Spiced Cocoa Almonds

This was a recipe that I developed for the December 2012 issue of Culinaire magazine. These almonds can be enjoyed alone, or packaged in a trail mix along with some dried cranberries and mint chocolate chips. These make a lovely holiday gift for loved ones, or you can simply enjoy them by yourself.

Author: Vincci Tsui, RD

Recipe type: Snack, Vegetarian, Vegan, Gluten-Free

Makes: About 500 g (1 lb) or 4 cups

Ingredients

• ½ cup (125 mL) water

• ½ cup (100 g) sugar

• 1 lb (454 g) raw almonds, about 4 cups (1 L)

• ⅓ cup (40 g) cocoa

• 2 tsp (10 mL) cinnamon

• ½ tsp (2 mL) cayenne pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line a rimmed baking sheet (or two) with aluminum foil.

2. In a small saucepan, make a simple syrup by bringing water and sugar to a boil until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Spread almonds in a single layer on baking sheet and bake for 7-8 minutes, until fragrant. Drizzle with syrup and toss to coat; continue baking for another 7-10 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the nuts absorb most (but not all) of the syrup.

4. While the almonds are baking, in a small bowl, stir together cocoa, cinnamon and cayenne pepper. When the almonds are ready, sprinkle cocoa mixture over almonds and toss to coat. Don’t worry if not all of it sticks to the almonds. Let cool completely.

5. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to nine months.