This crunchy brittle, packed with delicious roasted almonds, is a classic festive sweet treat, and together with candied almonds, are a very common sight at Christmas markets.

Handcrafted almond brittle is a very old recipe, very easy to make, using just a few basic ingredients, and it can make a lovely homemade gift for your foodie friends and family. Small brittle pieces can be served with coffee at the end of a meal, and it is great for topping the desserts since it makes them a little bit extra special.

Almond brittle is worth having in a pantry during a holiday season together with some good quality vanilla ice cream or gelato. Just put some brittle in a food processor and pulse it to the desired consistency. Sprinkle and scatter over the ice cream, and this humble and rustic brittle will turn your ice cream into a very elegant and festive dessert.

The coast of Slovenian Istra, where I come from, is blessed with a Mediterranean climate that allows almond trees to thrive and they are commonly found in people's gardens.

Almonds get harvested in autumn, then stored and used during winter month and especially during the holiday season. In fact, my 96 year old nona tod me that when she was a child, almond brittle and sugar coated almonds were a very special treats children were given during the festive season, in particular on Christmas Eve and on Christmas day.

I am sharing here a basic and most traditional recipe for almond brittle, how my nona's mother used to make, just using sugar and a bit of lemon juice.

Like most of the traditional recipes, this one has many variations, and you can “modernize” it and give a little twist, by adding ground cinnamon, orange juice instead of lemon juice, lemon or orange zest and a bit of honey.

Recipe

Ingredients

250g peeled or unpeeled almonds or a mixture of both (you can use any other type of nuts you like or a combination of them according to your preference)
250g caster sugar
1Tbsp lemon juice
2Tbsp water

Method

Before you start with the recipe I suggest you have all the ingredients and the tools ready. Once the sugar mixture turns into a caramel, you need to be very fast as the caramel hardens quite quickly and becomes difficult to work with.

Toast the nuts first for a few minutes either in a non stick frying pan or in the oven at 160C static or equivalent for about 10 minutes, by arranging the nuts in a single layer on a baking tray.

When lightly toasted, cool the nuts down a bit and set aside.

While the nuts are toasting prepare the surface where you are going to transfer your caramel almond mixture later on.

Brush with oil either a marble slab (marble kitchen top) or a piece of parchment paper.

Put the caster sugar, lemon juice and water in a non stick pan. Let the sugar melt into a syrup, do not stir, but you can give the pot a very gentle shake once the sugar starts to melt. When it reaches the amber colour (light golden brown) your caramel is ready.

For the following stage you need to work fast, as the caramel cools down very quickly and therefore hardens.

Add the nuts to the caramel, stir and mix quickly so all the nuts are well coated.As soon as the nuts are fully coated, remove immediately from the heat, this process should be fairly fast. Do not leave on the stove for too long, to the point of the sugar getting too dark, burning it could potentially result in a slight bitter aftertaste when eating the brittle.

Tip the coated nuts either on a lightly oiled marble work top (if you have it), non stick baking tray or on an oiled sheet of baking parchment.

Level and compact the brittle with oiled back of a ladle, big serving spoon or similar.

Let it cool a bit and then cut or break into pieces.

Just a thought

You can prepare almond brittle days in advance and keep it in an airtight container in a cool, dark and dry place. You can place layers of baking parchment between the brittle to avoid sticking.

To clean the pan with the solidified caramel, just add the water and bring to boil, the sugar will just simply melt in no time.

These sugar coated almonds are delicious and crunchy, and are very easy to make. It only takes a few minutes to make them, and they are ideal little sweet treats to keep in the pantry over the holidays. They also make a perfect home-made little gift for your friends and family.

Candied almonds together with the mulled wine are a reminder of the variety of offerings at Christmas markets, and are a great alternative when trying to avoid big desserts after a substantial meal, they have a “wow factor” and will impress your guests when served with tea or coffee.

My nona told me that when she was a child, sugar coated almonds, together with oranges, mandarins and other types of nuts, were very special treats, the only treats as a matter of fact, children were given during the festive season and in particular on Christmas Eve and on Christmas day.

The coast of Slovenian Istra, where I come from, is blessed with a Mediterranean climate that allows almond trees to thrive and they are commonly found in people's gardens. Almonds get harvested in autumn, then stored to be used during the winter months.

I am sharing here a basic and traditional recipe for candied almonds, how my nona's grandmother used to make them, just with sugar.

For a more “modern” and festive taste you can personalize the recipe to your liking and add a bit of cinnamon to the sugar mixture or other spices to your taste like the nutmeg, ground ginger, cardamom, and all spice, just to give you a few ideas.