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1
Coat an 18-by-13-inch rimmed jelly-roll pan with vegetable oil.
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2
Have a pastry brush ready, along with a cup of cold water.
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3
Put the sugar, 1/4 cup water, the vanilla, and the corn syrup in a heavy medium-sized saucepan, and stir over low heat until the sugar melts.
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4
Then raise the heat to medium, and cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar comes to a boil.
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5
Dipping a pastry brush in cold water, quickly wash down the side of the pan to rinse away any sugar that is still crystallized.
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6
Continue to boil, without stirring, but gently agitate the pan to distribute the heat.
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7
When small puffs of smoke begin coming from the sugar, which should be a rich dark brown but not burned, remove the pan from the heat.
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8
Quickly stir in the almonds and spread the nougatine on the jelly-roll pan.
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9
Cool completely.
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10
Break the nougatine into 4-inch pieces.
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11
Loosely wrap several pieces together in plastic wrap, and store in an airtight container.
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12
When ready to use, leave the nougatine in the plastic wrap and hammer it into little pieces, being careful not to pulverize it.
