Cocoa Chipotle Almonds
When I was little and I wanted a snack my Mom would tell me to eat a
handful of almonds. "Almonds are the king of nuts." she would always
say. I would always wonder why they weren't the queen of nuts, and not
want to eat them thinking the raw almonds were rather bland. Now that I
am an adult I appriciate almonds for their flavor, as well as their
nutritional benefits. Mom was right, they do make a great snack and
keep the hunger monster at bay. I was feeling like I needed some more
good high protein snacking options as of lately, so what better then
some sort of jazzed up almond? The Mexican hot cocoa I often make, gave
me the idea to put the same flavors onto an almond. So I whisked
together some cocoa, maple sugar, chipotle powder, cinnamon and sea salt
and adhered it to the almonds with some agave nectar. I then baked the
almonds to toast them, coated them in more of the mixture, and as soon
as they were just cool enough, I dove in! Forget just having a snack I
had a few...what can I say, toasted nuts right out of the oven are
addictive!
Cocoa Chipotle Almonds
Makes 4 cups
4 cups whole raw almonds
2 Tbsp agave nectar
3 Tbsp maple sugar
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp plus 1/8 ground chipotle powder
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
Preheat oven to 375 degrees, line a sheet pan with foil and spray with
non-stick spray. In a large bowl, toss almonds with agave nectar until
well coated. In a small bowl, whisk together sugar, cocoa powder,
cinnamon, chipotle powder, and sea salt, then pour 2/3 of the
mixture over almonds (reserving last 1/3) and toss well to coat. Spread
out on prepared baking sheet and roast in the oven for 7-10 minutes
until almonds are fragrant and toasted. Toss with remaining cocoa
mixture, let cool slightly, then dive in!
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