Almond Honey Nut Clusters

After my experiments with Snack Packs and working with raw nuts, I definitely learned a lot - about what I liked, about what tasted good, and what was practical for the kitchen. I wanted to tweak and keep trying. This last batch was sooooo tasty, it disappeared in under a week. This version is also made entirely on the stove top - no hot ovens! I will admit though - I eyeballed the entire recipe, so so made additions/substitutions.

Almond Honey Nut Clusters
Makes 8-10 snack servings

1 1/2 lb almonds
3/4 cups pumpkin seeds
1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup honey
1 tbsp butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garam masala

1. Heat a large frying pan on medium until warm. Add the almonds and toast, stirring every few minutes. It should take 15-20 minutes to roast and become crunchy.
2. In a small pot, heat the honey and butter on medium to medium low heat. Make sure the pot is big enough to hold all the nuts. Stir every few minutes to create a thick caramel. If it starts getting bubbly, its a good sign, but if it gets really bubbly, turn the heat down a notch. Caramel should form in around 20 minutes.
3. At the 15 minute mark (when your caramel is almost done and your almonds need an extra 5 minutes) toss in the pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds in with the almonds. Roast for the 5 minutes. Since these seeds are smaller and thinner, they take much less time to become crunchy.
4. Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Scatter the cranberries across the pan. 
5. When the caramel and the nuts are done, pour the nuts into the pot with the honey caramel. If one needs more time, you can set the heat to low on the other to give yourself enough time to get things to equal out. 
6. Stir the nut mix and honey thoroughly, making sure to coat the almonds well. I had too much caramel and ended up dumping in more almonds, but do what you like!
7. Pour the nut and honey mixture out on to the baking sheet, over the cranberries. Flatten out and try to separate into clusters. (But don't burn yourself!)
8. Allow the nut mix to cool at room temperature and for the caramel to harden to a nice glossy shine. 
9. When cool to the touch, separate into smaller clusters and store in an airtight bag or container. So far they've been good up to two weeks later. Keep in a cool place. If they get hot they'll stick together all over again!