Candied Almonds - brændte mandler

Candied Almonds - Brændte Mandler

The smell of candied roasted almonds is the smell of december in Copenhagen. Walking down the pedestrian street Strøget in the heart of Copenhagen, you will see vendors selling these almonds. 

I have never tried making candied roasted almonds, but it's really easy and you only need 3 ingredients. But be aware - they are highly addictive.

Ingredients:

• 200 g almonds

• 200 g sugar

• ¼ cup water

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, for cooling the almonds.

Pour all ingredients in a skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir so all the sugar gets wet. Bring to a boil, stir constantly until all liquid is evaporated and you have crystallized sugar in your pan again.

When the sugar starts to melt again, turn down the heat to medium and keep on stirring. Now the almonds will be covered by the caramelized sugar. 

Pour the candied almonds onto the baking sheet. Separate the almonds if they stick together. Let them cool completely. 

Enjoy the sweet and crispy treat.

Liquorice Candied Almonds - Brændte Lakridsmandler

Liquorice Candied Almonds - Brændte Lakridsmandler 

Inspired of the regular candied almonds and by Johan Bülows book "Lakrids i maden" (liquorice in food) I made another batch almonds. This time I added raw liquorice powder and the sweet liquorice syrup. And oh boy, that was a brilliant idea.

Be aware - they are highly addictive.

Ingredients:

• 200 g almonds
• 200 g sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 1 teaspoon Raw Liquorice Powder
• 2 teaspoons Sweet Liquorice Syrup

Directions:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, for cooling the almonds.

Pour all ingredients in a skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir so all the sugar gets wet. Bring to a boil, stir constantly until all liquid is evaporated and you have crystallized sugar in your pan again.

Turn down the heat down to medium, when the sugar starts to melt again and keep on stirring. Now the almonds will be covered by the caramelized sugar. 

Pour the candied almonds onto the baking sheet. Separate the almonds if the stick together. Let the cool completely. 

Enjoy the sweet and crispy treat.

Soft Liquorice Caramels

Soft Liquorice Caramels

Sweet Liquorice bliss

I think liquorice is a scandinavian thing. Well Germans like it too. Salty, sweet and spicy liquorice is candy in Denmark. A couple years ago liquorice started showing up in chocolate, desserts and food in general. My childhood friend would claim that we teased her when she ate liquorice and chocolate together, but I don't remember that.

Laste year I made some chewy from but soft caramels made from condensed milk from Anne au Chocolat' website. Having a craving for liquorice I tried to make them again but this time adding liquorice and other small changes. For me this combination was close to perfection.

I used Bülow Raw Liquorice Powder, Fine Liquorice Powder and Sweet Liquorice Syrup. Bülow has been one of the most innovative producers of liquorice in years. I think it's thanks to Johan Bülow that we have all these new liquorice products. 

This is my take on the caramels

Ingredients:

• 1 can condensed milk
• 75 g butter
• 175 g sugar
• 2 tablespoons sweet liquorice syrup
• 2 teaspoons raw liquorice powder
• 3 tablespoons fine liquorice powder (coating)

Direction:

Melt butter, sugar syrup and condensed milk over medium heat. Keep stirring until everything is melted. Turn up the heat and simmer the caramel for about 10 minutes till it reaches 257℉ (125℃).

Remove from heat and mix in the liquorice powder.

Pour the caramel into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper, and let the cool in the refrigerator for 4-5 hours. Cut the caramels into cubes, and roll them in the fine liquorice powder, and wrap them in candy wrappers.

Enjoy.

Note:

Next time, I think I will freeze the caramels and cover them with chocolate, because the caramels bled, and got very sticky.