Thursday, December 10, 2015

9. & 10. Day of December - Caramelized Almonds with Fleur de Sel & Almond Oil (Karamellisierte Mandeln mit Fleur de Sel & Mandelöl)


So called Caramelized Almonds or Burnt Sugar Almonds („Gebrannte Mandeln“ in German) are most often purchased at Christmas Markets around here. Burnt sugar almonds are caramelized sugar-coated almonds, flavored most often with cinnamon and vanilla. They are usually cooked fresh in copper kettles right in front of you at the market. If you are lucky, you can buy them while they are still warm. They become harder, like brittle, when completely cool but no less delicious and tempting. Served in small vintage style paper cones or sold in seasonal cellophane bags, Caramelized Almonds are a treat you should not pass up if you happen to visit a German Christmas market.




If there is no Christmas market that you can visit to buy these almonds at, you can easily make them at home. Usually, I go for the cinnamon and vanilla variety, this year I prefer a Caramel-Fleur de Sel variety. When I posted the recipe for my Almond Cake with Fleur de Sel back in April of this year (recipe here) - I feel seriously in love with the combination of sweet and salty, especially when paired with almonds!




Caramelized Almonds with Sea Salt

Ingredients for the Almonds
  • 100 ml water
  • 100 grams sugar
  • scraped seeds from one vanilla bean or 2 tsps. pure vanilla sugar
  • 400 grams raw, whole almonds
  • 1 tbsp almond oil (I use the Almond Oil from my local oil mill (link here) but feel free to use another oil here such as sunflower oil)
  • ½ - 1 tsp. Fleur de Sel (I use Fleur de sel de Guérande)

Special Equipment needed
  • a heavy pot, preferably cast iron, NOT a non-stick pan
  • a wooden spoon
  • a baking sheet lined with parchment paper




Preparation of the Caramelized Almonds
  1. Scrape the inside of the vanilla bean and add it to the sugar. Mix well. NOTE: You should not discard the vanilla bean, but put the scraped vanilla bean in with your vanilla sugar to boost its aroma. OR: Use 2 tsps. pure vanilla sugar
  2. Add the sugar and water to the heavy saucepan and set it over medium heat. Stir to mix, then bring it to a boil before adding the almonds.
  3. Add the almonds to the pan. Then stir constantly until the water is boiled away.
  4. The sugar will dry out after about 8 to 10  minutes and the almonds will take on a grey-brown tinge. Keep stirring, so that the almonds do not burn on the bottom of the pan.
  5. At this stage, the sugar heats up and starts to melt. Just keep stirring, so that the almonds become evenly browned and about half of the sugar is melted and gives the almonds a shiny coat.
  6. When they are shiny, but not burnt (this takes careful watching) remove the pan from the heat.
  7. While stiring the almonds with a wooden spoon, add the almond oil, then the Fleur de Sel and mix carefully.
  8. Place the Caramelized Almonds on your parchment lined baking sheet, separate them if they stick together. Be very careful, however. These are extremely hot, so use two spoons to separate them.
  9. Either let them cool completely or serve them while warm.




The Caramelized Almonds with Fleur de Sel will make delicious gifts and while they are at their very best when enjoyed while still warm, they do keep well. If you plan on giving them as gifts, you can fill small cookie tins, Weck jars or small festive cellophane bags tied with pretty little ribbons. Or craft paper cones to package your Caramelized Almonds - you can use some pretty Christmas wrapping paper to make lovely little paper cones. They are also fun to make if you’ve got smaller hands helping you

And if you do not enjoy eating almonds, you can take the less traditional road and make this recipe using nuts of your choice. I usually make a batch with hazelnuts, just make sure you use a hazelnut oil then instead of the almond oil that my recipe calls for. But the recipe also works with cashew nuts, macademia nuts or walnuts.

Trust me that these Caramelized Almonds with Fleur de Sel are the perfect blend of sweet and salty and they will make your house smell amazing – once you have tasted one, you will not be able to stop yourself from munching away on them!




Please make sure to drop by again tomorrow when we will open our eleventh special surprise in my Virtual Advent Calendar!


15 comments:

  1. Hi Andrea, I could get in a lot of trouble having these around the house, salty and sweet is my favorite of all combos, very nice indeed.

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    1. Cheri, I always get into a lot of trouble with these but so does everyone else...they are utterly addictive!

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  2. Andrea, das passt gut in mein Konzept. In diesem Jahr gibt es nur selbst gemachte Geschenke... Auch Pecans schmecker sehr gut, wenn sie auf diese Art geroestet werden :-)

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    1. Wally, diese Mandeln werden dir gut schmecken, sie sind weniger süß und weniger "krachend" als die traditionellen gebrannten Mandeln, aber genauso lecker oder, wie ich finde, noch leckerer...Sie halten sich gut, sind ein tolles Geschenk und lassen sich, je nach persönlichem Geschmack, auch variieren.
      LG,
      Andrea

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  3. These just looks fantastic, I love the smell of candied almonds on markets, it smells so homely.

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    1. Dear Petra - thank you very much! Aren´t these just the best at this time of year?! Do they sell them at Christmas markets in Sweden as well?
      Thanks for stopping by my blog and "tack!"
      Andrea

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  4. Oh my! These would not last long in my house! I need to make time to visit the German Christmas market that runs downtown. It's so popular, the lineups go on for over an hour.

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    1. Teresa, you should try to make it to the German Christmas market on the weekend and try some "Gebrannte Mandeln" - maybe they sell them there. If not, try this recipe, you will love it and you can use almonds or other nuts.

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  5. I can understand why these would be totally addictive. I would hate to have a big bowl of them in my house, it wouldn't last long!!

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    1. Chris, these Caramelized Almonds most certainly are highly addictive!

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  6. These almonds look absolutely delicious. We love almonds Andrea!! xoxoxox

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    1. Gloria, apart from hazelnuts, almonds are my favorite nuts and my recipe for Caramelized Almonds with Sel de Guérande is right up my alley!

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  7. I can almost smell these from my days waking through the Christmas markets in Germany years ago.

    Andrea - it suddenly occurred to me that I haven't been receiving your posts! I see the Facebook ones, but no email notifications. That is why I haven't commented for days! I now need to catch up!

    Liebe Grüße, David

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