Almond Granita

Ingredients

• 0.75 cups granulated sugar
• 4 cups water
• 8 ounces blanched almonds
• 0.25 tsp almond extract

Instructions

1. Combine the granulated sugar with 1 cup of the water in a small saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, 2–3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 3 cups water to cool the mixture slightly; let stand 10 minutes.
2. Put the blanched almonds in a blender. Add the sugar–water mixture and the almond extract, then blend on high until very smooth and milky, 1–2 minutes.
3. Let the mixture steep in the blender jar to extract flavor, 20 minutes.
4. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth (or a nut-milk bag) into a bowl, pressing and squeezing to extract as much liquid as possible; discard the solids.
5. Cover and refrigerate the almond milk until thoroughly chilled, about 1 hour.
6. Pour the cold mixture into a shallow metal pan and set it in the freezer until the edges begin to firm up, about 45 minutes.
7. Scrape the icy edges into the center with a fork and stir. Return to the freezer and repeat scraping every 30 minutes until the granita is made of fine, fluffy crystals and is spoonable, 2–3 hours total.
8. Fluff once more with a fork and serve immediately in chilled glasses.