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One of Spain's most popular Christmas treats, turrón is an almond nougat made with almonds and honey. Today I'll share my recipe for turrón de Alicante, the hard, white almond nougat.
This recipe has been in the long time making. Each year, I try out new recipes for turrón, and each year I am disappointed with the results. I have always ended up with a soft “hard” turrón (turrón de Alicante) and a hard “soft” turrón (turrón de Jijona).
You see, in Spain, the two most popular and characteristic turrones at Christmas time are the turrón de Alicante, the hard almond nougat, and the turrón de Jijona (another city in the province of Alicante), the soft almond nougat. Those were probably the original types of turrón, but truth be told, I'm not even certain what the real definition of turrón really is anymore. As the years go by, anything that is sold in a rectangular tablet at Christmas time in Spain seems to be called turrón, and it can be anything from a bar of chocolate with almonds or puffed rice, to even something as strange and exotic as mojito turrón.
I like to stick with the classic turrón varieties, though. Unfortunately, most of the recipes that can be found on the internet just don't get them right. They don't specify anything about temperatures or how long to cook the candy, and many post the same recipes with stock pictures, which makes me wonder if they even tried the recipe at all. In other cases, I'm guessing they tried it, it didn't turn out as it should, and yet they posted it anyway. I mean if so many people have posted the same recipe, it must be good, right? Wrong! (I later noticed in the comments sections that everybody was having the very same problems with certain recipes, but nobody offered a solution!)
I'm a bit stubborn, and while other years I have given up while trying to come up with a good recipe for turrón, I never gave up entirely. This year, I tried out several new ways of making both types of turrón, and by combining certain ideas from different recipes, I have finally come up with a recipe that works for me (and hopefully for you) for making turrón de Alicante.
When I was younger, turrón de Alicante was my favorite type of turrón. Pre-internet days, it was impossible to find it in the US, so I stocked up on it any time I visited Spain or another Latin American country at Christmas time. One year, I visited my aunt who lives in Venezuela, and remember happily stocking up at it at a big supermarket. Sad to say, that same supermarket now only houses empty shelves amidst the crisis that the country now is suffering.
Watch me make Turrón de Alicante:
Whether you can buy it where or live or not, it is empowering in a way to be able to say that you successfully made your own turrón. My husband isn't a big fan of almonds, but even he was happy to eat my homemade turrón, and he said he liked it better than the store bought varieties! Yay!
I tried several times to make something that tasted and looked like the real deal without using any refined sugar, but I have to say that it turned out closer to what you buy in the stores if you do use some sugar. I may have to try this same recipe next time with an organic demerara sugar to see if that changes things much. I imagine that it may darken the turron a bit more, and may slightly change the flavor. I'll let you know if and when I try it. (Which, to be honest, may be next year because by now, after making several batches of both types of turrón, I'm kind up fed up with almond nougat.) 😉
I'm really happy with the way this recipe turned out, and super excited to share it with you.
Turrón de Alicante
Turron de Alicante Recipe (Spanish Hard Almond nougat)
Ingredients
- 200 g honey
- 200 g sugar
- 1 egg white
- 300 g whole blanched almonds (Or more, to liking)
Instructions
- Start by toasting the almonds on a tray in the oven. I usually start with the oven cold and turn it on to around 375ºF, letting the almonds warm up with the oven. Occasionally turn them, and turn the oven off when they start to turn a golden brown. You don't want to burn them!
- Mix together the honey and sugar in a pan over low heat, and stir until the sugar is dissolved and well incorporated into the honey. If you have a candy thermometer, get it to somewhere between 240-250ºF (115-120ºC) before taking it off the heat. At this point, the temperature isn't too important because we will be adding more moisture from the egg white, but by reducing the moisture content right now, you'll save yourself a bit of time later.
- Beat the egg white until frothy.
- As you continue to beat the egg white, slowly drizzle in the hot honey and sugar mixture. This will whiten the sugar solution, and give you a thick, white, sticky mixture that will be the base of the nougat.
- Add the white mixture back to the pan, and heat at a low to medium heat, stirring constantly so that it doesn't begin to burn.
- We are now working on reducing the moisture content of the candy mixture, and making it so that it will be hard and brittle when cooled. We're really taking it past the hard ball stage to more of a soft or, even better, a hard crack stage. That said, while the candy stages are normally measured with a thermometer, I've found that you will end up with a nice consistency before your candy reaches the high temperature normally called for in the crack candy stages. This is because we are heating the nougat mixture at lower temperatures, while constantly mixing rather than leaving it alone to get to a certain temperature. The moisture content is reduced without the temperature getting as high.
- To check to see when to stop cooking the candy, take a small amount and put it into cold water to cool it. It should get hard and hold its shape when cool. At that point, you can add in the toasted almonds, stirring until they are well incorporated into the nougat mixture.
- Immediately pour into silicone molds. You can optionally use wafer sheets below and above the nougat to keep them candy from sticking to everything. To use the wafer sheets, place one sheet in the bottom of the mold, pour some nougat mixture over it, and press another wafer sheet into the mixture.
- Remove from the mold when cool. I wrapped mine in parchment paper to keep it from sticking because I didn't have any wafer sheets. To store, wrap in plastic (covering with paper first to keep it from sticking), or an airtight container. Keep away from humidity to keep it from softening.
Will using Tylose make the turron hard cooking it less time ?
Hi Yordy,
I’m not really sure. It’s not something I’ve tried or am very familiar with.
How many wafer sheets do you need to make one batch and what can you do to make the turron a little softer.
Hi Alessia,
You don’t necessarily need wafer sheets. I don’t normally use them.
Two are normally used- one on top and one on the bottom. It’s mostly to hold things together and keep it from sticking to things.
If you want it softer, you just don’t cook for so long at the final stages. It makes for a consistency that is more difficult to eat, though. It’s a bit too chewy and could stick to and hurt your teeth, I think.
Hello:
I’m happy to find your recipe! My father’s uncles were bakers in Cuba and I have their recipe but it is a mega recipe. In my experience with making candies, there are several factors to think about. –
-Altitude: the higher you are the longer it takes to reach temperature. I live at 2650 ft. and it takes forever to achieve even a soft ball, I swear!!
-Moisture: do not make any cooked candy on a rainy day as it will be a complete fail.
-Temperature: I personally use the thermometer and the water method to test temperature.
I tend to take candy off the stove a few degrees or slightly less chewy as it continues to cook in the pan, this is really important when your are making caramels so that it doesn’t become toffee. Make sure not to scrape the bottom of the pan as it is always hotter at the bottom and if you scrape it into your poured out candy, it can either cause it to go harder or crystalize. Besides everyone wants to lick the pan anyway!
At any rate, I am excited to give your recipe a go. Good luck with your Turrón experiments in the future.
Thanks so much for your super helpful tips!
Hello Ms. Ariza! I don’t have silicone molds nor am I using wafer sheets, is parchment paper okay? Also, how would I cut it to make 30 servings? I am making this for my Spanish class and need 30 pieces. Other than those two questions, this recipe looks simple enough and I can not thank you enough for posting it!
Hi Raida,
Yes, Parchment paper should be fine.
I do have serving information up on the recipe- and you can adjust the serving size by editing what is in the box there. I calculated the number of servings based on what was shown to be an average size for a serving of turrón, but, of course, it will really depend on how big you want your pieces to be.
It made 2 tablets that were the size of a loaf pan (around 1cm high). For 30 people, though, you’d probably want to make more, despite the fact that it is supposed to make around 25 servings. Those servings would be very small.
I’d personally probably double the recipe, making 4 bars, just to make sure you make enough for everybody. I can’t imagine there being any leftovers. 😉
Thank you!
Yeah.. But when I put in 30 servings, it said 1.2 egg whites. What is up with that? Like, how can you measure out that?
Well, the recipe template adjusts itself to give you an exact amount to go with the exact amount of servings you are asking for.
Eggs aren’t really that precise anyway, though- some are a lot larger than others.
If it’s saying 1.2 egg whites, I’d use a full one and part of another one. You don’t have to be exact. Just try to take about 1/5th of it-
Or, you can just use a really large egg with more egg whites than usual.
Is the ingredients right? Only 1 egg white? Cause I tried making it a couple times and mine never turns out as white as your in all the pictures.
Hi Dusty,
If I remember correctly, yes, that is correct. If you add more, you’ll have a hard time evaporating off the liquid to get it hard again. Mine really isn’t that white either. It’s more of a light beige. The ones sold in stores are much whiter.
I’ll probably be making it again this year, but I’m pretty sure that’s what I used to make the one you see in the pics.
Is it getting light, but then darkening when you’re cooking it? Have you watched the video?
It may be that you’re using too high of a heat in the final part? (Now I’m going to watch the video because it’s been a while since I’ve made it.) 😉
Hi Tracy – I’m so glad I found your recipe! Just one question – I know the cook /timing depends on many factors and the true test is dropping sample into water but I’d like to allocate time to make this turrone without rushing or interruption! should I allow 1 hour or 3 hours cook time for example? Thanks! Melinda
Hi Melinda,
I’m sorry I missed this before. I really don’t remember how long it took, but I’d guess that with an hour to two, it would be sufficient. It has two cook times, which is what extends the time by a lot. I don’t remember either of the cooking times being excessively long, but it’s been a long time since I’ve made this. (I usually make it only at Christmas time.) 😉
I’ll have to make some again this year and see if I can time the process. I’ve been trying to update old posts and get more information in them, but it’s taking me a long time to make my way through my whole blog!
Thank you so much Tracy! I look forward to making it.
I am very ignorant in eating the commercial hard turron I got in Spain. The wafer seems paper like. Do we eat it with the paper? Can it be removed? ?
Hi Janet,
Ha! Yes, no worries. I understand the confusion!
The thin wafer is made of flour and water normally, and yes, you do eat it- no need to remove it! (I think it would be almost impossible to remove on most turrones.) It’s there to keep the turron from sticking to everything.
Some people eat the wafers by themselves, and they sometimes sell them in different colors for kids. It doesn’t have much flavor, though.
Fun fact- That sort of wafer is actually what is usually used as the “bread” for communions here too. 🙂
hai. i had made chewy nougat but still there is moist in it, i want it dry how to do it. this the recipe i follow https://www.facebook.com/groups/291287761411914/permalink/320626605144696/
Hi Zacharia,
The problem is that once you add the egg white mixture, you need to cook the mixture again until the cooled mixture gets hard. If not, when you add the egg whites, it will turn chewy as you mentioned!
Thanks for this. We’ve got our annual ‘mid-winter’ xmas coming up in August with a WHITE theme, and I’m on dessert. So will be adding this to one of the petit four I make 🙂
Hi Karen,
That sounds like fun! I wish you the best of luck with it, and hope you have a great time!
When do I start adding the syrup into the egg whites? U mentioned the frothy stage, is it the stage before soft peak? But I saw others were adding at the stiff/firm peak stage.
And also when should I stop beating the egg whites? Do I stop beating immediately after I finish adding the syrup?
( Sorry for many questions:))
You can start to add it when they are frothy- maybe I’d call it a soft peak. I don’t think it’s too important the exact time that you start to add it in. You continue to beat the eggs as you pour in the syrup so you eventually get to a stiff peak. (Of course, that’s sort of hard to judge because of the addition of the syrup.)
I don’t think it really matters too much. You do want it all white and foamy at the very least before you start to add in the syrup. I’m sure adding it at the firm stage is fine. The syrup helps stabilize it, so I don’t think you can go too far or whip it too much.
I stopped whipping the egg whites after having added the syrup and seeing that everything was well combined and I had a homogeneous mixture.
Did you watch the video? I see that one was still housed on my old ad company, and it may have been causing problems. I just embedded the YouTube version of my video which should be easier to see. The video may help you visualize the process better.
That said, no worries about all of the questions! I’m always happy to answer them- and actually really appreciate them. Those questions help me understand what isn’t completely clear, and really helps me as I go through and update older recipes- something I try to do all of the time. (Each week I try to focus on updating one or two older posts, adding in new information to clear it up- make sure it works with my new recipe plugin (fixing the conversion amounts, adding nutritional info), making a video of me making it if I didn’t originally- taking new pictures, if the old ones were ugly, etc., etc. 😉 ) I may have to add my turrón recipes to my to do list for updating next week.
Have a great weekend- and if you have any further questions, I’m happy to answer them.
Omg I didn’t expect you to reply so fast! Thanks for the information!! I like the Australia’s Golden Boronia hard nougat but not sure if it’s the same with Spanish’s nougat. It has different flavours in it which I love cappuccino the most. I am more going to make it this week for my besties wedding gift! Hopefully it will be a success! Thankyou once again!
Interesting. I’m not at all familiar with that, so I can’t be of much help there.
I really hope it works well, and that you have a wonderful time at the wedding! 🙂
I was searching all over the web and finally found your hard nougat recipe!!! I cant wait to make it!
Just few questions, how cold is the water to try the hardness? Is it like cold drinking water from refrigerator? Or just slightly cold warm water from the tap?
If I would like to make a coffee or chocolate flavour nougat, do u suggest liquid or powder ? how much coffee/chocolate powder/ liquid flavouring should I put in?
Hello,
I get the water as cold as I can- so like a refrigerator. I sometimes even add ice to it to keep it cold so I can test the hardness several times before changing it. It doesn’t really matter, but you want it cold enough to cool off the nougat to see if it would be hard once cooled or not. Keep in mind that the heat of the nougat will warm the water right away.
I’ve never tried flavoring it, so I don’t know. I’ve never seen this type of turrón flavored before. They do sell flavored turrónes, but they are normally of the soft variety. I’d say they are more like an American fudge. If I were to try it, though, I’d probably add a touch of cocoa powder or instant coffee granules at the very end of the process. I’d start off small- with maybe 1/4 tsp. at a time- working up to a desired potency in flavor. (You can use the cold water method to cool it off enough to taste test it too.)
Going to crush the Almond nougat and mix it with Dark chocolate to make Toblerone. Then set it.
Hi Eric,
Great name, by the way. My son’s name is Eric. 🙂
That sounds like a fabulous idea! I’d love to hear how it goes, and may actually have to try it myself.
I tried it the first time and the outcome was hard, peanut brittle-like, nougat candy which was what I was looking for in countless sites and blogs… One tip from my experience: I think the much clearer description or indication that your candy is good to go is first, you drop a little nougat in cold water and it hardens, next is chew it to know if its hardness is already to your liking… initially it was hard, but still quite chewy, so i let it stay on low heat longer until the water-cooled nougat is as crisp as I wanted it to be… thats it! GRACIAS, GRACIAS for the recipe and tips!!! Im soooooo glad I was able to come across your site… ?
I just finished making it and I followed everything including recooking it in low heat… it did harden, but it was way too hard that I could almost chip my teeth… i think I “dehydrated” it too much… how will I know when to stop? do you have a clearer indication or description like a temperature or similar consistency to compare it with?
Hi Stephanie,
Well, it sounds like you made it right, then. It should be hard, and I can’t really imagine that you could make it too hard. That’s just the way it is normally.
Perhaps you made it in too thick of a tablet? It should crack and snap when you break it.
What prevents it from breaking any teeth is that it is normally made into a relatively thin tablet, and because it is full of almonds, you shouldn’t really have any thick areas with just the nougat.
We cut it into smaller pieces with a knife and then eat it like that. I hope that helps!
(The temperature at that point is no longer useful because you are constantly mixing to keep it from burning once you’ve added the whites.)
Hello! Been trying to make turron/turrone for a while now. I made some yesterday and it turned out very, very soft, because I was following an italian recipe. It is delicious but what I really wanted is a hard “crack your teeth” type of turron that doesn’t melt in room temperature. Is this recipe like that? I’m asking because the recipe I used yesterday and yours are kind of alike. And I wanted to ask, since I haven’t got a candy thermometer, about how long does it take for the honey/sugar mixture to get to 115-120ºC? And after that, approximately how long does it take for the nougat mixture to get to the “hard candy” stage? Thank you!
Hi Ellie,
Yes, if you do it right, it will end up being hard.
Most recipes don’t have you re-cook the ingredients after you mix together the egg whites and the sugar syrup. That’s where the problems arise, giving you a sticky, chewy turrón instead of a nice hard and brittle one.
It does take a little patience. I don’t remember how long I was stirring, but you shouldn’t be going my time anyway. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, try cooling the mixture in a glass of cold water and checking to see if it gets hard and brittle. That’s how they were doing it in the video I watched about how they made it in a factory too!
The time really depends on how high you are heating it, etc.
I prefer going more slowly over a lower heat to keep the tureen as light in color as possible. I don’t want it looking too brown or have off flavors from heating too high. I hope that helps.
Thank you so much for the quick reply! I will be making this next weekend or as soon as I buy some nuts. And if you’re a bit fed up with almond nougat I’m suggesting you use some other types of nuts and even seeds or dried fruit. The soft torrone I made had toasted walnuts and hazelnuts, dried figs and dried apricots, with a bit of tangerine zest. In Georgia they have a very similar dessert to torrone siciliano called kozinaki and it’s mostly made of roasted sunflower seeds, peanuts or walnuts. You can check that out, it’s very delicious and I hear it’s easy to make at home.
Those do sound nice.
I hope the recipe goes well for you! 🙂