Last summer during the Minnesota State Fair, I was introduced to the amazing deliciousness of cinnamon roasted almonds.
“How have I never had these before?”, I asked myself.
Almonds coated with sweet, crunchy, cinnamon-y goodness…. mmm mmm mmm.
After the State Fair was over, I was on a mission to recreate these tasty addicting snacks on my own. I did, and since this recipe makes a whole lot, I brought some to school to share, where people have been asking me to share the recipe since. Yes, this was a year ago, and I just finally gotten to it now. Talk about procrastination….
I like my almonds thoroughly coated with the egg white/vanilla mixture to ensure they all get a nice thick crunchy coat of the cinnamon sugar in the end, which is why I used 2 egg whites instead of one. I made these right after I made my key lime pie bars a few weeks back – I felt guilty throwing away four perfectly fine egg whites, so I figured I’d put those egg whites to good use instead of throwing them down the drain.
I’m also a big fan of cinnamon, so I tend to be quite generous when it comes to any recipe that calls for cinnamon – if you don’t want an overpowering cinnamon flavor to your almonds, don’t add the cinnamon in heaping teaspoons (and then some) like I did….
I also highly recommend lining your baking sheet with some foil. Not only will it prevent the almonds from sticking to it, it will also save you a lot of time and energy when it comes to cleaning up. Trust me, no one likes to stand in front of the kitchen sink trying to scrape off brunt crusty sugar bits!
- 2 eggs whites
- 1 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups raw whole almonds
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 heaping teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk egg whites and vanilla extract until slightly foamy. In another bowl, combine the sugars, ground cinnamon, and salt.
- Add the almonds into the bowl with the egg mixture, toss until all the almonds are thoroughly coated. Mix in the sugar mixture to the almonds, toss some more to make sure the almonds are all coated with the cinnamon sugar.
- Spread the almonds onto the baking sheet in one single layer. Bake for 75 minutes, tossing 2-3 times in between.
- Remove from oven and cool completely. Store in an airtight container for 1-2 weeks.
- Makes about 4 cups
Trust me, these almonds are yummy, and I bet you can’t just eat one (or just a handful for that matter)!
Enjoy!
I love almonds. Thanks for sharing this lovely post.