Sweet and Spicy Almonds

Nice and crunchy.

I made these almonds for a heathy snack.  They are easy to make and they are a nice option when you want something with a little more flavor.  They would be nice to take on a hike, or just to eat as a snack at any time.  They have a nice mixture of sweet, with the cinnamon and sugar, and there are a lot of other spices - cumin, chili powder, etc. - that blend well with the sweet.  They are not too spicy - in fact, if you enjoy a little spice, I would recommend adding more chili powder and cayenne pepper.  I am not a big fan of spicy, and even I would add some more spicy next time I make these.  They are still totally yummy as is, and if you do not like spicy food, you will like these.  I am going to experiment with this idea (glazing nuts with spices) and come up with some other combos...so look out for them on the blog!


Ingredients:

Ingredients.

2 large egg whites
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons of Kosher salt
4 cups raw almonds (not salted or roasted)
4 tablespoons of sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.  Mix together the cumin, chili powder, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.

Spices.

Blended.

3. Whip the egg white in a medium stainless bowl until frothy.

Frothy egg white.

4.  Add spice mix to the egg whites and mix.  

Spices mixed into the egg white.

5.  Add the almonds to the egg white and spice mix and toss until coated.

Almonds are coated.

6.  Add the sugar and toss to coat again.

Sugar added.

Close up of the coated almonds.

7.  Transfer the nuts to a single layer on the baking sheet. 

On the baking sheet.

8.  Cook the nuts for 75 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until the almonds are dry and light in color.  Makes 15-20 hearty handfuls.  Enjoy!

Look at those spiced all baked in - yum!

Recipe adapted from the cooking blog The Kitchenarian.