Nut Confections

If you’re like me, you mix nuts in to any ice cream (or other desert) you can. You may not be like me, you may be afraid of nuts. That is sad, but all the more for the rest of us.

Here are a few easy recipes for tasty ideas of nutty preparation. Of course, you don’t have to mix these into ice cream, they’re pretty tasty on their own.

Recipes from David Leibovitz’s The Perfect Scoop. And sesame seeds aren’t nuts. I know.

Any of these recipes can be added to a batch of ice cream (or sorbet) in the last minute of churning, or as you put the ice cream into a container.

Croquant (Crunchy) – makes 2 cups

1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 1/2 cups (150 g) whole almonds, pecans, walnuts, peanuts, etc., toasted

Cover a baking sheet with tin foil.

Spread the sugar in a heavy bottomed skillet and cook over medium heat, watching it carefully.  When it begins to liquefy and darken around the edges, use a heat-proof spatula to stir it very gently, encouraging thee heat of the liquefied sugar around the edges to moisten and melt the sugar crystals in the center.

Add the nuts and stir gently but quickly, coating them with the caramel. Scrape the nuts onto the foil lines baking sheet and spread as evenly as possible. Let cool completely.

Once cool, break the Croquant up in a food processor, or put it in a zip-lock freezer bag and use a mallet or rolling pin to crush it as fine or coarse as you want. Use within a week.

Honey-Sesame Brittle

3 tablespoons (45 ml) good flavored honey – avocado, cotton or eucalyptus honey will be great, but it will turn out fine with regular honey, too
1 1/2 cups (210 g) sesame seeds

Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Line a baking sheet with tin foil or a silicone baking mat.

In a skillet, warm the honey. Remove from heat and stir in sesame seeds, coating them with the honey until moist.

Spread the mixture evenly on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. Break into small pieces and use quickly.

French Almonds

2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups (160 g) sliced almonds, blanched or unblanched

Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C).

In a small skillet, heat the water and sugar, stirring a bit, just until is begins to boil. Remove from the heat and stir in almonds to coat with syrup.

Spread almonds on a nonstick baking sheet, or a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat. Bake for 20minutes, stirring twice during baking and separating any clumps.

Remove from the oven when the almonds are a medium golden brown. Cool completely. Use within a week.

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About Natan S.

Natan is a founding member of Theater in the Rough, an group of community minded actors dedicated to bringing quality, affordable theatrical experiences to the Jerusalem audience. Natan also works as a freelance web programmer, and writes about food (mainly ice cream) in his spare time.

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