Mocha Roasted Almonds

It's rainy and chilly here today in Portland and I'm loving it! I decided a yummy smelling snack needed to be made in my oven today and these Mocha flavored Roasted Almonds fit the bill! They only take a few ingredients and about 40 minutes of your time (they also make a great Holiday gift. You know, if you're thinking about that already.).

To make you own Mocha Roasted Almonds you will need:

2 1/2 cups Raw Almonds
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 egg white

Preheat your oven to 325 (F). In a small bowl (3 cups or more by volume) beat your egg white until it is just frothy and beginning to lighten. Add in your almonds and mix them around until evenly coated with egg white.

In a zip sealed bag, mix together your sugar, cocoa and espresso powder. Shake until evenly combined. Add in your egg white coated almonds and shake to coat. Pour onto a sheet pan lined with parchment or a silpat mat.

Bake in oven for 30 minutes at 325 degrees, stirring every 10 minutes or so (this will clump together a bit if not stirred often- you can break it apart after it has cooled if necessary). Make sure you line your pan, as the mixture will stick to the pan if you do not (melting sugar just does that, you know).

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before packaging. Eat these as a snack on their own, or put them on ice cream, cupcakes, etc. as a delicious topping!

If giving this as gifts, an easy way to package this is to put it into clear bags and stick that into one of these little boxes as shown below. You can find them at most craft and hobby stores (paper mache boxes would also work well.). Just tie it with a piece of colored ribbon and you have an easy yet cute treat box that is reusable!

Have you made any extra yummy snacks lately?


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Caramel Apple Dip

I am so excited that Fall is well on it's way! I am not a fan of hot hot weather and I just burn to a crisp in the sun no matter how much sunblock I slather on. What better way to celebrate weather's return to Fall than with a yummy Caramel Apple fruit dip?

This recipe is so easy and when you dip apples in it, it really does taste like a caramel apple (without the hassle of trying to eat a whole apple off a stick without getting sticky sweet caramel all over yourself--not that that has ever happened to me).

To make this yummy fruit dip you will need:

1 8oz. package of cream cheese, softened (I used 1/3 reduced fat cream cheese)
1/2 cup of your favorite caramel sauce, room temp

Whip the cream cheese and caramel sauce together in a bowl with a hand mixer (you can use a stand mixer if you want, but I find you have to scrape the bottom far too many times and still hand mix some unless you use a hand mixer).

Serve with sliced apples, or any other fruit you have on hand. I am also a huge fan of this dip with sliced pears! Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container (if you happen to have some leftovers). One of my favorite parts about this dip is that it is still creamy and usable right out of the fridge, while a regular caramel sauce hardens and needs to be heated. Gotta love the magical powers of cream cheese!