I first had candied almonds a few weeks ago. I saw some recipes out there with 1 1/2 cups of sugar for 1 1/2 cups of almonds. Instead of 24 tablespoons of sugar, we have these, with 5 tablespoons. I hope other people like them without all the sugar! I came up with this recipe and haven’t tried any other ones, so I can’t compare these with other candied almonds. I don’t even know if they qualify as candied almonds but they are delicious, whatever they are.
I had to make these three times before I finally got a picture. I tried taking pictures the first two times, but they were so good I couldn’t stop eating them. It was pathetic! Three cups of candied almonds in two days… gone! Yikes.
The maple flavor is really, really subtle. The cinnamon flavor is definitely more apparent, but they’re not overly cinnamon-y.
Have I mentioned I dislike almonds? I do. But not these. These are just… evil. I kind of regret ever trying them because I have no self control around them.
Maple Cinnamon Candied Almonds
Category: Snacks
Yields: 1 1/2 cups
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Ready in: 35 min
- 1 1/2 cup (225 grams) almonds
- 3 tablespoons coconut or granulated sugar*
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons water
- 1 teaspoon canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- I’ve made them with both types of sugar and the ones with coconut sugar were much better. They had a slight caramel-like taste and were crunchier than the ones with white sugar. I haven’t tried it with unrefined / raw / turbinado sugar, but since the crystals aren’t as fine as coconut sugar, I don’t know how well that would work out. If you use granulated sugar and they’re taking a long time to harden, stick them in the fridge.
- Bake the almonds on a cookie sheet or in a baking dish at 350°F / 162°C for 10-12 minutes until they smell toasty. You should smell a nutty aroma coming from the oven when the almonds are ready. Remove the almonds from the oven and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar and salt and set the bowl aside. Combine the maple syrup, water, oil, vanilla and cinnamon in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and add the almonds.
- Cook until the liquid has evaporated, stirring frequently, which will take about 2-3 minutes. The liquid should turn into a sticky mess before it evaporates. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the nuts to the bowl with the sugar.
- Stir and make sure that they’re well coated. Pour the almonds onto a Silpat or piece of parchment paper to cool. If you eat one warm, the almonds will still be soft, but don’t worry. Once completely cooled, the almonds and the coating become crunchy. Good luck on rationing them. :)
29 comments on "Maple Cinnamon Candied Almonds" — Add one!
just made these they were great!!!!!! you were soooooo right about them being addickting! thank you sooo much for this ricipe!!!
Hehe. So true! I'm happy that you liked them. Thanks a ton for the feedback. :D
Love love live these …… OMG soo good!
I'm happy you enjoyed them! Thanks for letting me know. :)
I'm scared I'll binge on these but I'll try them, they sound delicious! Thanks for this alternative recipe – I will use the coconut sugar.
Sara :-)
Good! Coconut sugar is the way to go. :) And binging on these was a serious problem for me. Try to make these when you have people coming over and you HAVE to share. Hope you like them! :)
I've made double batches of this recipe twice now in the last month! I've been trying different candied almond recipes for several years now, and HANDS DOWN this is the BEST!!! My whole family loves them!! Thank you for continuing to post such yummy, healthy recipes!
Hi Wendy! Sorry for the slow reply. I somehow didn't see this comment until now. I'm so happy that you liked these! And wow, what a compliment. Thank you very much. :) And thanks for your feedback! I really appreciate it. Happy holiday baking to you! :)
Sam – Thank you so much for leaving feedback! I'm happy your family enjoyed them. Thanks again for letting me know. :)
I love these! I even doubled the recipe to make some last night, and my family still made them dissapear within minutes!
I had to laugh about your "gebrannte Mandeln" comment… hahaha… I love the idea of coconut sugar!! I admit I have never tried it before but it sounds delicious…
Lakshmi – I hope you enjoy them! With coconut sugar they're just out of the world. I'd love to hear what you come up as your version. :)
These are exactly what I'm craving for right now! Toasted almonds are great. With sugar…how much greater can they get? I have to make a batch of gluten-free, vegan sweets next week and I might build a recipe around these candied almonds. Thanks for the inspiration. Often the simplest things are the best.
I can imagine finishing a big container of these candied stuff. They look so delicious, I love snacking with nuts, healthy and tasty!
Nora – Oh Nora. As I was replying to the comments today, I decided it wasn't right that I had to keep coming back and look at that picture without having some of those almonds. So I made more about two hours ago and they're all gone. They're terrible. Don't make them unless you have a party or something! I just looked up how many calories are in 1.5 cups of almonds (not the sugar and other stuff) and… 1226! I'm not usually worried about calories but that's just horrible. I mean, I could go to Chili's, if they actually existed here, and get some chicken crispers and French fries for that amount of calories. These almonds could probably help explain why I've gained 6 pounds in about a month. No more almonds for me. :(
These look fantastic Erin! I love your use of maple syrup + coconut sugar — I love that combo! YUM!
These little candied jewels wouldn't last long AT ALL in my house…I would probably eat all of them in one sitting! No seriously, these wouldn't stand a chance with me around! :) XO
Baltic Maid – That's what gebrannte Mandeln are?! And I always pass them up at the Christmas markets?! Noooo! I've obviously never had them but I promise these are much less sugary. And with coconut sugar, they're much much tastier. :)
Are these like "Gebrannte Mandeln"? I LOOOVE those. I have never made them myself but eaten tons of them in Germany, especially on Christmas markets… I can see how it would be hard to take a picture… they are so tasty!!!
I love that you reduced the sugar…
Miryam – You definitely won't have that problem with these because there's very little sugar on them. :) What kind of sugar are you going to use? Coconut sugar is the best! It gives them a caramelish flavor that you don't get from white sugar. I think you should make one batch first to see if you like them and then make them again and double the batch. Maybe they're too sweet / not sweet or cinnamon-y enough and I'd hate for you to waste almonds. :)
Georgia – Thanks! What's funny is that I don't like almonds and I love these. :)
I absolutely love almonds and would love to prepare them this way next time I serve em up! Such a great recipe!
OMG, 1 1/2 cup of sugar? I don't see using that much sugar unless you have at least 4 times the amount of almonds. I have tried things like these at Gourmet stores and they taste awful because there is a huge sugar coating around the almond that makes the almond just taste like a big clump of hard sugar.
I am going to get some almonds tomorrow and make this :-) Maybe I will double or triple the batch though otherwise I am sure I will only get to eat one or two :-) NO JOKE!!
Heidi – Yeah, I hope other people also like the low sugar version but really, we already thought they were super sugary the way I made them. I can't imagine there being even more!
Amy – I hope you like them! :)
Becca – I hope you do! They're super quick and easy. :)
London Bakes – Thanks! And haha, don't you love that? 24 tablespoons of sugar for 1.5 cups of nuts. It's crazy.
Such a cute picture! These sound really delicious and I love that you cut down the sugar so much. I really don't need to eat 24 tablespoons of sugar!
Oh, oh! I love almonds! Almonds are one of my favorite nuts (I have yet to meet a nut I didn't like). I can't wait to try these!!!!
these sound delicious! i'll definitely be trying these (+ nomming the heck out of them) ASAP!
Yummy! As if I need nuts to be more addicting, because seriously, I can't get enough. I do love how little sugar there is in these compared to other recipes. Also, maple + cinnamon = delicious :D
Bianca – They're incredibly addicting! So I guess I'm kind of recommending you not to try them. Unless you have people to share with! Then you have to share. :)
Cassie – Thank you! I don't know what those little dishes are actually for so I put everything in there. Maybe they're for mini tarts or something.
Yum. I love these Erin! And your little dishes are adorable!
Candied nuts are one of my favorite things :) and i LOVE almonds, so i can't imagine how addicting these would be! I'm almost afraid to try them. Love your blog!