Candied Almonds
I have learned to hate almonds...they are a healthy thing to snack on when trying to change your eating habits however when you are constantly eating them you begin to realize how dry they are and basically taste like bark. Almonds are FILLED with health benefits so this time around I just had to doctor them up to make them edible.
I worked for a company called Xlear, INC. which made products with Xylitol the natural sweetener and I fell in love with all of the products and really saw the benefits they provide. Instead of using regular cane sugar I use Xylosweet which is made up of 100% Xylitol and is Non-GMO. Xylosweet is magnificent, it tastes just like sugar so you can use it in your cooking (measures 1:1 with regular table sugar) and you wouldn't know the difference. Xylosweet is safe for diabetics and those with sugar controlled diets with 40% fewer calories and has a glycemic index of 7. You can visit their website www.xlear.com to see/purchase their products or find out stores near you.
The first thing I did was preheat my oven to 325° then I measured out my almonds and put them on a cookie sheet on parchment paper.
while those were baking for 4 to 5 minutes I mixed together my dry ingredients then in a separate bowl with my hand mixer I beat together my egg white and vanilla extract until the egg white forms stiff peaks. I turn my hand mixer onto full speed and beat it, you may feel like your egg white is never going to get to that point but trust me, it will, so keep beating!
When your egg white mixture is ready fold in the dry ingredients. Folding is a more gentle mixing technique and is usually used when something has already previously been mixed such as the egg whites. I find it best to fold with a rubber spatula. If the egg white mixture starts turning liquidy then you have folded to much so take it easy. After the dry ingredients have been folded in, fold in the almonds.
Once almonds are covered, put back on parchment paper on the pan in a single layer and place in the oven for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes, mix the almonds to make sure they are being evenly cooked and cook for another 10 minutes. Repeat that 2 more times, you will notice the egg white mixture will begin drying up and "candying" the almonds. Once they are done baking, pour them onto a clean parchment paper and let sit for a couple hours or overnight so they can harden. The almonds will be pretty sticky and wet when you first take it out of the oven but they will harden.
Enjoy!
Candied Almonds
Ingredients:
1 pound Almonds, translates to about 3 cups (you can also use pecans or walnuts)
3/4 cup of Xylosweet
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 Egg white
Pinch of ground Cloves
Pinch of Allspice
Vanilla Extract
Dash of Salt
Preheat oven to 325°
Prepare a 9x13 pan by lining it with parchment paper or lightly spraying with cooking spray. Spread almonds out in single layer and lightly toast for 4 to 5 minutes, then remove from oven.
Mix Xyloweet, Cinnamon, Ground Cloves, and Allspice and set aside.
In a deep bowl, beat the egg white, vanilla extract and dash of salt until forms stiff peaks. Fold in the Xylosweet and spice mixture and almonds until the almonds are covered. Pour mixture back onto your baking pan and spread out to form a single layer.
Bake at 325° for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes stir almonds to make sure they are evenly baking and back for another 10 minutes. Repeat two more times.
Remove from heat and spread out onto parchment paper. Mixture will be sticky and somewhat wet. Allow to dry for several hours or overnight.