Cinnamon sugar Almonds

Love Almonds? Love almonds covered in cinnamon and sugar?  I love them. Even thought I am mildly allergic to tree nuts, I love them. A few asthma attacks and some benadryl later, I'm still eating these by the handful. Health risk, sure, but totally worth it. 
Here is a very simple recipe that takes under an hour to make!


I used a 3lb bag (or approx. 9 cups) of almonds. Feel free to use less or more depending on how many people will be eating them. Also this recipe isn't like the cinnamon sugar almonds you get from the fair, these ones are not really sweet, its more like a large hint of sweet. Feel free to add more sugar than I did if you want!


Ingredients:
1 - 3lb bag of Almonds, or about 9 cups
1 egg white + 1 tablespoon of water, lightly beaten
1 cup of sugar (feel free to add more if desired)
2 1/2 tsp of cinnamon (add more if desired)
1 tsp Chinese 5 spice (completely optional but I highly recommend it!)

I begin by spreading the almonds in an even layer on two baking sheets (the ones with a lip) and roasting them in the oven 350ºF for 30 minutes. Watch your nuts and stir them after 15 minutes so they roast evenly. Don't forget your nuts! Once I did and I burnt all my nuts. I was sad. Don't let burnt nuts ruin your day. Ok sorry enough saying nuts.

Pull the roasted almonds out of the oven (don't turn it off just yet thought!) Dump them into a very large bowl and pour over the cinnamon, sugar and optional chinese 5 spice. Then very quickly add the beaten egg white and start stirring! If you work fast, the egg won't scramble and you will get fantastically coated almonds.

Once everything is combined, here you can add more sugar or cinnamon if you want.  If you do, do it fast. The egg yolk works as the glue for the cinnamon and sugar so if it dries, the extra sugar won't stick as well.


From here, I cover one baking sheet with parchment paper and pour all the almonds onto the cookie sheet and cook for an extra 10 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes. Let cool completely and store however you like!