Growing up in Germany, I went to the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) with my family every year. Home was Stuttgart which proudly boasts one of the oldest and largest Christmas markets in Germany, but we also loved visiting other Christmas markets around the country. Most large cities and even many smaller towns around Germany have their own Christmas markets and each has its own unique aspects and charms.
Whichever Weihnachtsmarkt we visited, I don’t think there was ever a time I went to one without getting some Türkischer Honig, a hot mug of Kinderpunsch (non-alcoholic spiced punch), and a package of Gebrannte Mandeln (candied almonds). That trio of goodies can be found at every Christmas market and they were my favorite treats to enjoy while strolling up and down the stalls and enjoying all the sights, sounds and smells of the Weihnachtsmarkt.
Since moving to the U.S. twelve years ago I’m not longer able to visit the German Christmas markets every year like I used to. But what I can do, and have done, is create many of my favorite Weihnachtsmarkt treats.
Today I’m going to show you how to make Gebrannte Mandeln. They’re made on the stovetop and there’s a key difference that distinguishes them from other candied almonds: Whereas many recipes will say the almonds are done once the sugar has melted and then thickened, the process for making German candied almonds continues through two additional stages that results in a fantastic flavor and texture. If you’ve never tried them before, you’re in for a treat!
And if you’ve had Gebrannte Mandeln before and love them as I do, I wish you a wonderful stroll down memory lane!
Let’s get started!
Place the sugar, cinnamon, salt, vanilla extract and water in a heavy, well-seasoned cast iron pan or non-stick pan and bring it to a boil until the sugar is dissolved. Add the almonds and reduce the heat to medium-high.
Regularly stir the almonds. The process will take about 20-25 minutes.
The sugar will begin to turn darker.
The sugar mixture will become thicker. At this point stir constantly.
Before you know it the sugar will begin to crystalize.
The sugar will become dry and resume the appearance of crystalized sugar. Before you scream, “oh my gosh, what happened to my almonds?? They’ve seized and there’s no rescuing them!”, don’t panic. This is normal.
To prevent burning, turn the heat down to medium and continue stirring. Within a couple of minutes the sugar will begin melting. Stir continually, coating the almonds in the melted sugar.
Once the sugar has mostly melted and the almonds have a rough/bumpy coating around them, they are done.
Dump the roasted candied almonds out onto parchment paper and spread them out to cool down.
They are ready for eating!
Enjoy!
Gebrannte Mandeln (German Candied Almonds)
Ingredients
- 2 cups cane (or regular) sugar
- 1 cup water
- 2 teaspoons quality pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/2 cups raw almonds
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients except for the almonds in a heavy, well-seasoned cast iron pan or non-stick pan. Bring it to a boil until the sugar melts. Add the almonds and reduce the heat to medium-high.
- Stir the almonds continually. The process will take about 20-25 minutes as the sugar caramelizes, crystalizes, becomes dry and powdery and then melts. Once the sugar dries and becomes powdery (don't panic, this is supposed to happen!), reduce the heat to medium to prevent burning. Stir constantly until the sugar begins to melt, stirring to coat the almonds with the melted sugar. Once the sugar is mostly melted and the almonds are rough and bumpy, they are done.
- NOTE: This is more of an "advanced" recipe as it is very easy to ruin. It requires the proper equipment and constant attention.
Jenna says
I halved this recipe and it turned out great – probably could have left them in a littler longer for the dried sugar to truly melt all the way back but I was worried I’d burn it. For those who have a larger burner for big pots on your gas stove – turn the heat down a bit from what is instructed to avoid burning. Thank you for this recipe!!!
Michelle says
I made these in a nut roaster which is a pan that has a top and stirs from the bottom. (look up whirly pop) I did keep the top open but I think what is happing with the fails is that people are looking for the dry sugar stage but because our pans were deeper vs a cast iron wide skillet like those in the picture, not enough water boiled off before the sugar ‘remelted’. Because of this, we all cooked it way too long and got the goopy burnt mess – as I did. I ended up going with a recipe where you roast them in the oven which is not quite the same but worked. I would try this again in a cast iron or other wide skillet, and I think I would use 1/2 the amount of water, or if I didn’t use less water, I would stop cooking them right when the mixture turned a bit light brown. I will make 1/2 recipe next time to test this idea.
Megan says
My trip back to Germany of course couldn’t happen this year. So happy to have found this recipe! I doubled the amount and it turned out just as I remember! The pain of stirring so much for so long was lessened by having a glass of Glühwein in hand!!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
LOL! Fantastic, Megan, I’m so happy you enjoyed them!
Lucy says
We just made these as part of our home-made German Christmas market (since the real ones are closed this year). They came out looking and tasting EXACTLY like the ones on the markets. I made sure to keep stirring when the sugar turned powdery, and remove them from the heat just as it began to melt again, and the result was perfect. I just used a normal non-stick pan, but I literally did not stop stirring for 25 minutes, I was so scared about them burning! Thank you so much for this recipe!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Lucy, I’m so happy they were a success, thank you!
S. Jackson says
Just finished making this recipe. (Used pecans instead of almonds.). Fabulous!!! Thank you for sharing this recipe. And especially thank you for the advice not to panic. I was really thinking I had done something wrong, but I kept stirring and right before eyes appeared a delicious treat. Will definitely make these again over three Christmas holiday.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, thanks so much for the feedback!
Uwe Kaufmann says
Yummo, oh them home feels…childhood memories. Thanks heaps they turned out perfect.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad you enjoyed them, Uwe, thank you!
Danielle says
What am I doing wrong?? Using cast iron. Been stirring constantly!
The liquid mostly had Mostly absorbed… And now it is almost liquefying again… I’ve been at this for almost an hour! Sweet sticky and smelling A bit burnt… So disappointed. Was making this for my Oktoberfest gathering!!!
Phillip Knight says
You don’t think of these during a Texas summer ,but we had a huge amount of almonds to do something with and I remembered munching on these during a christkidle market.This recipe is a good one,but if you have little experience cooking sugars to the candy stage you must follow the tempatures and times precisely.Eventually you will “just know” when the sugars have reached the “hard ball” or “soft ball” stage.I used the Mexican vanilla we are so fond of in Texas and use the freshest cinnamon.Its still 100 degrees in the shade but the house smells like its Christmas in July !
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Wonderful, Phillip, I’m so glad you enjoyed them! I’m with you, I could eat these all year round :)
Alice Burns says
Just tried making this followed the recipe to the letter, ended up with a burnt gooey mess and a waste of good ingredients.
Kendria says
I made these last year and loved them. This year made them again usin my Le Creuset and ended up with a burnt mess because the sugar never dried out. It looks like a cast iron skillet is being used in the recipe above so will try again using my cast iron.
David Hawks says
I have loved these since my childhood days in Bad Kreuznach. I’ve missed them and I’m so happy to see a recipe for them. I have one question. I have a flat glass topped stove and can’t use a cast iron pan. Do you think it would work in a heavy stainless steel skillet?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi David, not stainless steel but you can use a non-stick pan. Have a great Sunday!
Anonymous says
Like a lot of other comments, this turned out to be a burned goopy mess!
I followed the instructions exactly, I won’t try it again, the almonds cost me 10$.