Spiced Almonds And Cranberry Food

SPICED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over a medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer the almonds to a bowl.
• In a small bowl, stir together the cumin, garlic, cayenne pepper and salt. Heat the oil in the skillet over medium heat. Stir the spices into the oil and cook, stirring until warm, about 30 seconds. Add the almonds and cook, stirring frequently, until the nuts are warm and the spices are evenly distributed. Add the hot pepper sauce and stir to distribute. Remove the almonds from the pan and allow them to cool before serving.

HONEY & SPICE ROASTED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Arrange almonds in a single layer in an ungreased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown, stirring once., In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar, salt and cayenne; set aside. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add roasted almonds and honey; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining sugar; cook 1 minute longer or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat; add reserved sugar mixture and toss to coat., Immediately spread onto waxed paper; cool completely. Break into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

SWEET AND SPICY ROASTED ALMONDS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Lightly grease a 10x15-inch jelly roll pan.
• Combine egg white and vanilla in large bowl; beat until frothy. Add almonds and toss to coat. Pour almonds into a mesh strainer to drain excess liquid, 5 to 10 minutes. Return strained almonds to the bowl.
• Stir white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, chili powder, and salt together in a bowl. Sprinkle sugar mixture over almonds and toss to coat evenly. Spread coated nuts evenly onto prepared jelly roll pan.
• Bake, stirring every 20 minutes, until the seasoning clings to the almonds, about 1 hour. Allow to cool completely before storing in an air-tight container.

SPICY ALMONDS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. In a small bowl, combine the first 7 ingredients. In another small bowl, whisk egg white until foamy. Add almonds; toss to coat. Sprinkle with spice mixture; toss to coat. Spread in a single layer in a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Spread on waxed paper to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

CHOCOLATE ALMOND CAKE WITH SUGARED CRANBERRIES

Steps:

• Make the sugared cranberries: Bring 3/4 cup granulated sugar and 3/4 cup water to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Put the cranberries in a large bowl and pour the sugar syrup over them; let sit 1 hour. Whisk the remaining 3/4 cup granulated sugar with the cardamom in a large bowl. Drain the cranberries, add to the spiced sugar and toss to coat. Spread the cranberries and sugar on a rimmed baking sheet. Let sit, rerolling the cranberries in the sugar occasionally until dry, 2 to 3 hours.
• Meanwhile, make the cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Coat the parchment with cooking spray. Whisk the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, allspice and cardamom in a large bowl; set aside. Put the cocoa powder in a separate large bowl. Heat 1 cup water in a small saucepan until almost simmering; pour over the cocoa powder and whisk until smooth. Set aside until slightly cooled, about 10 minutes.
• Add the eggs to the cocoa mixture and beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until just combined. Add the granulated sugar, buttermilk, vegetable oil and vanilla; beat until combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low; gradually add the flour mixture, then increase the speed to medium and beat until smooth, about 1 minute. Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans; lightly tap on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool 10 minutes in the pans, then invert the cakes onto the rack to cool completely. Remove the parchment. (The cake layers can be made 1 day ahead; let cool, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap.)
• Make the frosting: Beat the butter, confectioners' sugar and salt in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until just combined. Add the vanilla and almond extracts; increase the mixer speed to high and beat, scraping down the side of the bowl, until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the milk and almond liqueur; beat until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 more minutes.
• Halve 1/2 cup of the sugared cranberries. Place one cake layer on a plate or cake stand. Spread with 1 cup frosting, then sprinkle with the halved cranberries. Top with the second cake layer. Cover the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. Top with the remaining sugared cranberries.

OATMEAL-CRANBERRY-ALMOND COOKIES

Steps:

• In a bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt. In another big bowl, with a mixer, mix butter, sugar, brown sugar until mixture has doubled. Add eggs and vanilla and mix. Add mixture of flour beating at low speed. Add oatmeal, cranberries and almonds and stir with a wooden spoon.
• Let drop the dough, 1/4 cup for each cookie, on ungreased baking sheets, leaving space of 3 inches between each cookies. Put one baking sheet on the superior grill, of a preheated oven of 350 F and the other baking sheet on the inferior grill. Cook 16 minutes or until cookies are golden but lightly soft on top (CHANGE THE BAKING SHEET AT MID-COOKING, THE ONE ON THE SUPERIOR GOES ON THE INFERIOR GRILL AND TURN THEM).
• Let cool on a rack for 2 minutes. Put the cookies on the rack and let cool completely.

CRANBERRY ALMOND MUFFINS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the eggs, sour cream, butter and extract; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in 1/2 cup almonds., Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups half full; drop 1 tablespoon cranberry sauce into the center of each muffin. Cover with enough batter to fill cups three-fourths full; sprinkle with remaining almonds., Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.

ORANGE, CRANBERRY & ALMOND MINCE PIES

Steps:

• Whizz the butter, flour and ground almonds in a food processor until the butter has disappeared. Pulse in the sugar and half the orange zest. Add the milk and keep whizzing until a rough dough comes together. Tip onto the work surface, press together and shape into a smooth disc, kneading once or twice if you need to. Chill for 15 mins. Can be made up to 3 days ahead and chilled, or frozen for up to 1 month.
• Scatter a little flour onto the work surface. Roll out the dough to about the thickness of a £1 coin. Using an 8cm cutter, stamp out 24 circles and use to line the holes of 2 x 12-hole bun tins.
• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Mix cranberries and mincemeat, then spoon into cases. Scatter each pie with flaked almonds. Can be frozen for up to 1 month. Bake the pies for 18-20 mins until the pastry and almonds are golden. When ready to serve, dust with the tiniest bit of icing sugar. Stir 2 tsp icing sugar and remaining zest into the crème fraîche, then dollop onto each pie to serve.

ARUGULA AND ALMOND SALAD WITH DRIED CRANBERRIES

Steps:

• Begin by making the vinaigrette. Combine the vinaigrette ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk together until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Add the olive oil in a thin stream while whisking until vinaigrette is emulsified.
• Now prepare the salad. In a large bowl, toss the arugula, sliced red onion, toasted almonds and cranberries. Dress with balsamic vinaigrette just before serving and toss gently to coat everything. Divide amongst plates and serve immediately.