Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Sugar & Spiced Nuts

I adapted this recipe from Joy the Baker's blog. The original called for fennel seeds but I am not a big fan. Instead, I opted to use fresh rosemary. The nuts are very simple to make and can be adapted to your liking! I loved the finished look of the nuts, glossy with caramel and studded with rosemary and hot pepper flakes. These are definitely going into my holiday packages this year!






Sugar & Spice Nuts

1/3 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon rosemary chopped very fine

1 1/2 teaspoons salt (I used sea salt)

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

a pinch cayenne

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup raw cashews

2 Tablespoons water

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Mix sugar, rosemary, salt, cayenne and pepper flakes in a medium sized bowl. Add the nuts and water and stir until coated. Pour onto the foil lined baking sheet and spread out evenly.

Bake the almonds for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and stir almonds around. Return to the oven and bake for another 17 minutes, checking and stirring the almonds 2 to 3 more times. Nuts will turn beautifully dark brown. Remove from the oven and separate with a fork. Cool and remove from the pan to a serving bowl or an airtight container for storage.