Fireball Almonds

This is one of my favorite recipes to make during the harvesting season. My garden typically has a bounty of hot peppers and after the countless jars of salsa, crushed peppers, and dried pepper flakes, I need to find some other avenues for the fiery fruits. The recipe is quick, requires minimal ingredients, and can be enjoyed for months after it is made. The basic premise is to coat unblanched raw almonds with a significantly spicy blanket of goodness. Since not everyone has piles of peppers at their disposal I also included another recipe that uses a spicy barbecue sauce. Let's fire it up!

Fireball Almonds

(3 cups) Unblanched raw whole almonds

(20 +/-) hot peppers washed and with tops cut off (I used Hinkelhatz, Bulgarian carrot chili, matchbox)

(2 tbsp) Worcheshire sauce

(2 tsp) garlic powder

(1 tsp) salt

(1 tsp) sugar

(1 tsp) liquid smoke

(2 tbsp) olive oil

Hot Barbecue Almonds (alternative)

(3 cups) Unblanched raw whole almonds

(3/4 cup) spicy barbecue sauce (I used Trader Joe's Siracha bbq)

(2 tbsp) Worcheshire sauce

(2 tsp) garlic powder

(1 tsp) salt

(1 tsp) liquid smoke

(2 tbsp) olive oil

For Both Recipes

Food processor

Food dehydrator

Medium mixing bowl and scraper

We typically grow about eight different varieties of hot peppers since they all have unique characteristics and flavors that fit the myriad of dishes we make. I love the variety and in this case I love mixing the peppers up so that there is a mix of colors, flavors, and spices with each almond. You can definitely use peppers from the grocery, a CSA, or anywhere else, but just make sure that they are nice and fresh so you get the best flavor. I used about twenty peppers to make a batch of 3 cups of almonds. I probably could have stretched it to four cups of almonds but I really wanted to coat the almonds in fire. Once you get your peppers the next step will be to wash them and cut off their tops. Leave all of the fruit and seeds in the peppers if you want even more spice. If you don't like the feeling that your face is melting off you can always remove the seeds and interior of each pepper. After you have done the prep you can plop them into the processor and run it until the peppers are mostly pureed.

Now that you have your crushed pepper paste you need to add in the ingredients to bring out all of the flavor in the peppers. Add the salt, garlic powder, liquid smoke, olive oil, and Worcheshire sauce to the processor and mix it for another thirty or so seconds. Scrape out the mixture into a mixing bowl and then measure out three cups of whole, raw, unblanched almonds. Mix the almonds into the mixture thoroughly until all almonds are fully coated. Using a dehydrator tray and a nonstick sheet, spread the almonds out in one layer evenly across the tray. The final step will be to slide the almonds into the dehydrator and set the temperature for 125F for eight hours. After eight hours the almonds will be completely finished and the mixture will have nicely adhered to each almond. Let it sit for an hour so that they completely cool down. You can then break them apart and put them into a glass mason jar for storage. I have had almonds in jars for many months with no problems at all and they are just as crunchy and crisp as they were when they were first made.

If you didn't plan on using the fresh peppers or wanted a sweeter, tangier version of the recipe you can use some or all barbecue sauce in lieu of peppers. Don't be afraid to explore around with options here, I have made a number of almond recipes in my dehydrator and have loved almost all of them (chili lime, chocolate espresso, maple cinnamon, etc...). If you are doing the barbecue version you will need to substitute in the barbecue sauce and there is no need for a food processor. Mix the barbecue sauce, Worcheshire sauce, liquid smoke, olive oil, garlic powder, and salt into a bowl and then mix in 3 cups of almonds. Mix completely and then spread evenly on a nonstick tray to put into the dehydrator. Set it for 8 hours at 125F. Let it cool for about 1 hour before packaging them or just eat them right away... it's going to be hard to resist!