Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Remove from heat. Add raw almonds to the hot water. Let sit for 1 minute (not longer). Drain and pour into a bowl of ice cold water.
Leave almonds in ice water only until they are cool, about one minute. Drain.
To remove the skins: pinch almonds between your thumb and index finger to slide the almond out of its skin.
Pat dry. Allow to dry completely before using in recipes.
If you oversoak your almonds and they don’t dry properly: preheat oven to 200°F. Turn oven OFF. Place almonds on a baking sheet and put into the warm (but OFF) oven. Leave almonds in the oven for 15-20 minutes.
Blanched almonds are often used for making almond flour: place completely dry blanched almonds in a blender or food processor and blend until almonds form fine meal.
Blanched almonds are great in cookies like these Chinese Almond Cookies.
