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Serves a Crowd

Toasted Salted Almonds

by:
July  4, 2009
4
2 Ratings
  • Serves 6 to 8
Author Notes

Perfect at cocktail hour, along with a stiff drink —Lauren Shockey

Test Kitchen Notes

This is more a concept than a prototypical recipe -- which is one of the reasons we like it so much. By adding a mere suspicion of sugar to her recipe for roasted salted almonds, Lauren has come up with an unusual variation on a traditional technique. Similar recipes usually call for no sugar at all, or for a larger amount of brown sugar, but this strikes a balance. The amount of sugar is just enough to soften the saltiness without actually making the nuts taste sweet. We couldn't stop eating them, and we're pretty sure you won't be able to either. Try the same technique with peanuts, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts -- whatever you have on hand. - A&M —The Editors

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Ingredients
  • 1 pound whole almonds, shelled
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Toss the almonds in the olive oil, salt, and sugar until well coated. Bake for ten minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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Lauren Shockey is a New York City-based food writer and author of the cookbook Hangover Helper as well as the culinary memoir Four Kitchens. Previously the restaurant critic at the Village Voice, she has written for such publications as The New York Times, Travel + Leisure and the Wall Street Journal.

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11 Reviews

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Laura H. August 26, 2013
@steve Thanks for the tip, can't wait to try this!
steve August 25, 2013
@Laura Whilst still hot from the oven, mist spray them slightly with brine. The residual heat evaporates the water leaving a thin salt film. The coating now sticks better. HTH
Laura H. August 26, 2013
Thanks for the tip! Can't wait to try this.
Laura H. December 13, 2012
Just made 4 pounds of these for the holidays...they've proven to be a huge hit and I had a lot of people request them again this year.
Per the below: I always reduce the oil now to 3 TB per pound of almonds. I use Morton's Kosher Salt, not Diamonds, because it is smaller and sticks better. Even so, as people noted, some of the coating falls off. The best way to get most of it to stay on is to cool the almonds on the baking sheets, overnight -- let them dry out -- stir them the next day, rearrange into an even layer and let them sit for another 12 hours for so.
Arrxx November 2, 2012
Just wondering if anyone else has found that the salt mixture falls off and collects at the bottom of the bowl or jar. The almonds still taste good but the seasoning doesn't seem to adhere.
thomasc October 12, 2012
I liked this recipe. Agreed though, less oil may be better. I have found that after a few days in a can, the nuts dry out quite a bit. I did without the sugar and added a few dashes of chili powder, I bet paprika, cumin, vel. sim. would also be nice. amount of salt was perfect. these will be my staple for a snack with a cocktail. interested in trying other nuts with this concept.
Arrxx August 27, 2012
I made these and also found I needed to reduce the amount of oil. I also found that the salt a sugar just fall to the bottom of the bowl after roasting. I added a little smoke paprika.
ihaventpoisonedyouyet May 13, 2012
I made these before and didn't look at the comments and I will also reduce the amount of oil the next time. I added some fresh chopped rosemary and it was great. Such an easy recipe and everyone loved them. Cooked them a bit longer than called for, but maybe that's due to my oven.
Angel February 17, 2012
I made these last night and wish I had read the comments below first. I found that it was way too much oil as well and also that the sugar did not dissolve in the oil. In the end they tasted fine, because how can a roasted almond not taste good, but this recipe didn't really work for me.
Sadassa_Ulna May 15, 2011
I made these earlier today and I had some problems. The amount of oil seemed to be too much? After baking I scooped the almonds with a slotted spoon and let them drain on paper towels. But the salt and sugar never dissolved into the oil, so it remained in puddles of oil in the pan.
I think in the future I would use 3 T. maximum of oil, maybe even less, and maybe roast the nuts in the oil alone, then sprinkle with the salt and sugar while hot just out of the oven.
Another mistake was thinking that if I cooked them longer then the sugar would dissolve. I baked them for almost 18 minutes and I thought they were overdone (although my husband liked them dark roasted!) So I guess I am disagreeing with LHO about longer cook time.
I recommend to anyone trying this recipe for the first time to perhaps try a half batch to find your preferred level of roast/color?
I do like the hint of sugar . . .
Laura H. November 7, 2009
These are delicious...just wanted to add that they should be baked in a single layer on a baking sheet, and (if you're using almonds) you really do want them to be as dark as the ones in the photo--but it took mine closer to 20 minutes to get there.