Chocolate Almond Apricot Brittle

I saw Giada De Laurentiis make this on tv today so I decided to make it. It is very pretty and would make a nice gift. You could also serve it over ice-cream. This also works well with dried cranberries.

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Yields: 1 baking sheet worth

Ingredients

•  vegetable oil, for greasing cookie sheet
• 1⁄2 cup  slivered almonds, toasted
• 1⁄2 cup chocolate chips
• 1  cup  thinly sliced  dried apricot
• 3  cups sugar
• 1  cup water

Directions

1. Grease a rimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil.In a small bowl toss together the almonds, chocolate chips and apricots. Put them on the baking sheet spreading them out into an even single layer across the entire baking sheet.
2. In a medium heavyduty saucepan, stir together the sugar and water. Cook over medium-high heat stirring until sugar disolves.Very Important:Do not stir after that, as additional stirring will create a grainy texture to your candy. Instead, using a pastry brush dipped in warm water, brush the sides of the pan incorporating any of the sugar that has stuck to the sides of the pan. If sugar crystals begin to form on the edges of the pan, place the lid on for 2 to 3 minutes (being careful not to allow the pan to overflow) so that the steam will evaporate the crystals. If sugar crystals are not brushed down, this will lead to large globs of hard sugar on/in your syrup and your syrup will not carmelize. Continue to wipe down the edges and cook until the syrup turns golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Towards the end of cooking time the syrup must be watched closely as it changes from golden to dark very quickly.
3. Carefully pour the carmelized sugar over the nut mixture on the cookie sheet. Also be careful not to move the cookie sheet after the sugar has been poured. The baking sheet will be very hot in the beginning. Let cool for at least 2 hours.
4. Break the brittle into pieces and place on a serving dish.