From now on I’d like to have a constant supply of balsamic honey roasted almonds on hand. Just in case, you never know when you might need them.
I’m going to be like a sweet little grandma and put them in crystal bowls around my house. By the way, when did grandparents stop putting crystal bowls of candy out? Does anyones grandma still do this? I haven’t seen it in a long time. Let’s bring back that trend with big kid candy!
If you happen to have these on hand then you can give them to your neighbors in a mason jar after you shamelessly ask them to cut a few pieces of wood for you with the very nice skill saw they have set up in their garage. “Hi, I know we don’t know each other, but can you help me with my bookshelf project? I have balsamic honey roasted almonds.” Friends for life.
And if you get invited to someones house for dinner and they tell you not to bring anything (it could happen), you could bring these! They’re not going to ruin anyone’s appetite, or make a mess, or steal the show (can’t promise you on that one). Just an awesome, addicting little pre-dinner snack that happens to be delicious with beer.
So how do we make them…
Ingredients
2 cups almonds
1 T butter
2 T honey
1 T balsamic vinegar
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1 T sugar
1/2 t salt (Kosher or Sea)
1/2 C dried cherries or cranberries
1 T finely chopped flat leaf parsley (optional)
Let start by peeling the almonds. This is a very simple step, you don’t need to buy almonds that are already peeled. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop the almonds in for 60 seconds, then pour them into a strainer. When they cool down, squeeze them between your fingers and the skin will slide right off. I normally put my 6 year old in charge of this task while I get the glaze ready.
Preheat the oven to 350. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. In a sauce pan, melt your butter, honey, balsamic vinegar and cayenne pepper together. Toss your peeled almonds in and stir to coat. Lay out the almonds on the sheet pan in a single layer and put them in the oven for 10 minutes.
In a separate bowl mix your sugar and salt and set aside.
After 10 minutes, take them out of the oven and stir the almonds around, the glaze should be thickening. Then back into the oven for 5 more minutes.
This time when you take the almonds out add the dried cherries and stir around. Sprinkle the sugar salt mix all over your almonds and leave to cool.
If you are going to eat them right away, garnish with finely chopped flat leaf parsley and good beer.
About Maui Flour Child
Mmmmm, these look tasty and I have nearly all of the ingredients.
I used to love the candy filled jars in my grandmas house. I need to tell my mom and my mother in law to get back into the candy jar action 😉