Perfect appetizer, crunchy snack or salad topper, roasted almonds covered in cinnamon brown sugar are easily done in a slow cooker. Simply mix up toasty roasted almonds with brown sugar and cinnamon coating and let slow cook for 4 hours for a snack that stores all week.
Addicting? Yes.
Snackable? Double yes.
Good for you? Debatable….
Do we care? Absolutely not. These lightly sugared and candied cinnamon almonds are worth every last calorie!
Before you get started on smothering the almonds in a brown sugar mixture, you will have to choose if you want to roast the almonds or not. It’s very easy to roast almonds in the oven and takes under 10 minutes from plain raw almonds to roasted ones.
Personally, I like to leave mine the way they come out of the bag as the slow cooker gives them a great flavor already, but just in case, here is how to roast almonds.
How to Roast Almonds
Typically when you purchase almonds from the store, they come in large bags. For this recipe, its fine to purchase the large 30 oz. bag of plain almonds, which is just over the 4 cups needed.
To roast bagged almonds first, spread almonds out in a baking dish (casserole dish works great), keeping in a single layer.
Bake almonds in the oven on 350 degrees for about 6 minutes (and up to 10 minutes), turning halfway in between. Turning helps not only prevent burns but gets both sides for a great toasted flavor.
As a side note, slow cooked brown sugar almonds can be done without toasting the almonds.
Cinnamon Sugared Almonds
Now onto the best past – adding the sugary crunchy texture.
It is fairly simple to create an easy cinnamon sugar mixture for almonds. Combining two kinds of sugar, cinnamon, and salt into an egg wash, the perfect blend of creamy brown sugar will develop that can be dumped on roasted almonds.
The slow cooker will slowly dry the sugar and harden on the almonds. Finally, laying out the almonds to finish drying will be the last step before storing sugared almonds for up to a week.
- Nuts: 30 oz. Almonds or other types of Mixed Nuts (about 4-4.5 cups of nuts)
- Egg Wash: 1 egg white + 1 tsp water
- Sugars: 1/3rd cup brown sugar, 1/3rd cup white sugar
- Seasonings: 2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp salt
Super Sugary Almonds: If you want a thicker and crunchier sugar bite per almond, lesson the amount of almonds down to 16 oz. (1 pound ) versus the 30 oz. we suggested here for the slow cooker. These almonds are lightly sugared, leaving the almonds to shine through as well.
Spicy Nuts: Add 1/4th tsp cumin and 1/4th tsp cayenne to the cinnamon mixture
Can other nuts be slow cooked?
Yes!~ Mixed nuts work great in a slow cooker (or if you want them quicker, in this 15 minute spiced nuts recipe). Other nuts that are awesome with a cinnamon brown sugar mixture are walnuts or one of the following:
- Pecans
- Cashews
- Peanuts
All nuts that are in the slow cooker will need to stirred at least half way through. As they dry, the brown sugar mixture can stick to the pot and stirring at least once will help prevent nuts from hardening around the bottom and sides of a slow cooker.
Are Sugared almonds the same thing as Jordan Almonds?
In a lot of ways they are very similar in that they are both covered in sugar. But the harder outer shell you see on traditional Jordan Almonds (like at weddings) are usually made with a melted sugary fondant or a candy coating that allows for a crunch into the almond.
Facts about Jordan Almonds
- They are considered an aphrodisiac in some parts of the world.
- At weddings they are served with 5 almonds to represent never being divided and to bring happiness, healthy, wealth, children, and long life.
- Jordan almonds are also called Italian Confetti.
How to Oven Roast Candied Almonds
Just like other nuts, this appetizer can easily be made in the oven as well. Following the same sugar instructions, once almonds are completly covered with brown sugar mixture, spread out on a large parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake almonds in the oven at 350 for 15 minutes, mix up (flip over) and bake again for another 15 minutes. Let baking sheet sit out and almonds to completely cool before serving.
Slow Cooker Cinnamon Candied Almonds
Ingredients
- 30 oz. Raw Almonds or other types of Mixed Nuts about 4-4.5 cups of nuts
- 1 egg white + 1 tsp water
- 1/3 rd cup brown sugar
- 1/3 rd cup white sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Add 1 egg white and 1 tsp water into a bowl and whisk until egg white is mixed and frothy. Egg white should be foamy and white (not like a meringue with stiff peaks - that's too far).
- In frothy egg whites, combine brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon and salt.
- Mix brown sugar mixture and raw almonds together, stirring gently with a spatula until almonds are covered in brown sugar mixture.
- Dump almonds into a slow cooker and cook on LOW heat for 4 hours.
- Be sure to mix almonds at the half way mark to prevent too much sticking (they may slightly stick around the sides or bottom, just agitate any stuck almonds up and stir)
- Remove almonds at 4 hours and dump onto a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Let almonds completely cool and store in an airtight container for 1 week.
- Serve candied almonds as a snack or with salads.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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