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Candies and Candy Making: Almonds

Sugared Almonds. These bonbons are of two sorts: burnt almonds, sometimes called pralines, and sugared almonds, sometimes called dragees. They consist of whole almonds coated with sugar, which is often colored in various delicate tints.

To make burnt almonds, bring to a boil over a moderate fire 1/2 pound of finely granulated sugar in pint of water in a round-bottomed vessel, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until dissolved. Then throw in 1 pound of fine Jordan almonds shelled and sifted, to remove dust and dirt. Stir in the almonds gently in the sirup until they are heard to crackle slightly. Take them off the fire and stir vigorously so that the sugar grains and becomes almost a powder, and each almond has a complete coat.

Pick out the almonds, shake them gently in a coarse sieve to remove the loose sugar, and cover them with a folded flannel cloth to keep them warm. Replace the sugar, add pound of Confectioners' XXX sugar and pint of water with a teaspoonful of any desired coloring matter.

Boil to the soft ball, remove from the fire and stir in the almonds as before. Again sift out the loose sugar and repeat the process until the candies are of the desired size.

Or blanch any desired quantity of almonds and fry them to a lightbrown color in butter. Roll them in a napkin to remove the excess of butter, and pour over them a sirup of white sugar boiled to a thread, stirring until they are quite cold. This is a celebrated Indian sweetmeat.

To Gloss Burnt Almonds. - Dissolve 2 tablespoonfuls of gum arabic in 4 tablespoonfuls of water in a double boiler. Drop the burnt almonds in this after they have become cold and hardened, stir them gently) and turn them out in a sieve. After the gummed water has dripped away shake the sieve gently over a slow fire until they are dry.