1 pound almonds. 3/4 pound sugar. 1 cupful water.

A few drops vanilla or rose.

Put the sugar and water on to boil. While they are heating shell the almonds, but do not pull off the skins. Warm them slightly.

When the surface of the syrup is covered with large globules stir in the vanilla and the almonds. Use a wooden spoon. Stir gently in such a way as to detach the sugar from the bottom and sides of the sauce-pan, and to keep the almonds from sticking. They should be thoroughly turned over and over, so that each one may be well coated with sugar. As soon as they give out a crackling noise the sauce-pan should be removed from the fire, and still gently stirred until the sugar appears to be in grains almost like sand. Then the entire contents of the sauce-pan should be turned out on a wire sieve, and covered with paper for five minutes.

At the end of that time the almonds should be picked out, the grained sugar which remains being returned to the sauce-pan with only just enough water to dissolve it.

Proceed from this point exactly as at the beginning, going all over it again, being careful to wait till the sugar has the same bubbly appearance as before, before putting in the almonds. Give them a second coating of sugar, being sure to keep them separated. If the operation is entirely repeated even three or four times, of course the almonds will have a much thicker coating of sugar. They should, when done, have a rough, uneven surface.

Wrap them in fancy papers if you choose.