Crock Pot Cinnamon Almonds

A few years ago I went to a fall festival with my kids. I am always drawn to the freshly made kettle corn at these things but this particular year I decided to go ahead and try the cinnamon almonds. I am generally not a nut person except for peanuts so this was a little out of my comfort zone. I thought I was being quite adventurous by trying almonds and let me tell you, I am sooo glad that I tried them. They were delicious. So since I am on a holiday treat kick I thought I would give making cinnamon almonds a try. They are so easy to make but a little time consuming. Totally worth the time though, and in the making it makes your house smell absolutely amazing. 

Crock Pot Cinnamon Almonds- Recipe adapted from The Recipe Critic

Ingredients-

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 Tbsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

1 egg white

3 cups raw almonds

1/4 cup water

Directions- 

In a large bowl mix together sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon.

In another large bowl, with a whisk or electric beaters, mix egg white and vanilla until mixture is nice and frothy. Add the almonds and coat thoroughly. 

Once your almonds are covered in the egg mixture, pour the sugar mixture into the bowl and coat the almonds. I put a lid over my bowl and shook it to get a good even coating. 

Prepare your crock pot by spaying it with cooking spray. Turn your crock pot onto low and add your almonds to pot. They will cook for 3-4 hours. I let mine cook for 3 hours and that seemed plenty long. Be sure and stir the almonds every 20 minutes to prevent burning. In the last hour you will add 1/4 cup water to your almonds and stir. Don't freak out when all of the beautiful light colored sugar crystals on your almonds melt off and you get a dark syrup like sauce at the bottom of your pot. This is completely normal. Continue to stir every 20 mins for the last hour. Once the almonds are done, spread them out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Once they begin to cool the cinnamon sugar glaze will harden. I found that the almonds are a little soft at first but will harden back up after 24 hours. 

The cinnamon almonds make for a great neighbor gift. I sent my daughter to school with these cute brown paper packages to give to her teachers. They were so easy to make and the supplies were fairly inexpensive. All you will need is brown paper treat bags, stamp of your choice,a paper doily, some bakers twine, and a tag if you choose. stamp your bag, fill it up with almonds or treat of your choice. Fold the top of the bag over and place a doily that has been folded in half on top. With a small hole punch put two holes at the top of the bag, Thread your bakers twine through the holes and tie in a bow! Simple as that!