Monday, April 22, 2013

Cinnamon "Sugar" Almonds

Yesterday I told my husband that his sweet cravings are out of control. Well, mine are too :) I'm blaming the extremely long winter. Ahem.

So, I decided to try playing around with roasting (baking) almonds that would suffice as a "sweet" snack. BUT I wanted them to be low-cal.

I tried agave nectar, honey, and pure maple syrup, with combinations of stevia, cinnamon, carob powder, salt, flour, etc.

Here is the result, which I think turned out pretty awesome, and really easy!

What you'll need:
  • 1 cup of raw almonds (125 if you want it to be exact)
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt
The how-to:
  1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees
  2. Line a baking sheet or glass 9x13 pan with foil and spray the foil well with nonstick spray (or use the nonstick foil)
  3. Measure the maple syrup or agave nectar into a large bowl
  4. Add almonds, tossing well to coat
  5. Add cinnamon, salt, and truvia, and mix well
  6. Turn the almonds onto the lined baking sheet, spreading into a single layer
  7. Bake for 32 minutes, taking time to turn and stir the almonds every 8 minutes
  8. Remove from oven and remove the foil (and almonds) from the pan to make sure they don't over-roast in the hot pan
  9. Wait a few minutes (yes, it's hard, but trust me on this one) and they'll be cool and wonderfully crunchy. 
  10. Enjoy!