Cashews Two Ways: Cocoa and Brown Butter Sage
Homemade Holiday Gifts

Inspired by our favorite Rosemary Roasted Cashews, we decided to experiment with some easy, spiced nuts you could bag up for holiday gifts. Here are two recipes that will take you no more than five minutes to make.

We started out wanting to do something with sage and brown butter—two flavors we love this time of year that also love each other. Because we like the pinch of brown sugar in the rosemary cashews, we decided to add a tiny bit of honey to these.

The cocoa nuts were a complete afterthought. We'd had a packaged cocoa-dusted cashew before and decided to give it a whirl (after we figured out that powdered sugar would add sweetness and also stick to the nuts). Grand total of ingredients? Three. Seriously, these take two minutes to make.

Cocoa-Dusted Cashews
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons powdered sugar
1/2 pound roasted, unsalted cashews
pinch salt

Sift together the cocoa and powdered sugar in a large bowl. (You can use a fork or whisk; just make sure you get out all the lumps.) Add the cashews and toss to coat. Add a pinch of salt if desired.

*Disclaimer: We made a small batch of these (less than 1/4 pound) with some leftover cashews, so we're estimating measurements for a larger amount. If you feel there isn't enough coating, just mix equal parts cocoa and powdered sugar and add to the bowl.

Brown Butter Sage Cashews
1/2 pound roasted, unsalted cashews
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread the cashews on a cookie sheet and warm in the oven. You don't want to brown them, just warm them up a bit.

In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue cooking for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring, until the butter begins to turn golden brown. Add the sage and cook, stirring, for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the butter is dark golden and the sage is frizzled but not burnt. Remove from heat and add the honey.

Toss the cashews with the butter mixture and add salt to taste.

(Image: Elizabeth Passarella)

Comments (1)

I made the brown butter sage recipe but used pecans instead of cashews — I wanted to make a large batch for several gifts and pecans are more cost effective. They were super easy and turned out yummy. We were surprised at how much that little bit of honey stood out.