

Why Is Peanut Brittle a Smart Product to Sell?

Peanut brittle is a smart product because it is inexpensive to make, keeps longer than most candy a home vendor sells, and carries strong nostalgic and gift appeal. Unlike delicate baked goods, brittle is hard and dry. The Global Cold Chain Foundation's candy manual lists peanut brittle at 1.8% moisture against 10.9% for vanilla fudge, and less water is why brittle keeps for weeks instead of days.

Here is what makes it work:

• Low cost, strong margin. A pound of brittle takes about $3.42 in ingredients, and an 8 ounce bag brings $12 to $15.
• Durable. Brittle is hard and stable, so it survives the drive to a market and the walk home in a tote bag.
• Long shelf life. Kept sealed and dry, brittle keeps for weeks, so you can cook ahead of a busy weekend.
• Nostalgic gift appeal. It is a traditional holiday candy, and November and December are the peak months for candy.
• Little competition. In a pull of the Homegrown catalog on October 19, 2026, 1 of 2,921 listings was peanut brittle.

The honest note: brittle-making takes attention, because you are cooking sugar to the hard-crack stage, about 300°F, where a minute too long tastes burnt. And a $12 bag means your money comes from volume and gift sets, not from one big order. But the ingredient cost is low, the product forgives a few days on the shelf, and the nostalgic appeal makes it an easy sell, especially in the holiday season.

Can You Sell Peanut Brittle Under Cottage Food Law?

Yes: all 8 states we read for this guide allow peanut brittle as cottage food, because it is a shelf-stable candy, but the states differ on peanuts, chocolate and where the bag can go. California, New Jersey, New York and Washington name brittle outright. Connecticut, Florida and Michigan allow candy and confections in general, and Texas allows any food that is not on its short list of exceptions.

California's list of approved cottage foods puts "Brittles" under Candy and Confections. New Jersey's cottage food rules read "Candy, including brittle and toffee." Washington's cottage food page lists "Nut Brittles" and adds that for stovetop candy, "temperature monitoring with candy thermometer is required."

New York is the state that changes the recipe. Its home processor page approves "Peanut brittle (using commercially roasted nuts)" and prohibits "Any products containing raw nuts." The department's reason: "there is no control step with raw products. Raw nuts have been linked to foodborne illness (i.e. salmonella)."

Here is what each of the 8 states says about brittle and about getting it to a customer.

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We read each state's cottage food page on October 19, 2026: California's approved list (last reviewed April 2026) and Health and Safety Code section 113758, Connecticut's accepted products list and sales FAQ, Florida FDACS, Michigan MDARD's what-can-I-make and selling pages, the New Jersey Department of Health FAQ, New York Agriculture and Markets, Texas DSHS and Washington WSDA. California and Michigan allow mail only to customers inside the state.

A few points to keep straight:

• Brittle qualifies in all 8 states we read. The catch is in the details: roasted peanuts in New York, a candy thermometer in Washington.
• Disclose peanuts prominently. Peanuts are one of the nine major food allergens the FDA's allergen page lists, and butter adds milk. Both go on the label.
• Watch the add-ins. A bacon brittle is a meat product: Texas excludes meat and meat products from its allowed foods, and New York prohibits "Meat, fish, or poultry products."
• Store properly. Brittle must be kept dry and sealed, since humidity makes it sticky and soft.
• Labeling is required. The details are in the next section: 7 of the 8 states require their own home-kitchen statement on the label, and New York recommends one.

Every state sets its own rules and sales limit, so confirm your own before you sell. Our overview of what foods you can sell under cottage food laws and the cottage food laws by state directory point you to the specifics where you live, and can you sell homemade candy walks through candy rules state by state.

What Goes on a Peanut Brittle Label?

A peanut brittle label needs the product name, your name and address, the ingredients in order by weight, the net weight, and an allergen line that names peanuts and milk. That is the list New York spells out on its home processing page. On top of it, 7 of our 8 states require their own home-kitchen statement, and New York recommends one.

What to print on every bag:

• Name of the product. "Peanut Brittle," or "Cashew Brittle" for a cashew batch.
• Ingredients in order by weight. For the pound recipe in our cost section, that is sugar, corn syrup, peanuts, butter, baking soda, salt.
• Net weight. "Net Wt 8 oz (227 g)" for the standard bag.
• Your business name and address. New York requires the full address on the label.
• Allergens. The FDA lets you name them inside the ingredient list, like "butter (milk)," or in a statement right after it, like "Contains peanuts, milk."
• A best-by date. It tells your customer when the crunch fades. Our date rule is in the shelf-life section below.

Then add your state's own statement, and copy it exactly. New Jersey's labeling page says it plainly: "Altering it in any way will cause your label to be rejected." Here is the wording each state's own page or law gave on October 19, 2026:

• California: "Made in a Home Kitchen" in 12-point type on the front of the package, per CDPH's cottage food labeling requirements.
• Connecticut: "Made in a Cottage Food Operation that is not Subject to Routine Government Food Safety Inspection," in at least 10-point type, per Connecticut's cottage food regulation.
• Florida: "Made in a cottage food operation that is not subject to Florida's food safety regulations," in at least 10-point type, from Florida Statutes section 500.80.
• Michigan: "Made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development," in at least 11-point type, from MDARD's labeling page.
• New Jersey: "This food is prepared pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:24-11 in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Department of Health," word for word, plus your full personal name, your town followed by "NJ," and your CFO number, from the Department of Health's labeling page.
• Texas: "THIS PRODUCT WAS PRODUCED IN A PRIVATE RESIDENCE THAT IS NOT SUBJECT TO GOVERNMENTAL LICENSING OR INSPECTION," per the Texas DSHS cottage food page. Texas also says food sold for you by a cottage food vendor, someone else selling it at a market or store, must carry "the date the food was made" on the label.
• Washington: "MADE IN A HOME KITCHEN THAT HAS NOT BEEN SUBJECT TO STANDARD INSPECTION CRITERIA," at least as large as 11-point type, from WSDA's cottage food page.
• New York: a recommendation rather than a rule. Its home processing page asks you to add a phrase like "Made in a Home Kitchen" in type at least 1/16 inch tall.

For the full allergen rules, our guide to the big 9 allergens on a cottage food label shows the exact wording for each.

How Much Does Peanut Brittle Cost to Make?

A pound of peanut brittle costs about $3.42 in ingredients, and an 8 ounce bag costs about $1.83 once you add the cello bag and a label. Raw blanched peanuts were $3.52 a pound in the 5 pound bag on September 22, 2026, which keeps the peanuts to about $0.55 of an 8 ounce bag, and the candy pricing guide costs the whole batch out line by line (it rounds each line first, so it shows $3.41 a pound). Ingredients are inexpensive, especially when you buy peanuts in bulk, which is what gives brittle its healthy margin. Peanuts ground into butter price out differently: a 16 ounce jar of homemade peanut butter cost about $4.07 including the glass at Walmart.com prices on September 25, 2026, and the guide to pricing homemade nut butter shows why it sells for about $13.

Here is the breakdown for one pound of brittle, which fills two 8 ounce bags:

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Ingredient amounts and prices come from our candy pricing guide (Bulkfoods.com peanuts read September 22, 2026; sugar, corn syrup and butter are that guide's labeled grocery assumptions). Bag and label prices come from our caramel pricing guide (Walmart.com, September 25, 2026). We loaded both guides October 19, 2026. Each row is rounded to the cent, so the columns add to $3.41 and $1.84 against the unrounded totals of $3.42 a pound and $1.83 a bag.

That bag costs about $1.83 to make and sells for $12 to $15. At $12, you keep $10.17 before any selling fee, about 85% of the price. Corn syrup is the biggest line, not the peanuts, and the candy pricing guide explains why it stays: it keeps brittle from turning grainy. Because brittle keeps for weeks, you have little spoilage waste, and you can cook ahead of a busy holiday weekend.

Two cost changes are worth knowing:

• Roasted peanuts. The same supplier charged $4.34 a pound for roasted, unsalted peanuts on September 22, 2026. That adds about $0.26 to a pound of brittle and brings an 8 ounce bag to about $1.96, which is what a New York vendor pays.
• Premium nuts. Pecan halves were $11.74 a pound at the same supplier that day, more than three times the price of peanuts, so a pecan brittle needs a higher price.

The one-time tools are cheap. A candy thermometer started at $9.52 at Walmart.com on September 25, 2026, so a thermometer, 200 bags and 120 labels come to $28.38 before your first batch.

How Should You Price Peanut Brittle?

Price peanut brittle at $12 to $15 for an 8 ounce bag, and put gift boxes at $20 to $35. Our candy pricing guide read small-batch candy shops on September 22, 2026: Hansel and Gretel Candy Kitchen charged $12.53 for 8 ounces of peanut brittle and Rusty's Peanut Brittle charged $17.00 for an 8 ounce bag. That works out to $25.06 to $34.00 a pound.

A pricing structure that works:

Scroll sideways for the full table.

Bag and gift box ranges and the 60 cents to $1.50 box budget come from our candy pricing guide, which read the shops on September 22, 2026. The pan prices are a live Homegrown listing read October 19, 2026. Your cost uses the table in the cost section.

Gift boxes and premium nut versions are your best tools for raising the average order, and the holidays are your peak window. The candy pricing guide puts the peak in November and December, "when it is competing with other gifts rather than with other snacks." If pricing your work fairly feels uncomfortable, read why charging what you're worth feels wrong, and see how vendors price honey, jam and baked goods at a farm stand. Given the low ingredient cost and nostalgic appeal, price for the value and tradition you deliver.

One listing in a catalog of 2,921 is an opening. A vendor who sells brittle by the bag, with a clear best-by date and a gift box for December, has very little company on the platform.

How Do You Get the Texture Right?

You get peanut brittle's crunch by cooking the sugar to the hard-crack stage, 300 to 310°F, and stirring in baking soda at the end for a light, airy snap. The Exploratorium's chart of sugar stages puts hard crack at 300 to 310°F, where the syrup is about 99% sugar with "almost no water left," and names nut brittles as one of the candies cooked there. Texture is everything with brittle, and getting there is mostly temperature control.

Steps that produce great brittle:

• Cook to the hard-crack stage. Use a candy thermometer and cook the sugar mixture to 300 to 310°F for a crisp, glassy brittle. Washington requires the thermometer for cottage food candy, and it is a good habit everywhere.
• Adjust for altitude. Ohio State's 4-H candy book says the temperature "should be decreased 1º for each increase of 500 feet in elevation," so at 2,500 feet you would aim about 5 degrees lower.
• Add baking soda at the end. Kansas State food scientist Karen Blakeslee explains that the soda "reacts with the small amount of acid that forms when heating sugar," releasing carbon dioxide that the sugar traps for "the foamy texture." Leave it out and you get a harder, denser brittle.
• Work quickly. Once it hits temperature, brittle sets fast, so have your pan, peanuts and tools ready.
• Spread thin. Blakeslee's advice is to "spread it out immediately on to a pan and let it cool." A thin, even layer breaks cleanly and looks professional.
• Cool completely and break into attractive, uniform pieces.

Practice your temperature and timing, since under-cooked brittle is chewy and over-cooked brittle tastes burnt. Watch the weather too. Blakeslee says a humid or rainy day is "probably not the best day to make (non-crystalline) candy," and the Ohio State book says to "cook the candy longer, or wait for a dry, cool day." Consistent crunch and clean, uniform pieces are what make your brittle look and taste professional.

How Long Does Peanut Brittle Last?

Homemade peanut brittle lasts about 3 to 4 weeks in a sealed bag or tin at cool room temperature, by the working rule in our guide to how long homemade candy lasts, and that guide puts the best-by date at 21 days. Humid air makes the surface sticky first, and the peanuts slowly go stale after that. Those times are about quality, the crunch and the flavor, not a lab test.

That working rule sits between two sources. Virginia Tech's Alexis Hamilton, an assistant professor of food processing microbiology, says homemade treats "fully cooked to their crunchy and sticky best" usually last "anywhere from four to seven days" at room temperature. The Global Cold Chain Foundation's candy manual gives factory-made nut brittle 12 months at 68°F, but only for candy made with "modern production techniques" and stored at controlled humidity. A home kitchen and a cello bag are neither, so our candy guide gives sealed homemade brittle weeks, not months.

What moves brittle toward the short end of that window:

• Humidity. The cold chain manual names brittles among the candies that soften or stick to the wrapper when "too high humidity or too high storage temperatures" get to them.
• Butter and nuts. The same manual says staleness and rancidity are common in candies containing "chocolate, coconut, butter, cream, or nuts," and that it "occurs with age and is accelerated by storage at high temperatures."
• An open box. Brittle pulls water out of the air, so a box left open at a booth all morning is already losing its snap.

Does Peanut Brittle Go Bad?

Peanut brittle goes stale before it goes bad: the first signs are a tacky surface and pieces that bend instead of snapping, then nuts that taste flat or rancid. Brittle has very little water for mold to use, at 1.8% moisture in the cold chain manual's figures, so a sealed bag usually loses quality long before anything else happens. If a piece smells rancid or shows mold, throw the batch out.

Can You Freeze Peanut Brittle?

Peanut brittle should stay out of the freezer, and out of the fridge too. Ohio State's 4-H candy book says "Peanut Brittle and hard tack type candies should not be frozen" and should be stored in an "airtight container, dry canister or glass jar" instead. Kansas State adds that cold storage "can cause candy to absorb extra moisture and get sticky," which is the exact thing that ruins brittle.

The practical rule for a vendor: cook no earlier than 10 days before the sale. With a 21-day best-by date, that leaves your customer 11 or more days of good brittle at home, which is the cook-ahead row in our candy shelf-life guide.

How Should You Store and Package Peanut Brittle?

Store and sell peanut brittle in an airtight package, at room temperature, out of sunlight. Kansas State's holiday candy guidance says candy "should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature and out of sunlight." For brittle, the package is the shelf life.

Packaging that keeps the crunch:

• Heat-sealed or zip-top bags for everyday 8 ounce bags. A twist tie on a cello bag works for a market day, not for a month on a shelf.
• Tins with tight lids for gift orders. They protect the pieces from breaking and from air.
• Nothing that only looks sealed. The cold chain manual warns that not all cellophane or plastic packaging is a moisture barrier, "and this characteristic frequently cannot be determined by visual inspection." Test your bag: seal a few pieces and leave them on the counter for a week before you stock up.
• Separate from soft candy. The University of Arkansas extension service says not to mix candies that absorb moisture, like hard candies and toffee, with candies that lose it, like fudge, "the hard candies will become sticky." Brittle behaves like the hard candies on that list. A gift box that mixes brittle with fudge keeps only as long as the fudge does.

Print the best-by date on every bag. A line like "Best by November 30. Keep sealed and dry, away from heat" answers the question your customer will otherwise text you about.

What Variations and Formats Sell Best?

The peanut brittle variations that sell best build on the classic with premium nuts, flavors and giftable formats. If you also sell the nuts candied on their own, one pound of pecans turns into about 21 ounces of cinnamon sugar pecans for $13.43 in store-brand ingredients, and what to charge for candied pecans and almonds follows from that batch cost. Because brittle is a nostalgic favorite, the classic sells reliably, while variations and gift packaging let you charge more and reach more occasions.

Variations that sell:

• Classic peanut brittle. The nostalgic best-seller and the cheapest to make.
• Cashew or pecan brittle. Premium nut versions. Price them above your peanut bag, because pecan halves cost more than three times what peanuts do. In New York, every nut must be commercially roasted, since the state prohibits "Any products containing raw nuts," and peanut brittle is the only brittle its approved list names, so check with the department before you add a cashew or pecan version.
• Chocolate-drizzled brittle. A decadent upgrade where your state allows it. New York prohibits chocolate or candy melt "for dipping/coating/drizzling."
• Spiced or flavored brittle. Cinnamon, chili or sea salt for distinctive options. Skip bacon: it turns candy into a meat product, which Texas excludes and New York prohibits.
• Seed brittle. Pumpkin or sunflower seed for customers who avoid peanuts. Label it carefully if it shares your kitchen with peanut batches. In New York, peanut brittle is the only brittle the approved list names, so check with the department before you add a seed brittle.

Formats that drive sales:

• 8 ounce bags for everyday orders and reorders.
• Gift tins and boxes for the holidays and gifting.
• Multi-packs and variety sets to raise the average order.

Keep the classic front and center and add a premium variation or two, plus a seed brittle for customers who avoid peanuts. Sample at markets where your state allows it, since one crunchy bite sells the bag. Florida lets cottage food operators "serve free samples for tasting, but the samples must be prepackaged," and Connecticut allows free samples "subject to local health department approval." A lineup anchored by great classic brittle with a few premium and giftable options lets one cooking session fill both $12 to $15 bags and $20 to $35 gift boxes.

Can You Ship Peanut Brittle Across State Lines?

Peanut brittle usually cannot cross state lines under a cottage food exemption. Our guide to shipping cottage food read 25 states on October 1, 2026, and found that only Arkansas, North Dakota and Pennsylvania let home food vendors sell across state lines under their own law, while 15 say outright that cottage food stays in the state. The same guide calls Florida a fourth case: its statute lets cottage food go by mail without saying in-state or out, and the University of Florida's extension fact sheet reads that as permission to ship "across state lines." Among the 8 states in this guide, California, Connecticut, Michigan, New York and Washington all keep sales inside the state.

What that means for a brittle vendor:

• Brittle survives the mail, but the law decides first. It is hard and dry, so it travels better than fudge or chocolate. That does not help if your state forbids mail.
• 3 of the 8 allow mail order. California and Michigan allow it inside their borders, and Florida allows mail order without naming a boundary.
• 4 of the 8 rule out mail. Connecticut, New Jersey, Texas and Washington. In Washington, you may advertise and take orders online, but delivery and payment must both be person to person, with no mail or courier and no sales outside the state.
• In New Jersey, mailing at all needs a licensed kitchen. The state's page says it plainly: "To mail products to your customers, you must use a commercial kitchen and obtain a retail food license from your local health department."

If your state does allow mail, Ohio State's candy book gives the packing rule: "wrap each piece of candy individually," pack it in layers "using bubble wrap or shredded paper in a sturdy box," and "do not mail in hot weather." Pack brittle snugly so it arrives as pieces, not crumbs.

How Do You Sell Peanut Brittle?

Sell peanut brittle to gift shoppers, holiday buyers and nostalgic treat lovers, using sampling, gift packaging and a clear best-by date, and a gift box at $20 to $35 lifts your average order well above a single $12 bag. Brittle is a traditional gift and an impulse treat, so your presentation and the occasions you market to drive most of your sales, and our guide to where to sell candy covers the venues.

Ways to sell more:

1. Sample at markets, where your state and market allow it, since a crunchy, buttery bite sells the bag instantly.
2. Package for gifting, with tins and boxes that feel like a holiday gift.
3. Market seasonally, since November and December are your peak months.
4. Take orders ahead of pickup day, so you cook to orders instead of guessing.
5. Encourage reorders and gifting, making it easy to rebuy a bag or send a tin.

Because brittle keeps for weeks, you can carry stock, fill gift orders and handle reorders without the waste a baker faces. Managing gift orders and holiday rushes through DMs still gets messy, so a real storefront helps. Here's how to sell food online as a local vendor so your gift and holiday season runs smoothly.

If your December runs on texts and comments, you already know the problem: three people want tins, two want bags, and nobody has paid. Where your state allows payment online, a storefront takes the order and the payment in one step, and you can set up a Homegrown storefront before the holiday rush starts.

The Ordering System Behind a Brittle Business

A candy that keeps for weeks, sells as a gift and has to be handed over in person in 4 of the 8 states we read fits a local pickup storefront. Homegrown is $10 a month billed annually ($12.50 billed monthly) with no percentage fees beyond standard payment processing, and it gives you an order page where customers browse your brittle and gift tins, pick a size, pay, and choose pickup or local delivery. Every listing shows allergens and ingredients, so "Contains peanuts, milk" is on the page before anyone orders.

Check your state's online rules before you take a payment online. In Washington, you may advertise and take orders online, but delivery and payment must both be person to person, with no mail or courier and no sales outside the state. WSDA's cottage food page says you can "take orders over the Internet," and the same page says "Internet, mail, consignment, wholesale, & retail sales outside the state are prohibited." The state rule, WAC 16-149-040(2), squares the two: you may keep a website "displaying available products provided any sales arising from the website are completed as in-person transactions." WSDA adds that "Product delivery and payments must be directly from the producer to the end consumer in a person to person transaction." Connecticut's sales FAQ says the same: you "may advertise and take orders for your product online," but "Sales and product delivery must be directly from the producer or designee to the consumer, in a person-to-person transaction," and "the actual sale must be made in person." A Washington or Connecticut vendor should confirm with the state before collecting payment through a storefront. Texas allows online sales when you post your label information on your website before you accept payment and "the operator, an employee, or a household member personally delivers the food," per its cottage food page.

How it compares on a $20 gift order:

Swipe sideways to see every column.

We checked these on each platform's own pages on October 19, 2026: findhomegrown.com/signup, hotplate.com/pricing and Hotplate's post "What Hotplate does," etsy.com/legal/fees and Etsy's payment processing help page, and Square's pricing and fees pages. Card processing is figured on the $20 price. Hotplate's own pricing example puts its card fee on the order and tip, the $0.88 end; the $0.92 end is the card fee on everything the customer pays. Hotplate's post says it charges "a fee to your customer" by default and that "80% of Hotplate chefs keep the default as-is." Etsy's transaction and processing fees also apply to what you charge for shipping.

How the alternatives fit a brittle vendor:

• Instagram and Facebook DMs cost nothing but are clumsy for gift orders and holiday rushes, and they cannot show your full lineup and gift formats the way a storefront can.
• Etsy reaches shoppers across the country, but that reach only helps if your state lets you mail brittle across state lines, and of the 8 states in this guide, only Florida's page names no boundary. On a $20 order, Etsy's fees come to $2.35 against $0.88 on Homegrown plus its plan, and in a month of 50 orders at $20, Etsy's fees come to $117.50 against $54.00 on Homegrown, plan included.
• Hotplate sells through drops, preorders that open and close at set times, and passes its 5% + $0.55 fee to your customer by default, so a $20 tin costs them $21.55, while you still pay 2.9% + $0.30 card processing.
• Square Online is $0 a month on its Free plan, with 3.3% + 30¢ on online orders, and it suits a vendor who already takes cards in person with Square, at 2.6% + 15¢ for a tap, dip or swipe on that plan.

What Homegrown does well for a brittle vendor: sizes and flavors under one listing, each with its own price, so an 8 ounce bag and a gift tin sit side by side; quantities that update as you sell, so 40 tins stop at 40; allergens and ingredients on every listing; pickup or local delivery; and a signup page that says you can be live in 15 minutes. What it does not do: it does not ship orders, it will not cook or package your brittle, and it cannot promise you sales. Customers create a Homegrown account to place a first order, and there is no drop or countdown release feature. Your storefront is listed on the Homegrown marketplace, but plan on most orders coming from people you send to your own link. When you're ready, you can set up your storefront and sell your brittle today.

How Do You Plan Batches for the Holiday Rush?

Plan holiday brittle by counting backward from each pickup day: cook no earlier than 10 days before it, so every bag still has 11 or more of its 21 days left when the customer takes it home. Brittle is the candy that lets you get ahead in December, because caramels and fudge in the same shelf-life guide get much shorter windows.

A week that works for a Saturday pickup:

• Close orders on Monday. Count bags and tins by size, so you know exactly how many pounds to cook.
• Cook Tuesday through Thursday. Pick the driest day of the week if you can, and cook one recipe at a time so each batch hits 300 to 310°F.
• Bag the day each batch cools. Weigh, seal and label right away, with the best-by date 21 days from the cook date.
• Pack gift tins Friday. Tins hold their shape better when the pieces have set overnight.
• Hand off Saturday. A bag cooked Tuesday goes home with 17 of its 21 days left, and a Thursday bag with 19.

The math is easy to plan: every pound you cook fills two 8 ounce bags, and a pound costs about $3.42 in ingredients. Twenty bags means 10 pounds of brittle, about $34 in ingredients, and $240 to $300 in sales at $12 to $15 a bag.

What Mistakes Should New Brittle Sellers Avoid?

The most common peanut brittle mistakes are pulling the pan before 300°F, labeling peanuts but forgetting the milk in the butter, and packaging that lets humid air in. Because brittle is a candy with a serious allergen, the errors that matter most affect quality and safety.

Mistakes to avoid:

• Missing the temperature. Under-cooked brittle is chewy and over-cooked tastes burnt, so use a candy thermometer and hit 300 to 310°F, lower at altitude.
• Weak peanut labeling. Peanuts are a major allergen, and the butter adds milk, so "Contains peanuts, milk" belongs on every bag.
• Raw peanuts in New York. New York's approved list allows brittle only "using commercially roasted nuts."
• Poor storage. Humidity makes brittle sticky, so keep it sealed, and never refrigerate or freeze it.
• No best-by date. A 21-day date tells customers when to finish it and keeps you from selling a sticky bag.
• Selling only single bags. Gift tins and multi-packs are where the margin grows, especially at the holidays.
• Ignoring the season. Candy sells hardest in November and December, so build orders and inventory for the holidays.
• Skipping a peanut-free option. A seed brittle lets you serve customers who avoid peanuts, as long as you label it honestly.

Get these right and a bag that costs about $1.83 to make sells for $12 to $15 and holds up to its 21-day best-by date.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a license to sell peanut brittle from home?

In all 8 states covered here, you sell peanut brittle from home under a cottage food or home processor exemption, and the paperwork ranges from none to a permit. Michigan says cottage food producers sell "with no license, registration, or inspection," New Jersey issues a Cottage Food Operator permit, New York asks you to register as a home processor with no fee, and Washington charges $355 for a two-year permit and inspects your kitchen. Training and fees can come with the paperwork: Texas requires the operator to "successfully complete a basic food safety education or training program for food handlers," per its cottage food page, and New Jersey's permit application asks for a copy of your "Food Manager's Certificate" and a "$100 payment for the application fee," per its cottage food FAQ. Check your own state's cottage food page, and remember that New York allows brittle only "using commercially roasted nuts."

How long does homemade peanut brittle last?

Homemade peanut brittle keeps 3 to 4 weeks sealed in a bag or tin at cool room temperature, by the working rule in our candy shelf-life guide, with a best-by date 21 days after cooking. Humid air makes it sticky first, and the peanuts go stale after that. Do not refrigerate or freeze it: an Ohio State 4-H candy book says peanut brittle "should not be frozen" and belongs in an airtight container.

How much can I charge for peanut brittle?

Peanut brittle sells for $12 to $15 for an 8 ounce bag, with gift boxes at $20 to $35. Small-batch shops charged $12.53 and $17.00 for 8 ounce bags when our candy pricing guide checked them on September 22, 2026. Since ingredients, bag and label for 8 ounces come to about $1.83, margins on peanut brittle are strong, and gift tins and premium nut versions raise your average order.

Why is my peanut brittle chewy instead of crunchy?

Peanut brittle turns out chewy instead of crunchy usually because the sugar did not reach the hard-crack stage, 300 to 310°F. Use a candy thermometer, lower the target about 1 degree for every 500 feet of elevation, and avoid cooking on humid days, when the syrup holds onto water. Brittle that was crunchy and went soft later was stored where humid air could reach it.

Can I ship peanut brittle to customers?

Peanut brittle ships well physically, but cottage food rules usually limit or forbid shipping it: our shipping guide found 15 of the 25 states it read keep cottage food inside the state. Of the 8 in this guide, California and Michigan allow mail only inside the state, Florida allows mail order, and Connecticut, New Jersey, Texas and Washington rule mail out. In Washington, you may advertise and take orders online, but delivery and payment must both be person to person, with no mail or courier and no sales outside the state. Shipping across state lines generally needs a licensed commercial kitchen, so confirm your state's rules before you mail a single bag.

Should I make a nut-free brittle option?

A seed brittle made with pumpkin or sunflower seeds is a good peanut-free option, since it serves customers who avoid peanuts and uses the same hard-crack technique. Do not call it allergen-free if it shares your kitchen with peanut batches, and remember the butter still makes it a milk product. Wash every pot and tool between batches, list the real ingredients, and keep the "Contains milk" line on the label. In New York, peanut brittle is the only brittle the approved list names, so check with the department before you add a seed brittle.

Is peanut brittle profitable to sell?

Peanut brittle is profitable because a pound costs about $3.42 in ingredients and fills two 8 ounce bags that sell for $12 to $15 each. At $12, you keep $10.17 a bag before selling fees, about 85% of the price. It also keeps for weeks in a sealed bag, so you can cook ahead for gift orders and waste little.

Related Reading

More on candy, pricing and the rules around them:

• How long homemade candy lasts, the shelf-life table behind the best-by date we use here.
• How much to sell candy for, with the ingredient prices and shop prices behind our brittle numbers.
• Can you sell homemade candy, what state agencies allow, including which ones will not let you mail it.
• Can you ship cottage food, the state-by-state shipping rules for 25 states.
• How to sell caramel and toffee from home, the next candies to add once your brittle is steady.
• The big 9 allergens on a cottage food label, the exact wording for peanuts, milk and the rest.

Peanut brittle rewards vendors who nail the crunch and lean into its gift appeal: cook the sugar to 300 to 310°F, label peanuts and milk clearly, seal every bag and date it 21 days out, and build gift tins for November and December. Because it keeps for weeks and costs about $1.83 a bag to make, it is one of the most forgiving and profitable candies you can sell. When you're ready to take brittle and gift tin orders in one place, set up a Homegrown storefront and start selling your brittle.