Cocoa Roasted Almonds

I still remember the first time I went to Target. I remember all the types of foods that were there that we can't get up here in Canada. I know this probably seems odd to those of you reading from the states, but the thing is, Banana Nut Cheerios are kind of shocking to see for the first time when you've grown up under the impression that Cheerios are only sold in three flavours: regular, honey nut and multigrain.

Every time my family goes to down for some cross-border shopping we always make sure to import some of our favourite goodies from Target, American Costco (yes, we call it 'American' Costco), and Trader Joes. Goodies like my childhood favorite, Trix cereal, which isn't sold here anymore and, also plenty of nuts of every kind (Don't worry, nuts are sold in Canada too, they're just much cheaper in the states).

On a recent trip I picked up some cocoa roasted almonds since I remembered seeing them on the list of '125 Best Packaged Foods for Women' in my favorite magazine. They were delicious, but sadly, I have now run out and they contain artificial sweetener, yuck!

Fortunately, I have everything I need to make my own in my kitchen here at school because I've been craving them ever since I finished off my last pack.

This should last me until our next trip down south, maybe.

Cocoa Roasted Almonds
Yield: 2 cups

• 2 cups roasted almonds, cooled (see roasting instructions here)
• 1/4 cup cocoa
• 3-4 teaspoons icing sugar
• generous pinch of salt
• 1 egg white (I used 2 teaspoons of meringue powder and 2 tablespoons of water instead)

1. Preset oven to 200F
2. Sift and mix cocoa, sugar and salt in a bowl large enough for the almonds, set aside (A large tupperware container would work well)
3. Toss almonds in egg white (I recommend a ziploc bagl, I made a huge mess with my plate-bowl contraption)
4. Add coated almonds to the dry mixture, cover and shake until well coated
5. Pour onto baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 20min