Spiced Almonds

Spices of Life, p. 27

1 teaspoon virgin olive oil

1 pound raw, skinned almonds (or walnuts or peanuts)

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

½ cup sugar

1 ½ tablespoons five-spice powder, or a mixture of 1 ½ to 2 teaspoons ground allspice and 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Lightly Grease a cookie sheet with the oil.

Put the almonds in a bowl. Mix the egg whites with the almonds and stir to coat. 

Poor ostracized egg yolks.

Slick almonds.

In a paper or plastic bag, mix the sugar with the spices and salt. 

Ok here's the thing: This amount of sugar/spices/salt is only going to cover HALF of the pound of almonds. You're going to need to double this part of the recipe if you want to cover them all.

Drain the almonds in a strainer and drop them into the bag. Holding the bag shut, shake it to coat the almonds with the spices and salt.

Spread the coated nuts in a single layer on the greased cookie sheet and roast, stirring occasionally, for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden and crisp. 

Sooooooo crisp.

To test for doneness, cut an almond in half and make certain the inside is opaque and crisp. Let cool, then transfer to a serving dish. (These will keep for up to 1 week in a tightly covered container and indefinitely in the freezer.)

They ended up being part of the spread at my dissertation defense, along with some Hit cookies and cheese and crackers.

My Rating: 4/5 "Great stuff! The ginger adds a nice tang to what otherwise tastes like those awesome roasted almonds you get in a paper sleeve. One of my colleagues ate some and said they tasted like Christmas. When one of the committee members tried them at my dissertation defense, she couldn't get enough!"