Christmas in September
It smelled like Christmas in our house yesterday! For the sake of the blog, of course. And I’ve been craving some Christmas almonds. My kids love to help with this project. Every December we buy a few bags of almonds from Costco (3 lbs per bag) and roast Almonds to deliver to the neighbors. The great thing about this project is unlike baking cookies for the neighbors, the bags of almonds last for weeks. I can have a box full of gift bags and not feel compelled to make deliveries right out of the oven. Then we even keep a few bags behind for the friends we somehow we neglected.
The process is simple, and here is the recipe. We mix the nuts with the sugar ingredients. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake for 1 hour. Sometimes I don’t even let them cool. We just bag the nuts and find a cute, christmasy ribbon. Add a tag if you are creative. And then save lot’s of nuts for yourself. I used a long “pretzel bag” I found at the craft store candy section. I’ve used cone bags, or fun containers in the past. But the pretzel bag seems to be the least expensive way to go.
I LOVE baking and giving things away at Christmas. I know some people feel overwhelmed by the process, but I can’t wait till December rolls around so I can have an excuse to make extra treats for people. (Of course a non-food gift would of course be the healthiest idea, but you can’t argue there are some fabulous health benefits to including nuts in your diet). Then the kids and I can walk around the neighborhood and visit people we don’t see all year, and meet people who have moved into the neighborhood and I haven’t met yet. Only 101 days to go!
Posted: September 15th, 2008 under Dessert, Proteins.
Tags: christmas gift ideas, cinnamon almonds., healthy ideas for christmas gifts
Comments
Comment from Liz Rosenbaum
Time September 15, 2008 at 8:47 am
Oh. My. Gosh. I LOVE these! Seriously – I CRAVE these! But I never realized they would be so easy to make! (I’m no whiz in the kitchen.) However, I am DEFINITELY going to try these… the only problem is, if I made them for other people, I would eat them all before getting them to their homes!
Comment from Emily
Time September 15, 2008 at 9:24 am
Amy, we LOVED the ones you gave us last year. (hint, hint) I know we werent’ even on your list and I just happened to stop by at the right time, but boy was I glad I did.
Comment from Amy
Time September 15, 2008 at 9:59 am
Liz, I like this recipe because there is no butter or other fats. And I bag them right away, because it’s o easy to eat tons of them.
Kristin, glad you liked them. Emily, you were always on the list!!! If you are a neighbor that reads this and haven’t been on my list, much apologies!!! Leave me a comment or email and you will get some for sure this year.
Comment from cathy
Time September 15, 2008 at 10:20 am
Must make these for my husband and son! They will absolutely FLIP over these! And love the idea of using these for Christmas gifts. Totally stealing this one from you! 
Comment from Liz K
Time September 15, 2008 at 1:19 pm
These were so good last year! I’m trying to remember if I even shared them with Craig. I’m glad you posted the recipe, now I won’t have to wait till December to eat them and I can make enough to share with Craig too. I better go buy some almonds!
Comment from Natalie
Time September 15, 2008 at 6:43 pm
oh these sound really good. i will have to give these a try. i will have to find a substitute for the egg whites though. hummm. we always make home made gifts for christmas and these will be a great addition. thanks!
Comment from jillf
Time September 15, 2008 at 8:23 pm
I’ve HAD your Christmas almonds, and I still remember how delicious they are! It was three years ago when I was visiting Hannah after the birth of their first baby. You brought these by and we rationed them like gold. Thank YOU for the recipe….my neighbors will thank ME, though! Ha, ha.
Comment from Amy
Time September 16, 2008 at 5:04 am
Natalie:It seemed the only purpose of the egg whites was to get the sugar to stick to the nuts without falling off. So any binding type ingredient should work.
Comment from Hannah
Time September 16, 2008 at 5:26 pm
We LOVE your Christmas almonds, just like my mom said. I’m so excited to have the recipe for it! I end up throwing out a lot of the cookies I get because I can’t eat them all without completely destroying my health, but these never get thrown away!
Comment from Sherri
Time September 17, 2008 at 11:34 am
I found your blog recently and love the ideas. I am curious how many pretzel bags gifts you get out of a 3 lb. bag of Almonds from Costco. I am always looking for neighbor gift ideas and this sounds great!
Comment from vanessa
Time September 17, 2008 at 8:54 pm
When I worked at Macys Food Store in Utah while going to college my job was to make these nuts I still love the smell!! One time I forgot about them and the whole store I mean the whole store smelled like burnt nuts!
Comment from Tami
Time September 18, 2008 at 4:14 am
These little nuts are so addictive! Can you ever stop at just a handful? Last year I made a similiar recipe with pecans.
Comment from Amy
Time September 18, 2008 at 5:34 am
Sherri: if I could guess, or remember well, I would say 1 lb of nuts made about 5-6 bags. And that is filling them to the top, and eating a few myself! So the 3 lb bag from Costco could have been 15-18 bags.
Vanessa: That is too funny! I kind of like the smell of burnt nuts!
Tami: No, really I can’t stop! This is why we usually only make them once a year.
Comment from Lisa
Time September 18, 2008 at 9:46 pm
I became addicted to these last year. can’t. stop. eating. them! I love your recipe and I’ve also used another one I LOVE that includes nutmeg, cloves and a little cayenne with the cinnamon sugar mixture (I like a little kick in the pants!)
Pingback from Healthy Food Ideas for Super Healthy Kids » Almonds to the Rescue and giveaway!
Time December 1, 2009 at 8:24 am
[...] lastly, OUR FAVORITE WAY: Christmas candied almonds! I’ll be making this [...]
Comment from Kristin
Time September 15, 2008 at 7:58 am
They were so yummy last Christmas! Thanks for sharing your recipe.