There’s something so festive about candied and roasted nuts. We don’t regularly make it out to our local community Oktoberfest, but one of the times my husband and I went, the most memorable thing about it was the amazing candied almonds we bought there. We followed a heavenly smell 👃 of cinnamon and vanilla wafting through the crisp autumn air until our noses brought us to the stand selling freshly roasting nuts. We dandily strolled through the rest of the fair munching and crunching on the delightful treat we had chanced upon.
Since we couldn’t possibly be expected to wait till the next Oktoberfest a whole year away, the next obvious thing to do was to recreate the tasty snack at home. And it was surprisingly easy, too! Just a few simple, pantry-staple ingredients turn the humble almond into an impossibly addicting bite of crunchy, sweet goodness. The irresistible combination of cinnamon and vanilla coats the crisp almonds to create a shell that complements the nice roasted flavor and texture. Now I can make a batch any time of year and even sneak some into gifts/potluck offerings when special occasions and holidays roll around.
I recently featured these babies in a fall-themed food board for a girls’ Halloween night, along with Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls, English Toffee Bark, and Sweet and Spicy Roasted Pecans, and they were (all) a hit. They’re so tasty and such an impressive presentation that people might mistake them for being store-bought.
