Roasted Maple Cinnamon Almonds

Lately I have had all these things I "need-to-do" floating around in my brain.  They are starting to build up.  Things like, buy batteries, groom puppy, clean out closet, plant basil plant... try making my own spiced almonds.  Nothing earth shattering.  But things I really want to do, things that I have been putting off for days, weeks!  Last night hopped up on vanilla iced coffee, I decided to take action and just do.  I accomplished all of the above, including homemade maple cinnamon almonds!!  It felt so good to commit an evening to just knocking things off my list.  My brain thanked me today, I slept better last night, and now I have a yummy snack for the weekend :)

Almonds are really good for you.  We all know that, so I try to always keep some around.  Regular almonds are okay on their own, but I have learned they taste wayyyy better when you add a few healthy natural toppings.  The first batch I tried I coated the almonds with just cinnamon and baked.  Not so good.  The second attempt, I added an egg white to the cinnamon and baked.  Not so good either.  Still hopped up on caffeine, I made a third attempt.  This time I mixed pure all-natural maple syrup {maple makes everything more exciting} with cinnamon, coated the almonds and baked.  These turned out sooo good.  I recommend you try these out!

 Ingredients

1 cup unsalted almonds
1 1/2 tbsp pure all natural maple syrup {don't use Aunt Jemina!}
1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
a pinch of salt

  

Method

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  In a small bowl, combine the maple syrup, cinnamon and pinch of salt with a fork/whisk.  Add almonds and coat them evenly.  Spread out almonds on a non-stick baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes, stirring every ten minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.  Store these in an airtight container/plastic bag for a healthy portable snack!  Enjoy!

And just for kicks, here is a picture of Charlie Bear, groomed :)