Spiced Spanish Almonds

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Salty, sweet and laced with smoke—the perfect kind of almond for a party. If any remain the next day, savor them over a salad topped with sliced ripe pears and shaved Manchego cheese.

Author Notes
The raw almonds were super expensive so I bought unsalted, roasted almonds. They turned out great and they only needed to be cooked for about 20-25 minutes.

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Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp hot paprika
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1 large egg white
  • 1 Tbs water
  • 1 lb (about 3 cups) Marcona or raw whole almonds

Preparation

Step 1


1. Preheat oven to 275°F. Coat a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. Whisk brown sugar, cumin, paprika, thyme, salt and cayenne in a large bowl. Whisk egg white and water in a medium bowl until foamy. Add almonds and stir to coat; pour through a sieve to drain off excess egg white. Transfer the almonds to the bowl of spices; stir well to coat. Spread evenly on the prepared baking sheet.

3. Bake the almonds for 30 minutes. Stir, reduce the oven temperature to 200° and bake until the almonds are dry and golden, about 30 minutes more. Let cool before serving, about 20 minutes.

Servings: 12
Yield: 1/4 cup each

Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Nutrition Facts
Serving size: 1/12 of a recipe (1.6 ounces).
Percent daily values based on the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) for a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients.

Amount Per Serving
Calories 227.62
Calories From Fat (67%) 152.55
% Daily Value
Total Fat 18.22g 28%
Saturated Fat 1.4g 7%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 164.18mg 7%
Potassium 292.72mg 8%
Total Carbohydrates 11.89g 4%
Fiber 4.37g 17%
Sugar 6.18g
Protein 8.01g 16%


Tips
Make Ahead Tip: Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Tip: Spanish Marcona almonds have recently become more popular and more available. They're a little flatter than ordinary almonds, with a richer flavor. Always skinned, most Marcona almonds have already been sauteed in oil and lightly salted when you get them. For this recipe, select unsalted and oil-free nuts if you can, though either will work well. Find them in specialty stores or online at tienda.com.

No need to turn them but after 60 minutes, I did stir them and put them back in the oven for about 10 more minutes.

Reviews
4 stars - First year for these. Very good. - ME 12/24/2011

Source
Source: From EatingWell: March/April 2007

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