Pralined or candied almonds are simple, prepared with only two ingredients: almonds and sugar. In the tradition of central-southern Italy in the period before and after Christmas, pralined almonds are very popular, better known as mandorle atterrate: a very easy and quick recipe to prepare for the whole family!
These are almonds cooked in sugar, glazed to resemble small pebbles – which is why they’re often called sassi d’Abruzzo meaning “stones of Abruzzo” in English. They can be flavored with lemon or cinnamon and in the most delicious version, they are made with cocoa or chocolate. They are also called the addormenta suocera (“sleeping mother-in-law” in English) because traditionally, they were brought as a gift to mother-in-laws not only to sweeten them up a little and distract them from misdeeds of the gift-giver.
The recipe for pralined almonds
To prepare pralined almonds, you’ll need about 150 grams of almonds. Put them in an aluminum saucepan with 120 grams of sugar and 40 grams of water and turn the stove on to a low temperature. Stir continuously until the sugar begins to melt and takes on a granular consistency with a pinkish color. This means the mixture has reached the right temperature. Turn off the heat and place the almonds on baking paper at a distance from each other to cool. If you let the sugar melt completely, this will caramelize it to an amber color leading to caramelized almonds – just as good, but different from the recipe we’re suggesting now.
Pralined almonds in Puglia
In Puglia, there is a much more delicious variant of pralined almonds – based on toasted almonds and melted chocolate. Just mix everything together and then make small piles to be left to cool inside paper cups. They are really delicious sweets and perfect for a coffee break.
A few extra tips
You can make your candied almonds more beautiful by adding a few drops of alchèrmes during cooking.
If you love the taste and smell of cinnamon, you can add some of it together with sugar and water while cocoa is perfect if you prefer them dark and slightly bitter.
You can also add a few drops of lemon juice to keep the color of the praline sugar more shiny and brilliant.