Chocolate and Cinnamon Sugar Almonds

This are delightflul little nuggets with layers of flavor. I slightly adapted a Martha Stewart recipe - like all MS recipe's they tend to be a bit fussy, but the results are worth a little fuss. The original called for unblanched almonds - I don't bother and they always get scarffed up. You can skip the chocolate and cocoa steps for simple spiced almonds, also good, but the whole combination is devine! The secret to this not being to much work is the right cooling rack - you want the type that has bars in both directions (open squares), this allows the excess chocolate to drip down but not the almonds. I used two other types which were major pains in the ... , but I liked the almonds so much I bought new racks! These make great gifts packaged up in pretty cellophane bags. You can double the recipe, but don't do more then that at once it gets a bit unwieldy.

• Ready In: 2 hrs
• Yields: 1/2 lb. almonds

Ingredients

• 8  ounces  whole almonds
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 2  tablespoons sugar
• 2  tablespoons water
• 1⁄2-3⁄4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄2 lb  semisweet chocolate, chopped, bittersweet is good too
• 6  tablespoons  Dutch-processed cocoa powder, maybe more

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place almonds in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until fragrant, about 10 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through. Line a rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and place a cooling rack on top; set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water, toasted almonds, and cinnamon. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until sugar becomes golden, then starts to crystallize, and almonds are completely coated, about 8 minutes. (As the sugar cooks it seems really dry and you think it can't be right, keep stirring) Pour the almond mixture onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Transfer to the freezer or refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes - or just let cool.
3. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted. Add the chilled almond mixture, stirring until nuts are thoroughly coated. Spoon onto cooling rack-lined baking sheet. Separate almonds with a fork. Place baking sheets in refrigerator until chocolate is set, 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Place cocoa powder in a large bowl and add the almond mixture. Toss to coat, shaking off excess cocoa powder. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.