You can make these deliciously flavored crunchy candied almonds with few ingredients! These snacks are perfect gifts anytime but especially for the holidays!
Today I am sharing my candied cinnamon almonds which is an alternative to my candied hazelnuts. I use two different techniques in these candy recipes.
In my candied hazelnuts, I don’t stir the sugar as I don’t want it to crystallize. Instead, just like making the first step of making my dry homemade caramel sauce, I let the sugar come to amber color. Next, I add the hazelnuts and stir. In a short time, I have my caramelized hazelnuts.
However, in today’s recipe, I stir the sugar mixture as I want the sugar to crystallize. This recipe starts just like my wet caramel sauce recipe where I use water besides the sugar.
I let the water-sugar mixture boil. Once it boils, I add the almonds and continuously stir until all the liquid evaporates, the sugar crystallizes and sticks to the almonds. Next, I let some of the crystallized sugar melt and caramelize.
Let’s see the ingredients of these snacks;
Ingredients of Candied Almonds
- Almonds
- Granulated Sugar with some water
- Pure vanilla extract
- Cinnamon
Why You Should Try These Candied Nuts
- Deliciously flavored with cinnamon and vanilla.
- Easy to make
- No-bake snacks
- Only takes 10-12 minutes from start to finish on the stove.
- Perfect gifts for anytime of the year but especially for holidays.
Tips for Making Delicious Candied Nuts
- Stirring the mixture continuously and carefully to avoid burned sugar and nuts is very important. You should be careful while stirring the mixture so the sugar doesn’t burn you.
- You can stir with a spoon or a spatula but your spatula shouldn’t be elastic(shouldn’t bend), you need to work with a spoon or spatula with a sharp edge that can easily go around the edges of the pan, so the sugar won’t stick. In this recipe instead of my green spatula, I use my wooden spoon. This little detail is very important when melting the sugar.
- Don’t eyeball the water amount. The sugar-water ratio is important.
How to Store Caramelized Almonds
You can store these candies in an airtight container at room temperature up to a week.
Do You Need to Toast The Almonds?
No! I use raw almonds, at the end of the process you’ll have crunchy almonds.
How to Make Candied Almonds
First I place the sugar, water, cinnamon and vanilla extract in a large pan.
Then I stir the mixture with a wooden spoon, place over medium heat and let the mixture boil. Once the mixture boils which takes 2-3 minutes, I add the almonds and continuously stir.
During this stirring process, first, the water evaporates, then the sugar crystallizes and sticks to almonds. This process takes almost 6 minutes.
I continue to stir to let some of the crystallized sugar melt. This takes almost 3 minutes. I don’t try to caramelize all the crystallized sugar. The finished almonds are a mixture of crystallized and caramelized sugar.
I place it over parchment paper and using my spoon separate the almonds that stick to each other. As I don’t caramelize all the sugar, they don’t stick too much.
Enjoy your crunchy sweetened nuts!
Other Candy Recipes You May Enjoy!
- Chocolate Candy Bark with Nuts
- Chocolate Dipped Candied Orange Peels
- Sesame Candy
- Mini Chocolate Caramel Cups
I love hearing from you! If you try my Candied Almonds or my other recipes please leave a comment and give a star rating!
Candied Almonds
Ingredients
- 200 g (1 and ⅓ cups) raw almonds
- 155 g (¾ cup) granulated sugar
- 60 g (¼ cup) water
- 2 and ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon*
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat and set aside.
- Place the sugar, water, cinnamon and vanilla extract in a large pan. Using a wooden spoon**, stir the mixture over medium heat and let it boil.
- When the mixture boils, add the almonds and continuously stir so the sugar and almonds don't burn. During this stirring process, first the water will evaporate, then the sugar will crystallize and stick to almonds. Do the stirring carefully as you are working with sugar. You don't want to burn yourself, nuts and sugar. This process takes almost 6 minutes.
- Continue to stir to melt some of the crystallized sugar. You should go through the edges with your spoon to make sure the sugar doesn't stick to the pan. This process takes almost 3 minutes. The finished almonds will be a mixture of crystallized and caramelized sugar. So don't try to melt and caramelize all the crystallized sugar. (You may hear a voice from the pan as if you are making popcorn. If you hear that voice, this is a sign that you can stop working with the almonds.)
- Place the almonds over parchment paper, and separate the almonds that stick to each other with a spoon. Let the almonds cool for 20 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
