Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

Its carnival season!

Every carnival, fare, Amish market, etc has these delicious cones filled with cinnamon roasted nuts.

And every carnival, fare, amish market, etc, over charges for them.

So, today, I had to break some hearts when I said I wasn't going to buy a cone, or five.

Instead, I said I was going to go home and make some myself since I had every simple ingredient sitting at home, except the nuts. A five minutes grocery store stop and to the kitchen I went!

You can use any nut really, I chose almonds, cause they're my favorite!

What you need:

1 pound almonds (about 3 1/2 cups)

1 egg white

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

What to do:

Preheat your oven to 250 F.

Separate the egg white from the yolk and discard the yolk. In a medium mixing bowl, lightly beat the egg white with a fork until frothy.

Add the vanilla and mix together. Add the almonds and stir well to make sure all the almonds are coated with the egg white/vanilla mixture.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, white sugar, salt and cinnamon until well mixed.

Sprinkle the cinnamon/sugar mixture over the almonds and stir well until all the almonds are evenly coated. Try to break up any large clumps of coating--or just leave them and enjoy them later after they're roasted.

Lightly grease your cookie sheet either by spraying with Pam or wiping with a paper towel dabbed with oil or shortening.

Spread the coated almonds evenly onto the greased sheet, and gently shake the pan back and forth a few times so they're in one layer. You may need to use two pans if your cookie sheet isn't big enough.

Place the pan in the preheated oven and roast for a total of one hour, stirring twice (at 20 minute intervals).

A wide spatula works well for stirring without knocking too much of the coating off. After each stirring, give the pan a gentle shake to even out the layer of almonds.

After an hour of roasting, allow them to cool. Keep them stored in an airtight container.