This recipe journey started when my mom bought a clearance tub of Planters Sweet 'n' Crunchy peanuts and said, find a way to make this for me. Uh, sure, mom, no problem.
So my journey first took me to variations of Toffee Peanuts, which is kind of like Peanut Brittle without all the brittle (which I'll share in another post). She said, good, but not what I asked for.
Then, while we were in a drug store, she said that she thought they are also called Boston Baked Beans or something like that. So we looked for them, but the Boston Baked Beans we found were some red peanuts and didn't have the crunchy topping that she wanted. But it did give me another avenue to find a recipe.
And so, here comes this recipe for Boston Baked peanuts/almonds, which I note are seem to be also known as French Burnt peanuts. I include almonds because, really, we were just trying to use up some bulk peanuts that we bought from the warehouse club that we did not like and so I used them up, but because we also had a lot of almonds, I thought I would try a batch with the almonds, and they came out really well. They are so addictive - not too sweet, but you have to be careful, once you start, you just can't stop. They're that good. So try them - with peanuts, almonds, or any other type of nut you have on hand. I dare you to just stop at one.
French Burnt/Boston Baked Peanuts
2 c peanuts (or almonds)*
1 c sugar
1/2 c water
1 t salt (optional)
* If peanuts or almonds are raw, they may require additional time in the oven. You can use the roasted peanuts you get in the store, and if they're already salted, I would omit the salt in this recipe.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over low heat. Cook until all the liquid has evaporated, and the peanuts are coated with sugar, stirring occasionally. (While you could probably evaporate the liquid at a higher heat, the sugar will probably burn and the nuts will turn a yucky brown/black color.) This will take a while - 20-30 minutes.
Spread nuts over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-20 minutes, stirring once. If raw nuts were used, bake for an additional 10 minutes. The nuts will not turn golden brown in the oven, and they may seem a bit soft coming out of the oven, but when they cool, they will get nice and crunchy.
Cool and store in an airtight container.
