Many people commonly eat a candy called M'Labass, almonds with a sugar coating. What is the proper Beracha to recite over M'Labass? Should one recite "Ha’etz," the Beracha recited over almonds, or "She’hakol," the Beracha recited over sugar?
This question is subject to considerable discussion and debate among the Halachic authorities. The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909), in Parashat Pinhas (Shana Rishona), observes the common practice to recite "She’hakol" over sugar-coated almonds. However, he adds, his father had the practice when eating M'Labass to recite two separate Berachot. He would first scrape off some sugar, recite "She’hakol" and eat the sugar. Then, he would recite "Ha’etz" and eat the almond. The Ben Ish Hai notes that this practice is mentioned in a number of Halachic works, and it therefore should be followed.
There is some discussion among later writers regarding the specific kind of candy the Ben Ish Hai was discussing. Rabbi Moshe Halevi (Israel, 1961-2001), in his work Birkat Hashem, understood from the Ben Ish Hai’s comments that he referred to a nut with a thin coating of sugar. Rabbi Moshe Halevi argued that in such a case, the thin coating is deemed "Tafel" (subordinate) to the almond, and therefore one should recite only one Beracha – the Beracha of "Ha’etz" – since the primary food item is the almond. Although the Ben Ish Hai ruled that one should recite separate Berachot over the sugar and the nut, the Birkat Hashem ruled that in the case of a thin layer of sugar or honey, one recites only the Beracha of "Ha’etz," which covers both parts of the candy.
The M'Labass that is commonly eaten nowadays, however, comes with a thick coating of sugar. Regarding this kind of treat, Rabbi Moshe Halevi writes that strictly speaking, one should recite two separate Berachot. In principle, he says, one should recite "She’hakol," suck some sugar from the candy, and then remove the candy from his mouth, recite "Ha’etz," and eat the almond. But although in theory this would be the preferred procedure, it is not all that practical. People will likely become confused or they might forget to remove the almond after sucking the sugar. In practice, then, Rabbi Moshe Halevi writes, one should simply recite "She’hakol" and have in mind for the Beracha to apply to both the sugar and the nut. The Beracha of "She’hakol" fulfills the obligation for nuts Be’di’abad (after the fact), and therefore, given the risk of confusion, it is preferable to simply recite "She’hakol" over the entire candy. This is also the ruling of Hacham Ben Sion Abba Shaul (Israel, 1923-1998), in his work Or Le’sion (vol. 2, chapter 14).
Ideally, one should avoid this question by first eating a food requiring "Ha’etz," such as an apple or orange. The "Ha’etz" recited over that food will cover the almond, and then according to all opinions he needs to only recite "She’hakol" over the M'Labass for the sugar coating.
Summary: One who eats M'Labass (sugar-coating almonds) with a thick coating of sugar should recite "She’hakol," and have in mind for the Beracha to cover both the almond and the sugar. Ideally, he should first eat a food requiring "Ha’etz." If the almond has only a thin layer of sugar, then one recites "Ha’etz."
