We usually talk about batches of nuts around the holidays. They make good gifts, and they're perfect for setting in bowls around the house during a party. But why not snack on them year-round? They're so easy to make, and they give you a go-to appetizer you can pull out for guests on a moment's notice.
These recipes range from herbal to fiery to sugary. We find that most spiced nuts freeze extremely well, so you can make a batch ahead of time and pull out small portions as you need them (good news, since it's easy to scarf down several handfuls at once).
• 1. Chez Panisse Herbed Almonds. Incredibly simple, with just a few herbs and some salt to bring out the toasted flavor of the nuts.
• 2. Rosemary Roasted Cashews. A recipe from Ina Garten that may be our all-time favorite for nuts. Barely sweet, with a hint of cayenne. We make them all the time, and we always get rave reviews.
• 3. Sweet and Salty Cinnamon Almonds. On the sweeter side—perfect for after dinner or crumbled over ice cream.
• 4. Orange Spiced Cashews. These nuts from Martha Stewart have ginger, coriander, and cumin in addition to the orange zest- so interesting.
• 5. Sweet Spiced Nuts. They get their sweetness from either pumpkin pie spice or chai spice blend (both are listed as options). We've never thought of either, but they sound delicious. From Food Network.
Do you have a favorite spiced nut recipe?
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Similar to the cashews, we made MS's maple-glazed pecans for the holidays and they have gone over well.
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/spiced-maple-glazed-pecans?
As did good old cinnamon roasted almonds.
i made some honeyed almonds from a recipe off the CA Almond board website. (so dorky that I would go directly there to look for almond recipes).
I really loved their sweet taste. I cut down the sugar and added some salt to make them a teeny bit more savory. These were gone at the end of the night, and the Chez Pannise ones were hardly touched (sucks).
http://www.almondboard.com/Consumer/RecipeIdeas/Pages/RecipeDetailView.aspx?RID=7f334324-562a-4b85-9df8-f60614c67f10&i=0&sr=1
Here's our favorite:
Crystallized Orange Nuts
1/4 cup orange juice
1 cup sugar
2 cups pecan halves
Combine orange juice and sugar in a 2 quart (12x7") glass baking dish; mix well. Stir in pecans.
Microwave for 6 minutes on 70 or 80% power. Stir and continue cooking for 8 to 10 minutes on same power or until syrup crystallizes.
Spread, separate and cool glazed nuts on buttered cookie sheet.
Makes about 3 cups of nuts.