Featured at festivals in honor of the patron saint and fairs, praline almonds are also prepared during the period preceding the Christmas holidays.
These crispy sweets, also known as “mother-in-law sleepers“, are super easy to make. Few ingredients, but the secret to making them crispy and fragrant lies in the amount of sugar, the addition of flavors, and the cooking time. Almonds, as well as hazelnuts, peanuts, and pistachios, are cooked in a sugar and water syrup until glazed.
Discover my recipe and with a few simple steps, you can relive the aromas and emotions of the past.
If you like almonds, you can try many other recipes, such as those for Christmas gathered in the collection Special Christmas Sweets
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Portions: for 6 people
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 485.61 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 63.05 (g) of which sugars 54.45 (g)
- Proteins 10.58 (g)
- Fat 24.97 (g) of which saturated 1.90 (g)of which unsaturated 21.94 (g)
- Fibers 6.25 (g)
- Sodium 2.01 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 9 oz almonds
- 9 oz sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 packet vanillin
Tools
Necessary tools to prepare praline almonds
- 1 Wooden spoon
- 1 Pan
- 1 Parchment paper
- 1 Baking sheet
How to prepare praline almonds
To cook praline almonds, start by placing a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Next, in a non-stick saucepan, pour the sugar, the packet of vanillin, the water, and lastly the almonds.
At this point, mix all the ingredients well, then turn on the heat to medium flame and start stirring with a wooden spoon: you will notice that the mixture will become very liquid after a while, then it will start to boil, and finally, the sugar will crystallize (it will take on a very light color).
At this point, remove the saucepan from the heat and stir for a couple of minutes. Put it back on the heat and continue stirring until the sugar starts to melt and takes on a dark amber color.
then, pour the praline almonds onto the parchment paper and spread them apart, ensuring they do not stick together; as they cool, you can place them in a glass jar and store them. Your praline almonds are ready to be enjoyed, but trust me, you will eat them all. They are too good
Storage
You can store the praline almonds, once cooled, in an airtight glass container for about a week.
Tip
For cooking praline almonds, it is preferable to use a copper pan; if you do not have one, a steel pan will work fine.
