Sugar Peanuts

For years, my dad and I have been trying to duplicate the wonderful sugar-coated quality of a certain brand of store-bought nuts, to no avail.  Alas, this wonderful recipe - the only sort of dessert recipe I could find for the country of Guinea - was what I had been looking for all along.  Funny how things magically appear in your life when you least expect them to.

A simple process of stirring sugar, water and nuts (plus or minus cinnamon, at your own will) in a large skillet until the nuts just look "done" is all it takes.  Of course, I should note one important fact: though these things seem to take forever to get to their end stage, you really have to watch them closely because they can burn pretty quickly if you blink at the wrong moment.  In other words, it's very important to stick around.  No running off to check your email or read a magazine (as I did one time, with another recipe - long story short, wok fires are scary!).  Watch your skillet like a hawk, stand over it and give it constant love; and, in return, you will be rewarded with the best, most simple (and seemingly healthy - though we all know better) dessert from Guinea.

Ingredients:

5 cups peanuts with skins
3 cups sugar
2 cups hot water
1/8 tsp cinnamon, if you want

Instructions:

1. Combine in pan, cook and stir until syrup is hard to stir, about 30 to 45 minutes.
2. Spread on a greased cookie sheet or wax paper to dry.

(The original recipe came from this site: http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/SUGAR_PEANUTS)