Sharon’s Sweet and Spicy Mixed NutsJanuary 7, 2016
PrintCourses: Appetizers
Sometimes you just need a something that's a little sweet, a little salty and a little spicy to have with drinks before dinner. Or to add a little zest to a salad. Or to nibble on for a snack while you are watching the game on TV. Many of the recipes I saw used corn syrup. So I developed my own recipe, using one single beaten egg white, and a combination of flavours and spices. Feel free to use your own spice combination.
Ingredients
For: 4 cups
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- pinch ground cloves
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp freshly-ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 large egg white
- non-stick vegetable oil spray
- 4 cups unsalted nuts use any combination you like; my favorite is below
My Favorite Nut Combo
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 1 cup pecan halves
- 1 cup raw whole cashews
- 1 cup macadamia nuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in the middle. Line a heavy-duty 4-sided professional-grade cookie sheet with tin foil or parchment paper. (The nuts will burn if you don’t use a heavy duty baking sheet.) Spray the foil lightly with the cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together all of the spices, sugar, salt and peppers (i.e, all the ingredients except for the egg white and nuts).
- In a medium bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy, then stir in the nuts until coated. Add the spice mixture and toss until coated.
- Spread the mixture onto the foil-lined (or parchment-lined) baking sheet in a single layer. Bake, stirring every 10 minutes or so until well toasted (check frequently as nuts can burn very quickly). Depending on your oven, this can take 20-25 minutes. They will still be sticky when they are done, and they will dry once they are removed from the oven. (During the last 15 minutes, check every 5 minutes.)
- Remove from oven, loosen from pan and using a fork, separate nuts from each other. Let cool completely.
- Nuts keep in an airtight container at room temperature for about a week, but they freeze beautifully. You can give them as gifts in a beautifully wrapped package, serve as an appetizer, or sprinkle on salads.
Notes
Word of Caution: Nuts burn quickly. It’s best to use a professional-grade cookie sheet when making these and you must be vigilant about checking them often. One minute too long in the oven can make the difference between delicious and disastrous.