Candied Almonds

There's nothing better than recipes like this one. It's super easy and the end result is as good as I'd hoped. I've already hidden these in the back of my freezer cause I know that they wouldn't stand a chance if I left them out. This is the perfect snack to put out on Christmas night for everyone to nibble on while having drinks and waiting for dinner.

If you're going to double the recipe, which isn't a bad idea, you'll need to use two cookie sheets to bake them. You want to roast the nuts in a single layer - otherwise you'll wind up with a mess of sugar and nuts stuck together.

These almonds are the perfect combination of salty and sweet, with a hint of cinnamon. You can reduce the salt by 1/2 teaspoon if you prefer them to be sweeter than salty - but if you like a hit of both - keep the salt as is. Make sure you use a larger grain salt here (like kosher), if you used table salt it would overwhelm them.

Recipe for Candied Almonds
(adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
1/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup white granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pound raw almonds with skin
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. 

Mix sugars, salt, cayenne, and cinnamon in a small bowl, ensuring there are no lumps remaining from the brown sugar and set aside. In a medium bowl, beat egg white and water until frothy. Add almonds, and toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle nuts with all of the sugar mixture, tossing until evenly coated. Spread sugared nuts in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven, and separate nuts as they cool.