December 30, 2016
This year I had the problem of being in Melbourne but celebrating Christmas in Brisbane. This makes it quite difficult to choose gifts, as you have to be quite savvy about what you can fit into your suitcase. I found myself being quite economical as a result, picking things that I could easily transport without worrying about them breaking. This situation also meant I was drawn to Christmas presents that were either flat, or small, or quite light, which does limit your options quite a bit!
This year I wanted to have small gifts for my partner’s family, so as not to show up empty handed. Usually I would bake something, whether it was biscotti, gingerbread or an entire gingerbread house for everyone to enjoy. Unfortunately this year I wasn’t able to do my normal cookie baking, as I was worried they might get wrecked in transit, and wouldn’t be fresh for Christmas. I didn’t want to leave the baking until I got up to Brisbane as I knew I wouldn’t have time, so I needed something that would travel well, but still be a lovely gift.
Enter this recipe for delicious Christmas almonds. They are a great option for when you need to do the baking in advance, as they will stay fresh long after Christmas is done. You can also easily transport them either in a container in bulk, or in gift bags pre wrapped and ready to go. You don’t have to worry about them breaking along the way, as they are nice and sturdy. And, the most important thing of all, they are absolutely delicious.
I stumbled upon this recipe and thought I would give it a try. It was a bit of a healthy nut recipe without sugar, but I figured it was Christmas and what is Christmas without a bit of naughtiness? I don’t know what it is that makes these almonds so delicious, but they are next level. I think it might be the sweet and saltiness of them, and how sticky the molasses and honey makes them. They taste like Christmas but have a delicious salty kick that cuts through the sugar and makes them oh so amazing. I gave some to my manager and she was absolutely obsessed with them, and said she had to have the recipe, so I figured it must be worth putting it on the blog to share with everyone!
- 680 grams of raw whole almonds
- 4 tablespoons of good quality honey
- 4 tablespoons of molasses
- 4 teaspoons of gingerbread spice mix see below
- 4 tablespoons of brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons of ground ginger
- 2 teaspoons of mixed spice
- ½ teaspoon of all spice
- ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon of pepper
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Preheat your oven to 150C (300F). Line two baking trays with baking paper and spread the raw almonds in a single layer across the sheets.
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Place the baking trays in the oven for about 10 minutes, tossing once in the middle.
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Meanwhile, in a large microwave safe bowl, combine the honey, molasses and gingerbread spice mix. Heat the mixture for about 10 seconds in the microwave to make it really runny.
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Once your almonds are ready, add them to the bowl and toss to coat evenly. Spread the coated almonds back on the baking trays. There may be excess liquid which you can pour evenly over each tray.
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Return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the sugar and salt in another large bowl and set aside.
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Once the almonds are cooked, remove from the oven. The mixture might have bubbled up a bit, don’t worry too much as it will settle out of the oven.
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Let the roasted almonds cool for 5 minutes, and then toss in the sugar and salt mixture to coat evenly. Allow to cool for a few more minutes, and then transfer to either an air tight container, or your gift bags.
If you are looking for a quick and easy Christmas gift, look no further than these. I could not get over how delicious they were, given how simple they are to make! Now that I know how simple they are, nothing is really going to stop me from making these whenever I feel like a bit of a sugar kick!
It’s easy to make these into a next level Christmas gift. I did them in little goodie bags with ribbon tied around the tops, but if I hadn’t needed to travel with them I would have put the almonds in little mason jars with a ribbon wrapped around. If you didn’t want to gift them you could also just keep them in a container and present them in a nice bowl on Christmas day! That is if they make it that far, I had to put them into their bags otherwise I would have eaten the whole lot!
These gifts sure were a hit with the family. It felt really good to not show up empty handed, and I always like putting effort in and making something rather than just bringing another bottle of wine. Not that there is anything wrong with a bought gift, but I didn’t have the space for that many bottles! Plus I figure if you have the time to spare, it is always worth making something from the heart.
I hope these gifts brought a lot of Christmas cheer. They filled my house with the delicious smells that only come from Christmas baking, which is exactly what you want from a recipe like this! You could easily also make it relatively healthy by swapping out the brown sugar for coconut sugar if you had it on hand, but I wouldn’t bother! It is Christmas after all!
Until next time, happy eating!
Ella xx
