Sugar Plums

I had been wondering what sugar plums were for a long time and the other day I came across this recipe. As soon as I saw the recipe I knew that I would have to try making them! Sugar plums are made from nuts, dried fruit, honey and spices. I had just found some dried figs at the grocery store and I was itching to try them so I threw some into the sugar plums. The sugar plums were super easy to make, though they were a bit messy. I found that the best way to mix everything together was to just reach in and mix with my hands. The sugar plums were absolutely amazing. The natural sweetness of the dried fruit along with the honey was just perfect and not too sweet. The spices and orange were really good. The crunchy nuts contrasted nicely with the soft and chewy dried fruit. With all of the nuts spread throughout the sugar plums it takes a while to chew them so you get to enjoy the flavour for a while. I made the sugar plums a bit too big and the next time I make them I will cut down on the size a bit.

Ingredients:
1 cup whole almonds
1/2 cup dried apricots (chopped)
1/2 cup pitted dates (chopped)
1/2 cup dried figs (chopped)
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons icing sugar

Directions:
1. Toast the almonds in a preheated 400F oven for 10 minutes.
2. Chop the almonds when they cool down a bit.
3. Mix the almonds, apricots, dates, figs, honey, orange zest, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg in a bowl.
4. Form small balls out of the mixture.
5. Dust with icing sugar.

Take a look at the Eat Christmas Cookies roundup at Food Blogga.