I had an exhilarating time exploring Cologne's oldest Christmas Market 'Markt de Engel' (Angel Market) with my dear German friend on Neumarkt last week.
Really enchanted by this lovingly-decorated Christmas market with its charming chalets and high-quality products in the heart of the Cathedral city. A nostalgic flavour was provided by decorative plates & cups with illustrations of the Christmas markets with their long traditions, which were sold there alongside many other artisan products.
Amongst the traditional German delicacies introduced to me by Victor i.e. spätzle with cheese topped with crispy fried onions, kartoffelpuffer (Bavarian grated potato pancakes served with apple/cranberry sauce), knödel & many others, he insisted that I get some "Gebrannte Mandeln" (sugar-coated almonds flavored with cinnamon and vanilla) to nibble on the plane otw home. They smelled amazing & tasted even better. The best of course are made from Largueta almonds from Spain, Ceylon cinnamon, and real vanilla bean. 😋😍
Here's the recipe 😀🇩🇪
Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups raw, whole almonds
1/3 cup sugar, plus 3/4 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean- split into 2
1/3 cup water
1 tsp cinnamon powder
Method:
1. Scrape the inside of the vanilla bean and add it to the 1/3 cup sugar, mix it well.
2. Add the 3/4 cup sugar, 1/3 cup water & 1 tsp cinnamon to the saucepan & set it over medium heat. Stir to mix, then bring it to a boil before adding the almonds.
3. Add the almonds to the pan after the sugar water comes to a boil. Stir over high heat, to boil the water away. Keep stirring, so that the almonds do not burn.
4. Turn the heat to medium low. Keep stirring, so that the almonds become evenly browned & about half of the sugar is melted & gives the almonds a shiny coat.
5. Pour the reserved 1/3 cup sugar over the almonds & keep stirring until the almonds are fairly shiny, but still a bit lumpy. Remove from heat & spread the almonds on a cookie sheet/tray.
6. While they are cooling, keep breaking them apart. When they are cool enough, continue breaking them apart with your fingers until they are all separated. Have a ball eating them! 😋😋😍😍👍
