Smoked Almond Caramels Recipes

Steps:

• Cake: Preheat the oven to 325 F. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix almond paste and butter on low speed, 1 minute. Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a small bowl. Turn mixer up to medium and add the eggs one at a time to the almond paste mixture. Allow each egg to completely incorporate into the batter, about 30 seconds, before adding the next one; this will ensure a smooth batter. Slowly add flour and continue mixing just to incorporate, 10-15 seconds.
• Prepare a springform pan with nonstick spray. Line the bottom with parchment paper and spray the parchment paper (this will prevent the cake from sticking). Pour batter into the pan, spreading it evenly across the bottom. Parbake until lightly golden, 10 minutes.
• Caramel topping: While cake is in the oven, add ½ cup cream, sugar, glucose, and butter to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook undisturbed until caramel is light brown and registers 244 F on a kitchen thermometer, 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in almonds to combine. As you stir, avoid scraping up any browned caramel that may be sticking to the bottom of the pan.
• Remove cake from the oven; it will be gooey and not fully cooked. Carefully pour the warm caramel onto the cake; spread evenly. Return to the oven; bake until the caramel is golden brown and bubbly, 10 minutes.
• Remove cake from oven and let cool, 10-15 minutes. The top will firm up as it cools. Remove cake from pan by running a knife around the edge, then remove the sides from the base. (Keep the cake on the base for serving.) While the cake is cooling, whip cream for serving: Place remaining 1 cup heavy cream in a bowl and whisk until soft peaks form, 30 seconds. Slice cooled cake into wedges and serve with whipped cream.

Steps:

• In a bowl, whisk egg white until foamy. Add garlic powder, celery salt, salt and liquid smoke; stir until blended. Add almonds and stir until well coated. Evenly spread almonds in a 15x10x1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray. , Bake at 300° for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Cool. Store in an airtight container.

Steps:

• Pour the beer into a glass; let sit until flat, about 1 hour.
• Butter an 8-inch-square baking dish. Bring half of the beer to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook until reduced to 2 teaspoons, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the remaining beer, the brown sugar, corn syrup, cream and butter in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until a candy thermometer registers 235 degrees F, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the beer syrup and pretzels. Spread in the prepared dish and chill until firm, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cut into pieces.

Steps:

• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and grease generously with the spray. Generously spray a large bowl and all but the handle part of a large spoon or rubber spatula.
• Combine the popcorn, salt and oil in a large deep pot with a lid and stir to coat the kernels in oil. Place the pot over moderately high heat, cover with a lid and cook, shaking the pot frequently to redistribute the kernels. Cook until all the kernels have popped, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the popcorn to the large prepared bowl, discarding any un-popped kernels.
• Combine 1/4 cup water, the sugar and corn syrup in a large deep pot over moderately high heat and stir to combine. Cook, undisturbed, until the mixture develops a light amber color, about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, add the butter and baking soda and stir continuously to melt the butter and combine the ingredients, about 20 seconds. Working quickly, pour the sugar mixture (caramel) over the popcorn, and add the almonds, cashews and chocolate, if using. Use the prepared spoon to stir everything together, trying to evenly coat the popcorn and nuts in caramel. Sprinkle with sea salt. Break the caramel corn into smaller, bite-size pieces and serve.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove and drain on paper towels. When cool enough to handle, chop the bacon into small pieces. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, pour off most of the bacon fat from the hot skillet and add the butter. Add the sugar, five-spice powder, cayenne and salt and stir until the sugar dissolves and everything is combined. Add the almonds and stir to coat.
• Spread the nuts on the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Stir in the bacon and serve warm or at room temperature.

Steps:

• Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and grease generously with nonstick vegetable-oil spray. Generously spray a large bowl and all but the handle part of a large spoon or rubber spatula.
• In a large deep pot with a lid, combine the popcorn kernels, oil, and salt and stir to coat the kernels in oil. Place the pot over moderately high heat, cover with a lid, and cook, shaking the pot frequently to redistribute the kernels, until all the kernels have popped, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the popped popcorn to the large prepared bowl, discarding any unpopped kernels. DO AHEAD: The popcorn can be popped in advance and stored, in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 3 days.
• In a large deep pot over moderately high heat, combine the corn syrup, sugar, and 1/4 cup water and stir to combine. Cook, undisturbed, until the mixture develops a light amber color, about 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, add the baking soda and butter, and stir continuously to melt the butter and combine the ingredients, about 20 seconds. (The mixture will be very hot and will foam up at this point-continuous stirring will help the foaming subside.) Working quickly, pour the caramel over the popcorn and add the almonds, then use the prepared spoon or rubber spatula to stir everything together, trying to evenly coat the popcorn and nuts in caramel. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet, spreading out the caramel corn as much as possible. Sprinkle with fleur de sel and let cool and harden for about 20 minutes. Break the caramel corn into smaller, bite-size pieces and serve. DO AHEAD: Caramel corn can be prepared in advance and stored, in an airtight container at room temperature, up to 3 days.

Steps:

• Pour cooking oil over almonds in bowl.
• Toss to coat well.
• Spread on ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake in 275 degree oven for 45 minutes.
• Remove from oven.
• Pour nuts into medium bowl.
• Sprinkle with liquid smoke.
• Toss to coat well.
• Mix flour and salt in cup.
• Sprinkle over almonds.
• Toss to coat well.
• Spread on same baking sheet.
• Bake for 20 minutes.
• Cool.