Just Baking

You know that heavenly aroma, the one that grabs you by the nostrils and drags you senselessly over obstacles like potted plants and fellow theater-goers to the vendor selling those paper cones of sugar-roasted nuts, rendering you powerless to resist its hypnotic charm? Well, now you can dabble in a little self-hypnosis!

Almonds are a good source of protein, vitamin E, magnesium, riboflavin, “good” fat, fiber, and potassium—and they’re cholesterol-free (but still, try not to eat the whole batch by yourself!).

If you hide these Cinnamon-Sugar Roasted Almonds well enough, they’ll keep for weeks stored at room temperature in an air-tight container, and they make great gifts. Try this recipe with pecans, cashews, or a mixture of your favorite nuts as well as almonds. This recipe make 4 cups, but you might want to double it — the nuts have a mysterious tendency to disappear right off the baking sheet as they’re cooling.

Cinnamon Sugar Roasted Almonds 

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Grease a 10-inch by 15-inch jelly-roll pan generously with 1 tablespoon butter. (Note: For best results, do not substitute cooking spray.) 

In a small bowl, combine egg white, water, and vanilla. Beat with a fork just until froth appears. Place nuts in a large mixing bowl and pour egg mixture over; stir until the nuts are evenly coated.

In a separate bowl, combine sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Sprinkle sugar mixture over nuts; toss to coat nuts with sugar mixture.

Spread nuts evenly on buttered pan in single layer. Bake at 250 degrees F for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Nuts will appear wet and sticky at first but will dry as they bake. Let cool completely on baking sheet, then store in an airtight container.

Makes about 4 cups.

(Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com.)