These Burnt Sugar Almonds (Gebrannte Mandeln), in my opinion, are the only redeeming quality of a crowded shopping mall during the holidays. Luckily, they’re a cinch to make at home and will put all of your scented candles to shame. This recipe was submitted by Tasty Kitchen member Birgit Kerr, who is originally from Germany. These almonds are found roasting at the Christmas markets in Germany as well as Austria, where I spent about 18 months (a long time ago). I about fell out of my chair when I saw this recipe.
There are other variations of these almonds which use beaten egg whites, but I really liked this non-fussy approach. Plus, I didn’t have to turn on my oven.
Five ingredients is all you need: raw almonds, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and water. For real.
To start, grab a medium-sized pot (not non-stick) and a big wooden spoon. Add the water, cinnamon, and 1 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
Add the almonds, crank up the heat, then stir. And stir. And stir. And . . . stir. Don’t stop stirring. Especially to take pictures.
After about 5-7 minutes of constant stirring, the water will have begun to noticeably evaporate. It’ll start to look like the almonds are swimming in syrup, and when you drag your spoon across the bottom, you’ll be able to see the bottom of your pot. When it looks like this . . .
Lower the heat, then add the vanilla and the remaining sugar. Because, despite what you may think, there isn’t enough sugar.
Stir it around to get it incorporated. Yep, keep stirring.
After a minute or so, the almonds will be coated in a sandy-looking sugar mixture and the pot will appear very dry.
After three batches of these nuts, I can testify to you that now is the time to remove them from the pot. If you stir any longer, the sugar clumps will fall off the almonds and there may be some tears involved. We need that sugar.
Spread the almonds out on a cookie sheet and let them cool. Chances are they’ll cool just long enough for you to pop one in your mouth and only wince slightly.
They taste even better than they smell (especially while they’re still warm!), and you’ll soon be surrounded by snitching fingers and whining children and/or husbands.
If you happen to have a few leftover (or if you were smart and made a triple batch), wrap some up and give them away. You’ll make some new friends. Maybe even a few best friends. Perhaps a stalker or two, but they may be peeking in your windows just to get a better whiff.
Many thanks to Birgit Kerr (who blogs at Scrapalicious Bytes) for a wonderful recipe!
Recipe notes: I used this recipe as a starting point and reduced the amount of sugar to 1 1/3 cups. I also added the remaining sugar into the almonds when the mixture looked syrupy instead of dry, and I only cooked it for another minute or two before I spread them out to cool.
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Description
There are many things I associated with Advent/Christmas time growing up in Germany. But none more than the deliciously enticing smell of fresh “burnt” almonds walking through a Christkindlmarkt (German Christmas markets). They are actually quite easy to make at home, and presented in cute little cellophane or paper cone bags, they make lovely favors or hostess gifts around this time of year, too!
Ingredients
- ⅓ cups Water, Plus 2 Tablespoons
- 1-⅓ cup Sugar, Divided
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon, Ground
- 2 cups Raw Almonds
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Preparation Instructions
Use a heavy saucepan (NOT the nonstick kind) and a wooden spoon.
First add the water, 1 cup of sugar and the cinnamon and stir. Bring it to a boil over medium heat. Add the almonds to the mix, raise the temperature to high heat and stir CONSTANTLY until the water is boiled away.
The sugar will dry out a little but start to stick to the almonds. Keep stirring them around, so that the almonds don’t burn on the bottom of the pan.
Turn the heat under the pan to medium-low, to keep the sugar from browning too fast. Keep stirring until the almonds start having an even shiny coat.
Don’t be distracted by the heavenly aroma that is enveloping your kitchen—you need your full concentration on the task!
Now dump in the rest of your sugar. Keep stirring, and add your vanilla. At this point, I like to mention that if you have vanilla sugar or a powdered type of vanilla flavoring, do feel free to use that over the liquid kind. It tends to work better. If you do, mix it with the 1/3 of a cup of sugar you are using for the second lot of sugar.
At this point, there might be quite some noise ensuing from your pan. Some crackling and popping, but hopefully no snapping. It depends on how fresh your almonds were. Really fresh almonds will make a popping noise and the coat may start to crack. That’s the water in the almonds escaping. If the almonds are older, there won’t be as much of that!
Keep stirring until the almonds are fairly shiny, but still a bit lumpy. You don’t want them completely smooth. The best ones are the ones that are shiny in some areas with some delicious lumps of cinnamon sugar on other parts of the almond.
As soon as you see that happening, take them off the heat and transfer the almonds to a sheet of parchment paper. Spread them apart as much as you can, but don’t worry about some of them sticking together initially. BE CAREFUL, however. These are extremely hot, so only use a spoon. These babies can really burn you!
While they are cooling down, keep on breaking them apart with your spoon(s) until they are all separated. Fair warning: these are totally divine when they are still ever-so-slightly warm. There, you’ve been warned!
Once they are cooled, hide (ahem, I meant store) them in a dry, closed container. Theoretically, they keep for several weeks. I’ve never had an opportunity to test that theory.
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Be sure to check out Natalie’s own beautiful food blog, Perrys’ Plate, where you can see her growing collection of lovely recipes. There’s always something new to see there. Go visit now!
82 Comments
Comments are closed for this recipe.
Josef Touet on 1.23.2011
here is my coment:
this product i remember very well every day goin&coming from scholl i hat to go by the street where the candy man hat his stand
he hat a oil barrell filled wit charcool and a big copper bowl maby
25-30″ in diameter and about 12″deep.ther hi made the good gebrannte Mandeln in the fall and winter.the smell was all over the aerea.he was making i think the same as in this report.
i am from Aachen Germany and now here in the USA.
i never will forget them thanks to this recipe i can make my owne.
this city hat other good things Aachener Printen since the 17
century and still made today.it is type molasses Cokies with rock
candyaand other ingredient,wich is stil a secret.i Am here since 1958 as to install a chokolate plant from Aachen to necco in
Cambridge.MA.after finish i dit go not back toAachen.
this a little story of my life rgards Joe Touet
Meg3232 on 12.23.2010
don’t triple these unless you know what your doing I messed up and wasted 6 cups of almonds. I did salvage them but I was very frustrated that they didn’t come out like my first single batch and these were the ones I was going to give away for Christmas!
on 12.22.2010
These looked wonderful and we were excited to try them. After 4 batches, we’ve decided they are next to impossible to make and have them turn out.
Pamela on 12.16.2010
Just a note regarding raw almonds – I hail from Ripon CA – THE almond capitol of the world (takes a bow) but I actually bought my almonds this year at Costco – I know, the shame of it.
However, they were not raw – so in making this recipe, once I added the additional 1/3 C of sugar it was WAY too dry and I had to add a bit more water. So, IMHO if you are NOT using raw nuts, my OPINION is to stick with just 1 C of sugar.
In any case, these are AWESOME!! And so easy to make.
Meg32 on 12.16.2010
This recipe is great I just made them and they are wonderful!!! Ree I really don’t know how you had time to take pictures just the time I had to stop and get my vanilla and throw them in my sugar was getting hard you really need everything measured and ready to go!!! No time for stopping stirring to measure!
but they are great!
Shaheen on 12.16.2010
Thanx for the recipe. It turned out yummmmm. My kids enjoyed it. Thanks once again.
mrsq on 11.23.2010
I made these this evening for the first time and THEY ARE WONDERFUL! They we not difficult at all. I had two packages of whole almonds which totaled 2 1/2 cups, so I added a teeny bit more water and sugar at the start. I did appreciate the photos and step-by-step instructions because it helped me gauge when the syrup was thick enough (by dragging spoon across bottom of pan) to move to the final sugar step. I will surely make these again!!
Lom on 11.20.2010
Looks easy enough to make, and I think it would be good to make it with different nuts; pecans, cashews, and black walnuts.
slickquilter on 11.19.2010
These are fabulous! I tried different spices: a mixture of cardamon, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon. I’ll need to practice the timing, had trouble getting the sugar to stick. Wonderful aroma and great nibbles.
shellsonvancouverisland on 11.16.2010
Just made these tonight ….. wow, they are good. I am going to try them again with pecans. I am going to add the extra sugar in when they are a bit more syrupy as the article suggested at the end. I found that they got very dry and difficult to stir otherwise and I think the sugar will adhere better.
Karin Thomas on 11.16.2010
Just finished making two batches of these…they are WONDERFUL!!!! Thank you so much for posting this incredibly easy and tasty recipe!
Granite-girl on 11.16.2010
Looks similar to my spiced pecan recipe. I’ll maybe try this with my pecans my mother brought back from Georgia.
BTW- cute family. My husband would be saying “what are you kids doing ? Get away from there – you’ll burn yourself” … killjoy.
Jessi on 11.15.2010
I also had the issue where the water never really seemed to evaporate all the way and it ended up being more like a brittle. I left on the heat until i thought it started almost to smell like it was burning and stirred and stirred and stirred. Any ideas?
Nancy Peterman on 11.15.2010
My grandmother always made these with walnuts. But she used a candy thermometer and when the syrup reaches soft ball stage (235 degrees), you stir in the vanilla and the nuts and they sugar beautifully. I love to give these as gifts – and to eat them!
Merry on 11.14.2010
These were so easy to make! Love them! They will make great gifts this Christmas.
Marla Meridith on 11.14.2010
That photo of your family is beautiful! I bet the house smells AMAZIING when you cook up a batch of these almonds!
Ambur on 11.13.2010
I just made them w/ pecans instead of almonds, and they came out terrific! The sugar creeps into all the crevices. Thanks for the wonderful recipe!
Allison on 11.13.2010
OH MY. I just found this recipe less than an hour ago and I’ve already made my first {definitely NOT my LAST} batch! Delicious!! They are just like the ones you find in the mall, only better, because YOU made them! They also make the house smell DIVINE. Thank you soooooooooooooo much for this {easy} recipe!!
Sharrieboberry on 11.12.2010
Oh. My. Goodness. I’m thinking about how these would smell divine. And they’re good for you, right? Being nuts and all. Maybe it could be an afterschool snack today!! Yum!
Kathryn on 11.11.2010
Just made 4 batches for an auction tomorrow…easy to do, lovely to see, wonderful to eat and the bonus of the house smelling incredibly marvelous!
Lori P on 11.11.2010
I just whipped a batch of these and I can’t explain how wonderful these are!!! The recipe is fantastic and very well written! Thanks, Birgit!!!
kristen on 11.11.2010
Raw almonds are on my shopping list! I am SO making these. I will probably eat all of them myself!
Birgit Kerr on 11.11.2010
I made a note of it on the original recipe comment section, but I’ll say it here also. I have a typo in the ingredient list, it is supposed to be 1 1/3 cup of sugar, divided.
I say that in the preparation part but for some reason it ended up being more in the ingredient list. Sorry about that guys!
I’ll get it changed asap!
Janet on 11.11.2010
Love your little white bowl. I have a medium one just like that, two small ones and plates to match. I found them 3 different times at thrift stores. Recipe looks great.
carrie on 11.11.2010
ooohh, the site of that mug gives me a giant craving for gluhwein with those toasty warm nuts… and lebkuchen… and oh how i will miss the christkindlmarkt this year
Susan on 11.11.2010
I made a batch last night and I used your suggestion to decrease the total amount of sugar1 1/3 cups- turned out great!
I did use vanilla sugar for the final 1/3 cup, but I still used the 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract as well, mixing it into the vanilla sugar before adding to the almond mixture.
I may add a little cayenne pepper next time- sweet, hot and dangerous.
Natalie | Perry's Plate on 11.11.2010
Birgit – Thanks so much for jumping in with your wisdom! I was on the road all day yesterday while the questions were flying! I’m glad everyone who tried them loved them!
Jeanie on 11.11.2010
yumm, they look delicious and what a great addition to the usual buffet table!
Amisha on 11.11.2010
Those look delicious! Can’t wait to try them myself!
cait on 11.11.2010
This is very similar to the Danish recipe of Burnt Almonds (Brændte mandler), which melt the sugar with a little corn syrup in to a toffee glaze to coat the almonds. Lots of work, but oh so very worth it!
Amy from She Wears Many Hats on 11.11.2010
YUM! These will make the nut lovers in my family happy happy this Christmas – thanks for sharing!
Cakes on 11.11.2010
Oh my goodness! I used to make these at the mall. They’re actually very easy to make if you don’t have a line of customers. Mmmmm, I can almost smell them.
Junneen on 11.10.2010
I am gaining weight by the minute reading all of your yummy recipes! Do you have a recipe for eating all of these delicious treats with out gaining weight?
Birgit Kerr on 11.10.2010
I wonder if I said non-stick enough in my previous post? LOL Sorry about that. I should really proof read before hitting submit!
Birgit Kerr on 11.10.2010
@ Nuke’s wife and Ashley: I advice against it as sugar gets extremely hot and the non-stick coating doesn’t do very well with it. It can cause your non-stick coating to weaken and the non-stick coating could break down and release toxic fumes.
If your pan says it can withstand temperatures of 400 F and higher then I might be ok though. Many non-stick pots don’t however.
Beware though that the caramelization process may be entirely different when using non-stick. It will also be much harder to see where you are at color wise with the dark coating, but that might be a minor detail you could avoid by just stirring and stirring etc.
Hope that helps!
Miss Heidi on 11.10.2010
oh my gosh, these look so good! They remind me of some amazing sugared pecans I had in Savannah a couple of years ago. They also had an amazing praline cookie. Anyone have a recipe for that?
SLHutchison on 11.10.2010
I know what I’m doing for Christmas gifts this year
Good to know this will work with other nuts, since one of my giftees is Deathly Allergic to almonds
I can’t believe how simple this looks.
Ashley E on 11.10.2010
I have to second A Nuke’s Wife’s question… I don’t own a single non-stick pot. (I know. Cooking is not my strong suit.) But candied almonds are my favorite. Can I ask why you advise against non-stick? Thanks!
TR on 11.10.2010
OH MAN! I made these this evening.
YUMMO! I can hardly keep away from it!
Thanks alot………
TR *the fat one*
Kitchen Kimberley on 11.10.2010
Wow, Natalie! These look great! I was quite surprised to see this variation, as I just made a similar recipe for “Cinnamon Roasted Almonds” on TV in Tulsa, OK…just three days ago! The funny thing is, that I also put some of mine in cellophane bags and I also tied them with sage green ribbon! We must be two peas in a pod, Natalie! Here’s a link to my video and recipe:
http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=13463921
See? If only I had used my milkglass compote like you did!
Urban Wife on 11.10.2010
I just made these and they are AMAZING! I can’t believe I have gone this long without even thinking about having my almonds this way. Of course, they’re not quite as “healthy” but hey, it’s so worth it! I think I have a new Christmas gift idea.
Thanks for sharing!
Dawn W on 11.10.2010
We make these using pecans every year. You can also add a little ground red pepper, too, if you like a little “kick.”
Stephanie on 11.10.2010
Oh yum!!! They look soo good and I love the idea of wrapping them up for a treat!
Cami on 11.10.2010
Just used this recipe on pecans because I have an overabundance of them. I cannot stop eating them! A.m.a.z.i.n.g.
Nell O on 11.10.2010
We have made these for years using pecans, and yes, they are absolutely delicious!!!!
Erica S. on 11.10.2010
ahhh, I just looove Gebranntemandeln! I’m so excited to see a recipe for them here!
Birgit Kerr on 11.10.2010
Hi Natali!
I hadn’t seen the feature yet and just tried to catch up now! Thanks so much for doing these almonds and yes, they are sooo good! And that photo of your family picking at the almonds is just the cuuutest!!
I just checked all the possible folders in my email, but couldn’t find an email from you
As for the question about other nuts, yes, they work just fine with pretty much any kind of nut. Pecans and Hazelnuts are amongst my favs!
@ Brook: No, sorry it won’t work with splenda or truvia. These kind of sweeteners don’t really melt. It would work with Maltitol or Isomalt and it MAY work with Erythritol (can’t be sure though.) The problem with Maltitol and Isomalt are the digestive side effects and since this would be using a lot they could be rather unpleasant!
Nicole Smith on 11.10.2010
I am gonna try this one. I am wondering if you could use other types of nuts? hhmmm
Cécy on 11.10.2010
I think I’m going to make some of those for Christmas.
Erika on 11.10.2010
I was fortunate to be in Austria around Christmastime, and it was just magical! This really brought back some wonderful memories!