Almonds are, without a doubt, the most versatile nut. The health benefits of this nut extend beyond salads. In most of our cooking, almonds are the main ingredient that can be found in nut butter, homemade crackers, quiche crusts, and desserts like brownies and ice cream. Almonds, rich in plant-based protein, add a little extra fullness. Since we like all things almond, we’ve selected our favorite almond recipes to share.
A few recipes call for almond flour, but the majority call for whole almonds. Although it is possible to make almond flour at home, we typically buy it because it is challenging to achieve the texture of finely ground almonds. From almond butter to ice cream with jamoca almond fudge, we hope you enjoy these dishes as much as we do.
What is an Almond?
Although it’s officially a drupe fruit produced by the almond tree, the almond is frequently mistaken for a nut. Although the majority of almonds are now grown in the United States, Spain, and Italy, they are originally from North Africa, West Asia, and the Mediterranean. This well-liked nut is used in many dishes and can be consumed raw or roasted. Almonds are used in savory cuisines from all over the world, as well as recipes for sweet treats, bread, and other baked items.
Almond Substitutes
There are substitutes for nuts if you’re allergic to them or don’t like them. Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, and unsalted pistachios are the finest alternatives to other nuts for replacing almonds. These are similar in flavor and texture. Be careful to use the same preparation and measurement (e.g., sliced, chopped, etc.).
Try crunchy rice cereal, granola, oats, or unsalted pumpkin or sunflower seeds to maintain the recipe’s texture. Almond recipes are frequently supplemented with chocolate chips, raisins, or dried cranberries; these ingredients work particularly well in baked goods like cookies. Of course, the texture, consistency, and flavor will vary with each of these substitutions.
Here are Some Best Almond Recipes
Sesame Honey Roasted Almonds
It is shockingly simple and requires very little preparation to make honey-roasted almonds. To make it simpler to combine with the other components, you must first microwave the honey for a short period. Then combine the wild honey, unsalted almonds, sesame seeds, a dash of kosher salt, and cayenne pepper. Make sure everything is well combined to ensure that the honey mixture coats the almonds equally.
The almonds should be spread out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper after everything has been blended, and they should roast for 10 minutes (using parchment paper is essential; otherwise, the almonds will adhere to the baking sheet!). Before breaking them apart, let the almonds cool completely on the baking sheet. When the almonds first come out of the oven, refrain from eating them! The virtually molten honey would burn your mouth.
Almond Butter
Welcome, fans of nut butter! It turns out that you can produce whatever creamy nut butter you want using a dependable food processor. And what better way to get started than with everyone’s favorite: a recipe for almond butter! There is nothing like what we make ourselves at home, and we have for years. Everything is improved by this creamy purée, including toast, porridge, and acai bowls. Here are some creative suggestions for unlimited variants on creating almond butter at home. Move along! Although the process is relatively simple, there are a few things to remember. You can use any nut to build it when you’ve mastered it!
The primary idea behind this recipe for almond butter is as follows: Burning the nuts. To enhance the flavor, first, roast the almonds in the oven. Additionally, when they’re heated, they blend better. They should be blended for a time. The almonds should be toasted first, then placed in a food processor, and blended for what seems like an eternity. You’ll see that they go through stages: at first, they’ll be crumbly, and then they’ll become mushy. They’ll eventually become creamy, the ideal buttery texture. The precise timing will vary from time to time, depending on the maturity of the nuts.
Skillet Chocolate Chip Almond Flour Cookies
The recipes we post here are often for wholesome, fresh meals, but now and then, a sweet treat comes along that is just too delightful to keep to yourself. It’s these cookies made with almond flour and chocolate chips this time. Even though it is not healthy, it might be considered somewhat healthful. It offers more nutrients than the conventional refined white flour cookie because the dough foundation is mostly made of almond flour (ground almonds). It is suitable for various diets because it is also devoid of dairy and gluten.
The recipe is easy to make: combine all the ingredients in a bowl, pour them into a skillet, and bake. It doesn’t get any simpler than that! For the recipe, continue reading. These skillet-baked chocolate chip cookies with almond flour are incredibly simple to make. The combination of almond flour, brown sugar, butter, or coconut oil gives them the perfect texture: chewy, caramel-y, and dense like a blondie. Buying almond flour is worthwhile for this recipe. (Almond flour: do you want more? You can try any of these ten simple recipes for almonds.)
Honey Almond Granola
Granola is difficult not to adore. Who could turn down the sweet goodness of honey and toasted oats? Although buying is preferable (especially from local vendors), Alex and I have recently enjoyed experimenting with our recipes. (And by “hone,” I mean to remake every couple of nights to change every parameter. I feel like a granola scientist of some sort!). Fortunately, the honey almond granola recipe brought the granola research study to a successful conclusion.
With this honey almond granola, we wanted to create a straightforward, hassle-free, and nutritious dish. Additionally, we only wanted to utilize honey, a natural sweetener. In addition to the honey being of higher quality, you’ll be helping local companies, which we believe in! If at all possible, try to identify a local source of honey when buying it for this recipe.
Chocolate Almond Cake
For this recipe, we’ve added a “whole foods” twist to a delectable flourless chocolate cake by substituting maple syrup for extra refined sugar and using ground almonds for protein and nutrients. A dessert that uses only ground almonds and no refined flour is also gluten-free. Additionally, we’ve used one of our go-to “tricks,” which is to make small individual pieces.
It’s really simple to build and lovely to look at. You can use almond meal or flour if you don’t have a food processor to grind the almonds. Below is the recipe. We also have ten simple almond recipes for you to attempt if you want to use almond flour in other dishes.
Cherry Almond Snack Bars
Simply put, cacao nibs are fragments of the cacao bean, the main ingredient in chocolate. In contrast to chocolate, which has sugar and other components added, they are just a little processed. So without the extra sugar, cacao nibs have all the health benefits of dark chocolate.
What flavor do cacao nibs have? The flavor is bitter and black, similar to concentrated chocolate. Sincerely speaking, I find the flavor to be more bitter than chocolate-like. If you want to give something an authentic chocolate flavor, dark chocolate is the way to go. However, cacao nibs are the way to go if you’re managing your sugar intake and want something that tastes like chocolate but isn’t loaded with sugar.
Jamoca Almond Fudge Ice Cream
A friend approached me with a challenge a few weeks ago. She asked Alex and me to develop a rip-off recipe for Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream. She asked us to try to make a handmade, healthier version of her favorite Baskin Robbins flavor. It was a casual comment, but I was intrigued, so we experimented. Since dairy-free ice cream is simple to prepare at home, we choose to make a recipe for it.
A weekend of four separate coffee ice cream tries, coffee grounds all over our kitchen, coffee-flavored gunk behind my ear at one point, and many trips to the store for coconut milk followed that innocent experiment. My first attempt showed promise, the second was a total failure, the third was only passable, and the fourth was a sweet, delicious success. We consumed far too much food, which caused me to stray from my “occasional splurge” sugar goal. (Be careful; this is a hazardous material.) But there’s a recipe here. It is also my favorite ice cream that we have ever produced.
Where to Buy Almonds?
Late summer to early autumn is when almonds are harvested. Around that time, farmer’s markets, specialized stores, and online sources should have whole, raw almonds available. They are available in quantity and sold by the pound, but they are not cheap. Almonds came in various varieties at any grocery shop, including in the shell and shelled. In the early spring, green (immature) almonds can be harvested from almond trees or discovered in farmer’s markets. Almond butter, extract, flour, milk, oil, and paste are all widely available products.
Almonds in shells can be consumed raw, roasted, or blanched. Raw or roasted almonds will still retain their skins; blanched almonds are skinless. Almonds can be purchased whole, sliced, slivered or split, diced, or chopped when raw or blanched. The freshest flavor will come from slicing whole almonds, even if pre-cut almonds are the simplest to use in a recipe.
Shake the nut if you discover almonds inside the shell. If it shakes a lot, it’s probably maturing, shrinking, and about to go rancid. Slice the nut in half to check for rancidity, and look for a uniformly solid white texture. It is past its prime and needs to be thrown away if it is yellowish or has a honeycomb texture.
Storage Tips
Unopened packages of packaged raw almonds can be kept in a cold, dark location for up to two years. Roasted almonds that have not been opened can be kept in the same location for up to a year. If kept cold or frozen, both will survive much longer. Almonds in packages should be kept in an airtight container, or sealed plastic bag with the air squeezed out and kept in a cool, dry, dark location (preferably the refrigerator) for up to three months before being used. Keep the almonds away from humid areas to extend their shelf life.
Almond flour can be frozen permanently, kept in the refrigerator for up to six months, or kept in the pantry for a few months. For up, the paste can be kept in the refrigerator. Shelf- for up to two years, stable salmon d milk should be eaten within seven to ten days, and some varieties must be kept chilled. Similar to how some peanut butter needs to be refrigerated, all almond butter that has been opened should typically be consumed within three months.
Almond Varieties
Almonds come in a wide range of types. Most almonds are sweet; bitter almonds must be blanched before eating to lessen their bitter flavor and remove contaminants. California is the world’s largest producer of sweet almonds, and the kinds are categorized as California, Mission, or Nonpareil almonds. They vary in size, color, and whether or not blanching is necessary. While some kinds are sold for consumer consumption, others are used in manufactured goods. The Marcona almond from Spain is a well-liked gourmet variety of almonds recognized for being sweeter and softer than most.
Uses of Almond
If you haven’t already, you might need to take the shells out before using them. Almonds can be consumed whole as a snack, added to a trail mix, or prepared for cooking. Some recipes call for blanched or toasted almonds, which you may purchase already prepared or make yourself using whole almonds. Almonds can also be ground into a finer texture or chopped into slices or slivers to create an almond meal (or almond flour).
How do you Make Unsalted Almonds Taste Better?
When it’s hot outside, you can season almonds with a milder flavoring in the summer. You can choose something straightforward like olive oil, coarse sea salt, and black pepper. Include additional fresh or dried herbs like thyme or mint to enhance the flavor. The almonds’ tips should be salted. The amount of salt you use should be determined by your tastes. Use just one teaspoon of salt for every 2 cups of almonds if you want yours lightly salted.
Add one tablespoon of salt for every 2 cups of almonds if you desire a considerably saltier flavor. Systolic blood pressure reduction provides additional protection against heart disease and can be aided by almonds. Almonds are a great source of magnesium, vitamin E, and dietary fiber, all essential minerals for your health. Almonds are a wholesome and satisfying snack in one serving.
Conclusion
Sometimes the skin has a bitter taste, but it can also have a pleasant flavor and add flavor to a meal. Test the nut before removing the outside brown covering. Blanching almonds makes it easier to remove the skin than frying them. You’ll find that toasting the almonds first will keep them from sinking in the batter and bring out a richer flavor when you use them in bread or muffins.
When almonds are sliced or divided into slivers, they add extra texture to stir-fries and baked goods. They can also garnish salads, meat and vegetable dishes, and sweets or desserts. Additionally, processed almonds such as almond paste, butter, flour, or milk are called for in several recipes. Although each can be bought, producing these yourself requires more preparation.
