Almond Caramels Recipes

TOASTED ALMOND CARAMELS

Steps:

• Line an 8-in. square dish with foil; butter the foil with 1 teaspoon butter. Set aside. , In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup, salt and remaining butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low; boil gently without stirring for 4 minutes., Remove from the heat; slowly stir in cream. Return to the heat; cook, without stirring, over medium-low heat until a candy thermometer reads 245° (firm-ball stage). Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla and almonds. , Pour into prepared pan (do not scrape sides of saucepan). Cool completely. Using foil, lift caramel out of pan. Discard foil; cut caramel into squares. Wrap individually in waxed paper or foil; twist ends.

ALMOND CARAMELS

Steps:

• Combine first five ingredients in saucepan stirring gently until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil slowly to 246 degrees on candy thermometer. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and almonds.
• Turn onto greased 8" pan and allow to cool thoroughly. Loosen edges with a spatula, turn out onto cutting board by rapping edges sharply. Cut into squares and wrap each one in wax paper individually.

ALMOND CARAMEL THUMBPRINTS

Steps:

• For the cookies: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter 2 baking sheets.
• Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer equipped with the paddle attachment-the one that looks like the peace sign-and beat until creamy and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the egg yolks and almond extract and beat for another minute or so, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
• In another large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chopped almonds.
• Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture. When combined, the dough should be soft and homogeneous. Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until firm.
• When you're ready to bake, take the dough out of the fridge and roll it into 3/4-inch balls. Place the balls about 1 inch apart on a prepared baking sheet. Using the tip of your thumb, make a hole as deep as you can in each doughball without actually poking through the bottom. Roll your thumb around a little bit to widen the hole-this is your thumbprint!
• Bake the cookies for 16 to 18 minutes or until they begin to turn golden around the edges. Remove from the oven and cool. While the cookies are cooling, repoke each one with your thumb to create a really nice spot for the caramel. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• For the caramel: In a medium saute pan, combine the sugar, lemon juice, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water. Bring the pan to medium-high heat. Be careful not to swish the pan around as that can cause the sugar to recrystallize. As the mixture boils, the water will evaporate and the sugar will begin to turn brown, or "caramelize." This is the point when you DO NOT want to take your eyes off it! Things can take a turn for the worse here and there will be no recovery. As the sugar begins to turn gold and move toward golden brown, remove it from the heat and add the heavy cream. As you do this it will bubble up like crazy. Be sure to use a pan large enough to accommodate the bubbling-this stuff is molten and can cause a very severe burn. Whisk the cream until things settle down and the bubbles subside, then add the butter 2 pats at a time, making sure each addition is thoroughly incorporated before adding more.
• Let the caramel cool slightly, then spoon it into the hole of each cookie and let cool. You'll most likely have leftover caramel sauce, so save it for something yummy-like pouring over vanilla ice cream!

SMOKED ALMOND CARAMELS

Steps:

• Spray a 12-count muffin pan, liberally, with vegetable oil cooking spray. Put the almonds in the bottom of each muffin cup and set aside.
• For the caramel: In a 3-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the cream, butter, sugar, and water. Stir over medium heat until the mixture is smooth. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 240 degrees F, about 5 to 7 minutes. Let the mixture cool for 30 seconds. Using a long-handled, metal spoon, carefully spoon the caramel over the nuts. Allow the caramel to harden, at room temperature, for 1 hour.
• Put the chocolate chips in a medium stainless steel or glass bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water and stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted, about 4 minutes. Spoon the chocolate over the caramel and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Using a thin-bladed spatula, remove the turtles from the pan (caramel will be hard). Let the turtles stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour (to allow the caramel to soften) before serving.
• Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

CARAMELIZED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Toss almonds with sugar in nonstick skillet; cook on medium-high heat until sugar is caramelized, stirring frequently.
• Spread into single layer on greased baking sheet or sheet of wax paper; cool at least 1 hour.
• Break into small pieces. Store in tightly covered container at room temperature.

BUTTERY ALMOND COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together flours, cornstarch, baking powder and salt.
• In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and granulated sugar until lightened in color and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in egg yolk and almond extract until combined, about 20 seconds. With the mixer running on low, add flour mixture, beating until just incorporated. Do not overmix.
• Divide dough into two balls. On a floured surface, roll each ball into a 1 1/2-inch-thick log. (If the dough is too soft to work with, chill it for 20 to 30 minutes before forming it into logs.) Wrap logs tightly in parchment paper or plastic wrap, and refrigerate until very firm, at least 2 hours or overnight.
• When you are ready to bake the cookies, heat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Use large, sharp knife to cut each log into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Place cookies 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.
• Bake until cookie edges and bottoms are golden brown, about 15 to 22 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Make the icing: In a large bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, melted butter, 1 tablespoon buttermilk, vanilla and almond extracts. If the icing isn't thin enough to drizzle, add more buttermilk. It should be a little thicker than heavy cream.
• Using a fork, drizzle icing all over the cooled cookies, then top with almond slices if you like. Let the icing set for at least 1 hour, then store at room temperature in an airtight container. The cookies will keep for at least 3 days.

CANDIED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Combine the water, sugar, and cinnamon in a saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil; add the almonds. Cook and stir the mixture until the liquid evaporates and leaves a syrup-like coating on the almonds. Pour the almonds onto a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Separate almonds using forks. Allow to cool about 15 minutes.

CARAMELIZED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9-inch-square baking pan (or similar size pan) with parchment paper. Scatter almonds in pan; pour maple syrup or brown sugar on top, stirring to cover nuts. Cut butter into small dice and sprinkle on top.
• Bake for 10 minutes, then stir nuts to make sure they are covered with syrup. Continue to bake until nuts are browned and syrup has thickened to consistency of caramel, another 7 to 10 minutes.
• Remove from oven, separate nuts, and allow to cool. Once completely cooled, nuts may be stored in a covered container for several weeks.

ALMOND CARAMELS

Steps:

• Spray about 30 mini muffin papers with non-stick cooking spray, and set aside.
• Stir together the sugar, cream and golden syrup in a medium saucepan over a gentle heat. Bring to a boil and insert a sugar thermometer into the liquid; cook, without stirring, until the mixture reaches 120°C
• Remove liquid from the heat and stir in the almonds and orange zest.
• Using a small spoon, fill each mini muffin paper half full with the caramel mixture; let cool completely before putting them in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
• Store in the fridge in an air-tight container.

CARAMEL ALMOND MILK CREAMER

Steps:

• Combine almond milk, brown sugar, white sugar, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat, stirring frequently, until milk reaches a soft boil and mixture has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat. Stir in margarine until melted.

ALMOND CARAMEL CORN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200°. Place popcorn and almonds in very large roasting pan or divide popcorn mixture between 2 ungreased rectangular pans, 13x9x2 inches.
• Heat brown sugar, butter, corn syrup and salt in 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until bubbly around edges. Continue cooking 5 minutes without stirring; remove from heat. Stir in baking soda until foamy.
• Pour sugar mixture over popcorn; toss until evenly coated. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on aluminum foil or cooking parchment paper. Cool completely, about 30 minutes. Store tightly covered.