During the holidays, I always like to have little bowls of snacks scattered around the house. These snacks make the holidays so special and are great for when friends or family drop by unexpectedly for an impromptu cocktail hour. Some of my favorite snacks to serve this time of year are various types of nuts. I love pistachios, hazelnuts, and pecans, but, my favorite has to be my Candied and Spiced Almonds. They are sweet, salty and perfectly spicy thanks to the addition of a little cayenne and cinnamon. Serve as a snack or pack into cute little packages to give away as holiday gifts.
To make these almonds, preheat your oven to 350 deg F. In a saucepan, gently heat ¼ cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons of water and 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Next, stir in ¾ of a teaspoon of cayenne, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Bring the sugar mixture to a boil and cook until the sugar has dissolved, about 3-4 minutes. Add two cups of raw almonds to the sugar mixture and stir to combine.
Pour the almonds onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and spread them out evenly. They will be sticky, so do the best you can. Bake the almonds at 350 deg F for 12 minutes, stirring the almonds halfway through the baking process. The almonds will turn golden brown and the sugar will bubble and caramelize. Allow the almonds to cool for 5 minutes before handling them.
While the almonds are cooling, mix 1 ½ tablespoon of raw sugar, ¼ teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon and ⅛ teaspoon of cayenne together in a small bowl. Pour the spice mixture into a resealable bag along with cooled almonds. Shake the bag to coat the almonds in the spice mixture. Pour the almonds into a serving dish and enjoy. Happy holidays!
Candied and Spiced Almonds
Ingredients
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ¾ tsp + ⅛ tsp cayenne, divided
- ½ tsp + ½ tsp cinnamon, divided
- ¼ tsp + ¼ salt, divided
- 1 ½ tbsp coarse, raw sugar
- 2 cups raw almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Heat sugar, water, olive oil, ¾ tsp cayenne, ½ tsp cinnamon and ¼ tsp of salt in a saucepan until the sugar is melted and the mixture is bubbly; about 5 minutes.
- Mix in almonds and stir to make sure almonds are fully coated in sugar mixture.
- Pour almonds onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and spread almonds out into one layer.
- Bake for 12 minutes, stirring the almonds halfway through baking process.
- Allow almonds to cool for 5 minutes.
- While almonds are cooling, mix raw sugar, ¼ tsp salt, ½ tsp of cinnamon and ⅛ teaspoon of cayenne into a resealable baggie.
- Add almonds to baggie and shake to coat the almonds in the sugar mixture.
- Place in a serving dish and enjoy! Happy holidays!
