Part of the Christmas series featuring Flour & Co Bakers and their favorite holiday recipes.
As a continuation of the 2017 holiday series featuring my talented Flour & Co baking team (read our collaborative Thanksgiving post), I’ve roped in six of my favorite bakers from over the years to reminisce about surviving the holidays in a demanding professional kitchen, and to share their cherished Christmas recipes. Haley is back to share her Spiced Chocolate Almonds, a nod to her favorite Mexican Hot Chocolate.
Meet Haley (see her Bourbon Apple & Pear Butter Thanksgiving recipe here)! She joined our team on the retail side with the goal of moving into the kitchen. As it happens in the bakery business, she accomplished her goal just one week later when we needed kitchen help on the fly. She was quick and eager to learn, and she brought such positive energy and enthusiasm to our bakery and baked with love for the year that she was with us. 
Haley was dealt the monumental task to co-run our original kitchen when the new production kitchen opened in Berkeley in 2015. She held it all together, including over the holidays. With a huge change like this, every day was a challenge while we were establishing systems and ironing out the kinks. Haley marvelously went with the flow and kept us running while everyone else was throwing her curve balls on the other end.
Haley now has her own at-home business, Flour Child Baking Company, in the Bay area. She loves baking for special events and parties. Look her up on Instagram @flourchildbakingco.
Q&A with Haley ~
Why/how was your experience at Flour & Co significant to you? Flour & Co represented one of the happiest times in my life. I look back on my time there so fondly because I could not have asked for a better place to begin my baking career. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to work with such a dedicated, talented team of women and be surrounded by such quality ingredients and delicious recipes.
Describe Flour & Co at the holidays. Flour & Co during the holidays can be described in 4 words: brown sugar nut pie. The mention of it brings me back to the smell, the taste, and the hours spent making them with my coworkers. The best time of year was brown sugar nut pie season, which ran throughout the fall and winter.
What was the hardest part about working in the kitchen during the holidays? The hardest part about working at Flour & Co during the holidays was being constantly pressed for time. I remember working long hours at the bakery, studying for finals, and trying to find time to go shopping for gifts and do other holiday-related activities with my friends and family. There’s always so much to do during the holidays and, while I enjoy it all, it definitely gets stressful!
What do you miss most about Flour & Co? I miss the people and the energy the most. Everyone was so dedicated to the company, their craft, and the food. Bakers are always the happiest people you’ll ever meet and I learned so much from my knowledgable coworkers!
If you could put together your favorite Christmas dessert table, what would be on it? My Grandma’s rocky road fudge and apple cake.
I love holiday baking because…of the flavors, and because holiday parties give me many opportunities to bake!
What’s your favorite family tradition for Christmas? Since my family doesn’t get together for Korean New Years, everyone lines up and bows to my grandparents on Christmas. We say a phrase in Korean, and they pass out red envelopes filled with money. The kids even dress up in old Korean dresses that we have, it’s a lot of fun!
Why are you sharing this recipe? Ever since I’ve realized how easy it is to make candied nuts, I’ve been obsessed. So many variations, so little time! I decided to make a recipe inspired by one of my favorite childhood winter treats: Mexican hot chocolate. When it’s cold out, the spices in Mexican hot chocolate really hit that warm spot in your belly!
Spiced Chocolate Almonds
Ever since I’ve realized how easy it is to make candied nuts, I’ve been obsessed. I decided to make a recipe inspired by one of my favorite childhood winter treats: Mexican hot chocolate. When it’s cold out, the spices in Mexican hot chocolate really hit that warm spot in your belly!
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 60 min
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: about 1 pound of nuts 1x
- Category: Gifts
Ingredients
- 1 lb almonds
- 1 egg white
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup dark brown sugar
- 2 T vanilla extract
- ¼ cup good quality cocoa powder (sifted)
- 1 T cinnamon
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees
- Beat egg white until frothy. Add the vanilla extract.
- Add the almonds and mix until they’re all coated in egg white.
- In a separate bowl, combine the white sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and salt.
- Add the sugar mixture to the almonds, combine, spread an even layer on a half sheet tray lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Cook for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
- Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container; store up to two weeks
Notes
I recommend making two batches: one for yourself and one to put in little bags to give out as gifts! Your office, club, or neighbors would be delighted because, after all, edible gifts are the best kind of gifts!
Happy Holiday or Christmas baking! If you make these Spiced Chocolate Almonds, tag #flourchildbakingco and #flourandco with your photo. We’d love to see your creations!
