Cocoa-Spiced Almonds

Things I learned this past week:

Acupuncture is scary but awesome.

If you can’t find a cigar cutter, a steak knife is not a good substitute.

My husband’s first kiss was during Basic Instinct. Mine was during Jumanji. What’s wrong with this picture?

A newly opened beer garden in my neighborhood has me questioning whether I ever want to move.

I still don’t fully understand how Twitter works.

Now that football has started up again, our mornings will be spent watching ESPN instead of CNN.

Emails with Jean Claude Van Damme dancing and text pics of my bff’s baby make me happy all day long.

Apparently I’m weird because I put odd spices in odd foods.

On that note, I love playing with spices and I sometimes use them in odd ways. I throw ginger in my coffee or tea, I incorporate cayenne pepper and turmeric into my oatmeal, and I always add cinnamon to anything in the chocolate food group. It is a food group, you know? I’ve even begun to take spice supplements to do everything from regulating my blood sugar to increasing my metabolism. Maybe that’s odd too? I don’t know. Anyway, I’ve found that the combination of cocoa, cinnamon, ginger, and cayenne can be a dangerously tasty one. With rich, spicy, and robust notes, these spices work incredibly well together and chances are high that they are already in your cabinet. My Cocoa-Spiced Almonds are super easy to make and pair amazingly well with full-bodied red wine or tangy blue cheese. Whether you enjoy these almonds with a cheese platter, trail mix, or simply on their own, there won’t be anything odd about it. Now, it’s time to go watch Jean Claude Van Damme dance…again.

Cocoa-Spiced Almonds

Ingredients

1 cup almonds
1 egg white
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons sugar or honey
½ teaspoon salt
Cooking spray

Method

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a large bowl, beat the egg white until frothy. Add the cocoa powder, spices, vanilla, sugar, and salt and stir until they are incorporated. Add the almonds and stir to evenly coat them.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Spread almonds on the baking sheet in an even layer. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Shake the baking sheet once or twice to rotate the nuts. Allow them to cool and then enjoy!