Make Candied Almonds

Candied almonds are delicious and fairly easy to make. You can use them for a number of occasions such as birthdays, weddings, Christmas, and Christenings, but they are often most popular at Easter. Easy to make in a variety of ways, all you really need are almonds and a whole lot of sugar.

Ingredients

• 2 cups almonds
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

Steps

Baking Candied Almonds

1. Turn the oven to 350ºF (175ºC) and roast 2 cups of almonds for 4-5 minutes if they are "raw." Stir every 1-2 minutes until well roasted and browned -- they should be crunchy when bitten. If you bought "raw" almonds, or uncooked almonds, then this will be necessary to get the perfect crunch. That said, some people prefer a little chew in their candied almonds, and these people can skip pre-roasting.
   • You can place the almonds in the oven as it pre-heats, speeding up the process.
   • If you bought already-roasted almonds, be sure to skip this step! You might be better off
2. Melt 1/4 cup honey and 2 tablespoons butter together in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently until they are well mixed together and blended, then move on. Don't leave this over the heat for too long, as it can burn.
3. Add 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1 cup of brown sugar, and a pinch of salt, stirring until blended. Keep this mixture moving. As soon as the sugar is mostly blended, you should move on. That said, you can take a minute to mix up the flavor for your almonds by also adding:
   • 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
   • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg or allspice
   • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
   • 1/4 teaspoon lemon or orange zest or juice.
4. Add the almonds to the pot and simmer for two minutes. Simmer and stir the entire time, making sure everything is well coated. Use a slotted spoon and transfer the almonds onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper after 2 minutes.
5. Roast the almonds for 15-20 minutes, turning them every 3-4 minutes with a spatula. Keep your eyes on the nuts, as they can burn quickly if you're not careful. After roughly 12 minutes, you should start sampling an almond here and there to make sure they get to your desired crunch.
   • Turning the almonds is essential to make sure they all cook evenly.
6. Spread almonds in a single layer to cool slightly. Once removed from the oven, you should break up any clumps of almonds and let them cool for a few minutes. Serve either warm or at room temperature.

Making Stovetop Candied Almonds

1. Combine 3/4 cup white sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, and a dash of kosher salt in a bowl. This is the basic recipe for 2 cups of candied almonds, but you can further mix up the flavors by adding a few more spices if desired. Try allspice, nutmeg, or even a dash of cocoa powder.
   • You could also use a full cup of white sugar if desired. Honey could be substituted for 1/4 cup brown sugar if you want something a little lighter, too.
2. Heat 1/2 cup water in a heavy-bottomed skillet on medium-high heat. A heavy-bottomed pan holds and distributed heat much more evenly than a cheap, thin skillet. A good pan leads to crispier, crunchier, and less-burned almonds. Get the water to a light simmer, moving on to the next step of prep while it heats.
   • Don't use too big of a pan, which spreads the water out too thin. 9" or so should be fine for 2 cups of almonds.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. This is for the almonds once they've finished cooking. However, you need to get the nuts out of the pan quickly when done, so you'll want to have this sheet handy before you start cooking.
4. Dump the sugar mixture into the water and mix until boiling. All of the sugar should be dissolved, and the water will have a nice low boil. Stir the sugar as it dissolves to speed up the process.
5. Add the almonds, stirring to coat, and cook for 10-15 minutes. Keep stirring to prevent burning. The mixture will begin to thicken as it coats the almonds. Once it has turned to a drier, flakier coating on the almonds, they're ready to cool.
   • If you want extra-crunchy almonds, use 2 cups of roasted almonds.
   • For a slightly less crispy snack, use 2 cups of raw almonds.
6. Pour the entire mixture out over the baking sheet and allow to cool. They should be ready to eat after a few minutes, when the liquid around them has completely crystallized and hardened.

Slow-Cooking Candied Almonds

1. Mix together 1-1/2 cups each white and light brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Whisk this mixture together to break up any clumps and make sure that it is all blended evenly
2. In another bowl, whisk up one egg white with 2-3 teaspoons of vanilla. The egg white will create a light, solid coating for the sugar to bind onto the almonds. Get this mixture nice and frothy by rapidly whisking it until bubbles form
3. Add the 3-4 cups of raw almond to the egg mixture, whisk together, then add it all to the sugar bowl. Toss the almonds in the egg and vanilla briefly to coat them, then add everything to the large sugar mixture. Again, toss and mix up everything so the almonds are uniformly coated in sugar.
4. Spray the inside of your slow cooker with a non-stick spray and add the almonds, cooking on "Low." Cover the pot and let the almonds cook for 3 hours, stirring regularly.
   • Try to stir the almonds every 20 minutes or so to keep them all well coated.
5. Add 1/4 cup of water to the pot after three hours and stir well. The water will help the sugar crystalize, giving you the wonderfully crispy exterior you want.
6. Cook for another 20-30 minutes, then cool the almonds on a parchment paper-lined baking dish. Once the almonds have a crunchy, crispy sugar coating, remove them and break up any large chunks. Let them cook on a baking sheet and serve either warm or room-temperature.

Tips

• Feel free to adjust the cooking times to get your desired texture. Other than the egg white, which cooks quickly, there is nothing that "has" to cook before the nuts are edible.

Warnings

• The hot honey syrup will be very hot - be careful not to burn yourself!

Things You'll Need

• Saucepan
• Baking sheet
• Slotted spoon
• Spray or oil for cookie sheet
• Serving container

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Sources and Citations

See also

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• Make Milky Peanut Butter Yema Candy
• Make Chocolate Coated Almonds
• Make Pecan Pralines

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