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Saturday, March 21, 2015

Roasted Almonds: A Formula



Recently I've been on a not-so-much sugar kick. It's several steps less virtuous than a no-sugar diet; I'll have dessert once a week (or maybe twice or three times...depends on the week), and then stick to fruit and leftover dinner for snacks.
This slight change in my diet has definitely made my baking-brain feel ignored. I want to be creative! I want to make you, my host body, something sweet to nosh on after you get home from work! OK, baking-brain, OK. I hear you. Let's make some honey-roasted almonds, and let's get them right!
A previous recipe I'd tried led to almonds that were stuck to wax paper like button candy. I tried it again, but moved it to the jar before it got to sticky, which resulted them to be stuck to the jar. This time I thought, "hey! My cooling rack has been lonely since I stopped making cookies, maybe that would work?" and bam! slightly-sticky honey-roasted almonds! They still stick to the jar, but will un-stick once I give them a good shake.
Now, on to the formula. You will need:
  • 2.5 cups raw almonds (Costco, all the way!)
  • 1/4 cup dry sugar (white, brown, turbindo, any natural sugar in crystal form)
  • 1/4 cup liquid sugar (honey, maple syrup, agave, molasses, etc.)
  • 1 teaspoon water
  • Get creative with your favorite spices! I use about 2 teaspoons total of spice.
  • 1 teaspoon of coarse sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
  • Saucepan
  • Cookie Sheet
  • Wax paper (if using parchment, wet it with a little oil.)
  • Cooling rack (with holes small enough that an almond won't slip through)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Pour the liquid and dry sugars and teaspoon of water into the saucepan and heat on medium until the dry sugar dissolves into the liquid. Lower heat and add the spices and salt, mixing until well incorporated. Add the almonds, stirring until each one is coated with the sweet, spicy, syrup. Turn off heat.
Line a cookie sheet with wax paper, then pour the sticky lump of almonds onto it. Use a spatula to spread them into an even layer, then slide the pan into the preheated oven.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, or whenever the smell reminds you that you had something in the oven. Maybe don't leave the room if your method is the latter.
Take out the pan, let it cool for a couple minutes, then lift the wax paper carefully by the corners and slide the almonds onto a cooling rack. Use the spatula to even them out.
Throughout the next hour, revisit the cooling rack, breaking the almonds apart as they dry.
After an hour, or as soon as needed if this is a last-minute present for someone and you need to get to their party RIGHT MEOW, transfer almonds to a jar or a bowl.
The two kinds of almonds I made with this formula are quite fun.
Smoky, Spicy Almonds
  • 1/4 cup honey (liquid sugar)
  • 1/4 cup white sugar (dry sugar)
  • 1 teaspoon each of smoked paprika and chipotle (get creative with spices)
All the other ingredients were the same as the formula. These have a deliciouse, warm flavor. If I had hicory smoke powder I totally would have added that, but the smokiness was definitely present with the paprika and chipotle!
Vemont Vampire-Hunter Almonds
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup (liquid sugar)
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar (dry sugar)
  • 1 clove minced fresh garlic
  • 2 teaspoons Gateway To The North seasoning from the Spice House (this contains a mix of maple sugar, brown sugar, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt, so if you don't have access to this mix, try using a teaspoon of garlic powder and a smidge more brown sugar.)
Add the minced fresh garlic to the saucepan at the same time as the sugars and water. Other than that, everything is the same as the formula!

Did you come up with a creative combination? Let me know in the comments!