A Guide to Blanching Almonds
Blanching almonds at home is a great way to avoid paying for the costly store-bought kind. If you love baking--especially Italian desserts--then you've probably got a good idea about the price of blanched almonds purchased at the store, particularly if you have to purchase a large amount. If you aren't very experienced in the kitchen, then you may not even know what a blanched almond is. Simply put, it's an almond without the brown "skin". There are a few different techniques to blanching almonds, but most of them are basically the same as far as the principle method goes. We are going to discuss two different methods of blanching almonds, as well as look at a great recipe that will give you the opportunity to try out your freshly-blanched almonds.
For the first method of blanching, you will need the following items: a saucepan, water, a colander, and almonds with the skin still attached. The size of the saucepan and how much water you put in it depends mostly on how many almonds you want to blanch. There should be enough water in the pan to fully submerge the almonds (but don't do that yet!). First, bring the water to a boil. Once the water is at a rolling boil, drop the almonds into the pan. Allow the almonds to boil for half a minute (30 seconds) and then pour them out into a colander. Immediately rinse the almonds with cold water, then dump them out onto a kitchen towel or paper towels. Blot the almonds until they are relatively dry because the longer they stay wet, the more likely they are to lose their crispness. When the almonds are cool enough to handle, use your forefinger and thumb to pinch them ends. The almond skin should simply slide right off. Pat the blanched (de-skinned) almonds with a towel to ensure they are dry, then seal them in a zip-top bag until you are ready to use them.
This second method requires the same utensils, but you will need to add a large bowl into the mix. Place the un-blanched almonds into a large bowl. In a saucepan or kettle, bring water to a rolling boil. Once the water is boiling, pour it over the almonds until they are fully submerged in the water. Let the almonds sit for one minute and no longer, as they will soon begin to cook and lose their crispness. Drain the almonds in the colander and rinse them with cold water. Pat them dry with a towel or napkin and remove the skins in the same manner as directed above. Dry the now blanched almonds again to ensure that they are dry before storing them in a zip-top bag.
If your almonds seem to smash when you de-skin them, you probably let them cook too long. You have to be very careful to keep an eye on the time when blanching almonds, as the idea is simply to loosen the skin, not cook them. If you just barely over-cooked your almonds, you can attempt to save them by drying them out with the oven. Bring your oven to 200 degrees F, then turn it off. Place the over-blanched almonds onto a baking tray, then place the tray in the oven. Test them periodically until they become crisp enough to work in your recipe.
Speaking of recipes, you might already have a few in mind for testing out your homemade blanched almonds, but for those of you looking for a yummy recipe to experiment with, I highly recommend the following!
Chocolate Almond Biscuits (Cookies)
What You Need:
2 sticks of butter (softened)
1 cup of white sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (the mini ones work best)
Slivered blanched almonds for coating
Extra sugar for dusting
Directions:
Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and a cup of white sugar until it takes on a fluffy texture. Add the egg into the butter-sugar mixture, then add in the vanilla and almond extracts. Beat together well. Combine this mixture with the dry ingredients and mix well until a smooth dough forms. Now add in the chocolate chips. If your dough seems to be a little too flimsy to handle properly, try placing it in the refrigerator and cover it with a towel. After an hour the texture should have improved enough for you to handle it. Shape the dough into balls the size of a golf ball and roll them in a bit of sugar, then place the balls on a cookie sheet (ungreased). Make sure the balls are spaced at least two inches apart from one another. Press two or three slivered almonds into the top of each ball. Bake for ten minutes at 350 degrees F. Allow the cookies to cool a bit before moving them to a wire rack for cooling.