Last week, I flew to Michigan to spend five days at a food blogger retreat organized by my friend Liz. Yes, food bloggers have their own conferences, workshops, and retreats, just like many other professional industries! (If you follow my @AmyBakesHealthy Snapchat, you probably saw how much fun we had… And I’ll share lots of photos and more details about the trip in a blog post with you soon!)
With a four-hour flight to Chicago, a short layover there, and a quick forty-minute flight to Michigan, I stuffed my backpack full of chopped veggies and plenty of snacks to nibble on during the plane trips. I like to be prepared since healthy options at airport food stalls can be few and far between!
After the first flight took off and leveled out at a safe altitude for the fasten seatbelt light to turn off, the stewardesses started walking down the aisle to fill our drink orders and pass out complementary snacks. I expected the stereotypical plain salted peanuts and crunchy mini pretzels, but Southwest surprised me with small bags of honey roasted peanuts, Wheat Thins, cheese crackers, and cinnamon-spiced airplane-shaped cookies instead!
The flight attendant insisted that she’d hand us as many of the options as we wanted, so I politely asked for the peanuts and cookies. (I’m addicted to cinnamon and have a huge sweet tooth!) I tore open the peanuts first, saving the cookies for an after dinner treat later that evening, and slowly ate them alongside the cocoa roasted almonds I brought from home while editing photos on my laptop.
A few minutes later, I paused to look down at my lap where both itty bitty bags of nuts sat. Honey roasted peanuts… Cocoa roasted almonds… These are both really good, but… How would they taste if I combined those two flavors together??
So once I arrived back at home in California, that’s exactly what I did… And these Chocolate Honey Roasted Almonds taste even better than either of those two snack packs I ate on the plane! Sweet honey, rich chocolate, crunchy nuts… It’s an irresistible combination of tastes and textures, and—even better—they’re so simple to make!
To start, you’ll need raw unsalted almonds. Typically, the only unsalted almonds that grocery stores sell are raw, so we’re going to toast them ourselves. It’s incredibly easy and takes very little time! Simply scatter those raw unsalted almonds across a foil-lined baking sheet, pop that in the oven for a few minutes, and pull it out when you start to smell a nutty aroma wafting through your kitchen. Remember to let the almonds cool completely before moving on to the next step!
Note: Roasted lightly salted almonds can be substituted if you’re running short on time!
Next, you’ll prepare the coating. It’s a mixture of honey, water, and a tiny bit of salt. You’ll combine those in a small pot on the stove and cook them for a few minutes to concentrate the mixture before adding in the almonds. It’s important to stir constantly with a spatula so you don’t burn the honey!
Once the almonds are coated and the honey mixture has completely reduced, transfer the nuts to a foil-lined baking sheet, and spread them out in a thin layer. If you can arrange the almonds so that they aren’t touching each other, or at least barely touching their neighbors, it’ll make the next step a lot easier! Because…
You’ll break them apart (the honey will still be sticky—that’s okay!) and toss them in cocoa powder. Just regular ol’ unsweetened cocoa powder! Once coated with that, the almonds will no longer be sticky, and it’ll be much easier to grab a couple—or a handful—to munch on.
Almost too easy! This batch disappeared embarrassingly quickly… Whoops! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking! I’d love to see your almonds!
| Chocolate Honey Roasted Almonds | | Print |
- 2 cups (286g) raw unsalted almonds
- 3 tbsp (45mL) honey
- 3 tbsp (45mL) water
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (10g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line a baking sheet with foil. Arrange the almonds in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for 6-8 minutes or until fragrant. Let the almonds cool completely to room temperature on the baking sheet.
- Once the almonds have cooled, combine the honey, water, and salt in a medium pot. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a spatula, and continue to cook for about 3-5 minutes until the mixture has reduced by half.
- Add the almonds to the pot, leaving the foil on the baking sheet. Stir the almonds until they’re completely coated, and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the honey mixture has completely reduced, about 4-6 minutes. Transfer the almonds to the foil-lined baking sheet, and spread them out in a thin layer. For best results, try to ensure that the almonds aren’t touching their neighbors. Let the almonds cool completely to room temperature; then let them rest for an additional 30-60 minutes.
- Add the cocoa powder to a medium bowl. Carefully pull apart the almonds if they’re stuck together, drop them into the bowl a few at a time, and stir with a fork until they’re coated with cocoa powder.
I haven’t tried either, but it may be possible to substitute agave or pure maple syrup for the honey. Since both are more viscous (liquidy) than honey, the cooking times in Steps 2 and 3 may vary.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low calorie, low carb, paleo}
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Yum!! Almonds are my favorite mid-morning snack, but these are way better than my plain ol’ boring ones. 😉
If only it were possible to reach straight through the screen and grab some to eat — that would’ve been a fun morning snack for you today Marina! 😉
They look delicious. Chocolate with almonds is such an amazing combo, thanks for the idea
My pleasure Keith!
One of My Kids Favorite Nuts : Almonds. They will surely love this,when i make this for them?
Your kids are so lucky to have you to make them these Sherly! 🙂 I’m excited to hear what they think of the recipe!
Can you skip the honey and water part and just pour the honey on to the warm almonds and then spread them out so they can cool
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe Colleen! You can try that, but the salt is harder to evenly distribute throughout the honey without the water. It tends to clump instead, which makes for some really salty almonds — and some very plain others! 😉 I’d love to hear what you think if you try this recipe!