Recipe: Bailey's Crunchy Candied Almonds (using Bailey's Irish Cream)

BAILY'S CRUNCHY CANDIED ALMONDS

Sidenote: If you want a vegan option, you can leave out the Baileys entirely and the recipe will still turn out. You could also try using whiskey but maybe use a little bit less because the flavor is stronger.

1 cup brown sugar (you can use light or dark)
1/4 cup cold water
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups whole almonds
4 tbsp. Baileys Irish Cream or a similar cream liqueur

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small saucepan, mix brown sugar, 1/4 cup cold water, cinnamon and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Once the mixture is at a solid boil, add in almonds and stir, keeping the heat on the same temperature. Continue to stir very frequently until almost all of the excess liquid has evaporated.

Add in the Baileys and stir the almonds until they are coated in a thick layer of the sugar mixture with no liquid left at the bottom of the saucepan.

Transfer the almonds to a lined baking sheet, making sure they are separated and spread out.

Bake for exactly 10 minutes and allow to cool for an hour - the almonds will still feel slightly softer when they first come out, but the outer coating and almond will harden into a nice crunchy snack.

Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Adapted from source: The Vegetarian Ginger, 5/14/14