Old fashioned peanut brittle

The perfect Christmas candy! You can bet it won't last long. I add just a pinch more baking soda so the brittle won;t be so hard.

Ingredients:
1 cup raw Spanish peanuts
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon baking soda
Directions:
 Lay out several sheets of foil to spoon the hot peanut brittle onto. In a large skillet mix the sugar, syrup, and water together. Cook at a medium-high heat, stirring regularly. Heat until the mixture has a hard ball consistency. Heat to 250 to 265 degrees F (121 to 129 degrees C), or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a rigid ball. If you don't own a candy thermometer, occasionally hold spoon above mixture, allowing it to drip off spoon. When mixture is at hard ball stage, it will 'hair' off the spoon when falling, looking like a clear spider web. Once mixture is at hard ball consistency, add raw peanuts. When mixture starts to turn a light clear-brown, as if it's starting to burn, remove from stove. Add soda and stir. Mixture will foam up. Pour onto heavy cookie sheet and allow to cool. Break into pieces. BE CAREFUL THIS MIXTURE IS EXTREMELY HOT!.