Candied Almonds

I found this recipe in the RouxBe Test Kitchen while I was doing a product review. It was posted by Kimberley S. The recipe sounded great, so I made sure to copy it. I have not tried it yet, but do intend to. She used skin on almonds & blanched them, but did say you could also leave the skins on. I would just go with blanched almonds to save some time & work. I can see using a variety of nuts in this recipe. One person had commented that they cut the white sugar down to 2 Tbsp and used maple sugar as well.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Yields: 1 batch

Ingredients

• 10  ounces  whole almonds
• 2  tablespoons  vegetable oil (for coating forks)
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1⁄4 cup water

Directions

1. Blanching Almonds:
2. Cover with boiling water, let stand 1 minute, drain & rinse with cold water, pop nuts out of skin.
3. Spread almonds in a single layer & let dry overnight.
4. Candying Almonds:
5. Warm nuts for a couple minutes in oven at 250F, do not toast them (this step is just to take any chill out of them).
6. Heat sugar & water in heavy stainless steel frying pan over med high heat.
7. Cook to softball stage, 235 - 240F on candy thermometer.
8. Add almonds & stir, lower heat to med low, continue stirring nuts.
9. Nuts will be glossy, then the sugar will turn milky & start to crystalize & look sandy.
10. Continue cooking & stirring nuts, the nuts will toast, the sugar will melt again & start to caramelize.
11. Once the sugar has caramelized, pour nuts onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, pull apart using oiled forks.
12. If candy starts to harden, just flatten nuts out as best you can.
13. Let cool, then break apart any nuts that were stuck together.
14. Store in an airtight container.