Preheat your oven to 400° Fahrenheit (200° Celsius).
Spread the almonds on a baking sheet covered with parchment and toast for about 8 minutes.
In a medium pot combine the water, sugar, and vanilla extract and bring to a gentle boil.
Add the almonds and reduce the heat to medium. This is where it becomes important to keep stirring to help the sugar crystallize and coat the almonds evenly. First, the sugar will “reappear” but if you continue to stir, it will melt again, this will take about 10-15 minutes depending on your stove/heat. You want the almonds to glisten and darken a bit.
When the sugar has melted the second time, add the butter and the cinnamon (alternatively a pinch of salt) and stir until it has properly melted. The butter will help keep the almonds from sticking together plus give them a bit of a decadent flavor and texture.
Pour the almonds back onto the parchment-lined baking sheet you used to toast the almonds. If they stick together, you can use two forks to separate them (be careful not to burn yourself!).
Let cool completely before you store them in an airtight container like a mason jar.
Keeps for about a month but I doubt they’ll last that long!