Peanut brittle is a hard sugar candy that contains peanuts; other brittles have other nuts. “Peanut brittle” was cited in The World (New York, NY), on March 20, 1892. A store in Paterson, New Jersey, advertised “peanut brittle” in The Morning Call (Paterson, NJ) from May 1892. The candy had been made long before 1892, but it’s not known exactly where the first candy called “peanut brittle” was sold.
 
Peanut brittle can be so hard on teeth that it’s sometimes joked to be “peanut brutal.”
 
 
Wikipedia: Brittle (food)
Brittle is a type of confection consisting of flat broken pieces of hard sugar candy embedded with nuts such as pecans, almonds, or peanuts. It has many variations around the world, such as pasteli in Greece, croquant in France, gozinaki in Georgia, chikki in India and kotkoti in Bangladesh. In parts of the Middle East, brittle is made with pistachios, while many Asian countries use sesame seeds and peanuts. Peanut brittle is the most popular brittle recipe in the US. The term brittle first appears in print in 1892, though the candy itself has been around for much longer.
 
(Oxford English Dictionary)
peanut brittle  n. orig. U.S. a brittle toffee containing roasted peanuts.
1892   Los Angeles Times 2 Oct. 16/2   We are going to introduce a new line of peanut brittle..from which we expect large sales.
 
20 March 1892, The World (New York, NY), “All for the Actors’ Fund,” pg. 17, col. 1:
There was a faint suggestion of a snack as she told about the “peanut brittle” that had been promised in bushels and the chocolate corner that Mr. Meyers intended to furnish.
 
Old Fulton NY Post Cards
2 May 1892, The Morning Call (Paterson, NJ), pg. 4, col. 4:
WANTED.
You to know, our Peanut Brittle at 20c a lb. is something immense. Moulton, 80 Broadway.
 
26 October 1893, The Sun (Baltimore, MD), pg. 3, col. 5:
AT TETTLE’S, for one week only, you can get a ONE POUND BOX for 19 cents, containing 1/4 pound Peanut Brittle, 1/4 pound Home-Made Caramels, 1/4 pound Spear Mints, 1/4 pound Salt Water Taffy, all our our make; perfectly fresh. A new combination every week. 3 WHITE FRONT STORES, Lexington street, near Eutaw.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
“And now how about a nice box of peanut brittle for the kiddies?”
Author: John J Floherty
Publisher: [between 1931 and 1974]
Edition/Format:   Image : Graphic : English
Publication: Caroline and Erwin Swann collection of caricature & cartoon (Library of Congress)
Database: WorldCat
Summary:
Preliminary sketch for a cartoon of a cigarette girl trying to make a sale at a party. She approaches the only couple that is not embracing in the room and assumes that they have children.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
“Eating - let’s see - sounds like peanut brittle - weren’t you, Mr. Pearson?” : cartoon for The New Yorker
Author: Barbara Shermund; Melvin R Seiden; Janine Luke
Publisher: 1937.
Edition/Format:   Image : Original artwork : English
Database: WorldCat
Summary:
Secretary on headset tries to listen in and comment on what the boss is snacking on, as other workers look on in shock.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Peanut brittle rancidity : does the butter develop rancidity? Do the peanuts develop rancidity? Will antioxidants help? What can be done?.
Author: United States. Agricultural Research Service.; National Confectioners’ Association of the United States.
Publisher: New Orelans, La. : U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 1954.
Series: AIC, 368.
Edition/Format:   Print book : National government publication : English