You can make these vanilla cinnamon candied almonds right at home, for a fraction of the price you’d pay at a festival, and they taste even better!
Sweet, crunchy candied almonds coated in a mouthwatering vanilla and cinnamon crust… guaranteed to make your house smell AMAZING! Perfect as a snack, or even to give away as a holiday gift!
Winter festivals are some of my favorite ones… the cold weather (maybe even a snow flurry), magical lights, hats and scarves, and the tantalizing smell of roasted candied nuts.
You can smell that amazing smell from a mile away! The aroma is SO insanely amazing… and now, you can have that smell, and those incredible candied nuts, right in your own house!
All you need in a handful of common ingredients and a little patience. Since we’re using raw almonds, they’ll need to to roast for about an hour to achieve maximum crispiness. But don’t worry, you won’t be hands on for that whole hour.
Here’s the Breakdown:
- Beat egg white until frothy
- Stir in almonds
- Stir in remaining ingredients
- Spread out onto foil lined baking sheet
- Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15-20 minutes
The smell that will waft through your whole house when you’re roasting these is going to drive you crazy… and you’ll want to stop roasting them just so you can eat some!
But resist that temptation and roast them for the full hour and you’ll be rewarded with the crispiest, most flavorful candied almonds you’ve ever had.
Another great way to enjoy these candied almonds is to package them up, maybe tie a pretty ribbon around the jar/bag and give them away as gifts during the holidays.
Everyone appreciates something homemade, and no one will be able to resist the sweet crunch of these nuts!
You could also use other nuts if you’d prefer them… walnuts, pecans or even cashews would be great too!
Do yourself a favor this holiday season and make these vanilla cinnamon candied almonds… I know you’ll love them!
Helpful Tools for This Recipe:
- HALF SHEET BAKING SHEET SET – I have several of these, they’re fantastic and hold up really well!
- RAW ALMONDS – In case you can’t find some in your local stores, or prefer to order online… this brand is a good one!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 egg white
- 1 lb whole, raw almonds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- To a small mixing bowl, add both sugars, cinnamon, salt and ginger and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Add egg white to a larger mixing bowl and beat with hand mixer until frothy. Add vanilla bean paste and beat again to combine. This can be done with a whisk, but will take longer.
- Add almonds to bowl with the egg whites and stir to combine. Add sugar mixture and stir again to combine.
- Spread almonds out in a single, even layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour, stirring almonds every 15 minutes.
- After almonds have baked an hour, taste one almond to check for desired crispiness. Adjust baking time per your tastes.
- Let almonds cool, uncovered.
- Nuts can be served warm or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks.
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Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Denise says
It’s a delicious bit.
L Barad says
I make these all the time. They are so good! Family LOVES them! Great Christmas baked gift for the neighbors!
Kirsten Rosa says
I love these, I make them every year as neighbor gifts for Christmas and always get asked for the recipe. I like to use pecans instead of almonds sometimes, they are really good too, and not as hard to bite into.
Kelly says
I started making these 2 years ago and now everyone looks forward to them at Christmas. I mix almonds, pecans, and cashews together. I’ll have made 6lbs of these this Christmas. Warm out of the oven is my favorite way to enjoy these, which is an extra treat for the cook! Thank you for sharing this recipe, it’s one of my favorites.
Pat says
Just found your recipe and made them today and they were soooo Awesome…this recipe is for sure a “KEEPER”..thanks so much, wish I would of found this recipe sooner..
Kayla says
Okay these are the greatest things I’ve ever eaten. I made them for the first time about 2 years ago and I have continued to make them to give them away as presents for every holiday/event/party since then. AMAZING! Thank you so much!
Terra Tipton says
Fyi These are much better cooled
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, which is why I mention to let them cool 🙂
Jill says
Has anyone tried sugar substitute? Just curious on how it would turn out. Thanks
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t, but maybe some other readers will chime in if they’ve given it a try 🙂
Bob S says
I just made this recipe with monk fruit/erythritol brown and white sugar and it’s perfect
Katie P says
So good! I made it twice and it turned out perfect both times without any alterations. Thank you for this recipe!
Sharon C Kimmel says
Made these yesterday-used 1/2 pd almonds and 1/2 pound pecans. I had some sugar mixture left over so everytime I flipped the nuts, I sprinkled some over the top. These came out great! The house smelled amazing and will be making these again and again. I also used parchment paper with no problems. Thanks!