My mother’s torrone di mandorle
The aroma of Christmas
Jump to Carol’s recipe
I never outgrew my childhood excitement of Christmas. Sure, I was excited about the toys back then, but even more so about the time spent with my beloved family — and the food we’d share only once a year, on Christmas Day.
The aroma of this recipe says Christmas to me more than any other.
I was my mother’s assistant and pupil. She’d tell me stories of how my grandfather grew almonds in Italy while I’d watch in eager anticipation as she stirred the nut mixture, never believing that the sugar would crystallize and then glaze over all of the almonds. And then, magically, every year, it did. My job was to shower the freshly-cooked nuts with colorful candy sprinkles. (Now that task has fallen to my daughter, Sophia.)
Unfortunately, over the years, my American family experienced a diaspora of our own, with family dispersed throughout the country from New York to California, Florida to Pennsylvania.
But, every year when I make this recipe, I’m back at my childhood Christmas table, surrounded by those I love most.
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Recipe
- 1 pound almonds
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
- ¼ cup water
- Butter
- Small, round, multi-colored candy sprinkles
- Butter 2 forks and a cookie sheet; set aside.
- Put almonds, sugar and water in a saucepan and boil over a medium flame, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the sugar has completely dried on the almonds (about 10–15 minutes). A note about this step — it can seem as if the sugar will never dry completely. Trust me, it will; just keep stirring until it does.
- Cover, lower flame slightly. Stir frequently. Repeat until all of the sugar has melted, glazing the almonds (another 10–15 minutes). Again, it may feel like the sugar will never completely melt but, you’ll have to trust me once more; it does.
- Working quickly, pour almonds onto the buttered cookie sheet, separate with the buttered forks and add sprinkles.
- When the nuts have cooled and dried, separate them into groups of three.
All photos courtesy of Carol.
Others remember
What people said after reading Carol’s story
My mom was from Favara in Sicily. She used to make this—we called it cubaita. My job was the sprinkle application. I also loved blanching the almonds by hand!
The Bitter Honey Project
The recipes the women and men of the Italian diaspora carried across the water, and the stories behind them.
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A welcome email should arrive within the next minute or so. If you don’t receive the email, please check your spam folder.
Can I ask you to do me a favor? Please click the “confirm” button in the email. That way, I’ll know it reached you.
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Thank you!
— Giuditta ()
PS: Add my email () to your contacts and you’re guaranteed to receive my newsletter.
Unsubscribe anytime; I’ll never spam you or share your address.
Bitter Honey will always be free for everyone. —Giuditta
Do you have a recipe? .My dream is to connect our hometowns in Italy with all the places we ended up—through the recipes of our mothers and grandmothers.— Giuditta
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