Spiced party nuts
(yields about 4 cups)
Sidekick to the Party-in-a-Glass
These nuts don’t discriminate between vintage cuvées or spark-a-linos. As sophisticated as they look, they enjoy pairing up with a good beer too.
INGREDIENTS
1 pound assorted unsalted nuts such as peanuts, cashews, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans and almonds
2 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne
2 tsp firmly packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spread the nuts evenly on a baking sheet and toast in the middle of oven until golden, about 7-10 minutes.
While nuts are toasting, toss the remaining ingredients together in a large bowl. Remove nuts from oven and toss with seasoning mixture. In a perfect world, serve them warm.
THOUGHTS
Keep a batch and gift a batch. This recipe doubles very easily. Allow the nuts to cool completely. Package them in an airtight jar and fashion some type of sweet label. These nuts store well for about a week if you can resist eating them that long.
Substitute with all cashews or smoked almonds if you can’t get enough of them in a mixed bowl.
Tone down or kick up the amount of cayenne, depending on how spicy you feel.
Cheers!