Candied Almonds

Whenever I see (or smell!) the candied nut stands on the street, it reminds me of NYC. So many corners have these wonderful smelling stands, and I have fond memories of sharing the small packages of warm nuts with my husband.

Almost daily when I walk home from work, I pass the stands in Boston. I always think that I should make them, but have never taken the time to try. (And there's no reason why I shouldn't - we ALWAYS have large bags of almonds from Costco in our pantry.)

As the weather has cooled off, and the holiday season approached, I knew I had to give these a shot. They were SO EASY (and quick!) And much more affordable than the $3-$4 you pay for a small bag while out shopping.

These would make fantastic gifts to package up for friends for the holiday season!



CANDIED ALMONDS (Adapted from Tasty Kitchen Blog)
(With great, step-by-step pictures HERE)

1/3 cup Water, Plus 2 Tablespoons
1 1/3 cup Sugar, Divided
1 teaspoon Cinnamon, Ground
2 cups Raw Almonds
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Use a heavy saucepan (NOT the nonstick kind) and a wooden spoon.

First add the water, 1 cup of sugar and the cinnamon and stir. Bring it to a boil over medium heat.

Add the almonds to the mix, raise the temperature to high heat and stir CONSTANTLY until the water is almost completely boiled away (5-7 minutes).

Turn the heat to medium-low, and add your vanilla. After you stir your vanilla in, dump in the rest of your sugar. (I think I'll try using vanilla sugar next time, and cutting out the vanilla extract).

Stir until well coated with sugar - the mixture will be very dry at this time. Dump onto a cookie sheet to cool.



ENJOY!