Spiced Maple Roasted Nuts

I made these nuts for New Year's Eve for a snack during the prep of the other foods - and for Nick, in particular. Nick snacks like crazy during the holiday food prep and if you want any food to make it to the table, there has to at least be a cheese tray for him to stay out of the main course. On NYE, we like to do just appetizers for "dinner" and we kind of spread it out over the course of about 8 hours - from 4pm to midnight. I'm not really sure if that's the norm for everyone else, but I love it! We usually do some kind of cheese dip, wings, and meatballs. We dig into the buckeyes and potato candy that my mom-in-law makes each year. This past NYE, I also made strawberry salsa with cinnamon tortilla chips and s'mores dip (that we dipped fresh fruit and grahams into). But again, it's always a good idea to have a snack around.

This recipe makes a pretty decent size batch and I sent some home with my mom-in-law because not only did we love them, she did too. They are one of those things that you have to hide before you devour all of them! I personally don't care for maple syrup or honey (which this recipe has) and figured that I wouldn't like the nuts at all, but I was totally wrong. I loved them! They taste like fall, first of all, and the little cayenne really adds dimension to the flavor. You get a little bit of that heat as an end note, but it isn't overwhelming!

*Update 12/28/15 - found my recipe, so I updated the quantities I used!
(Print)
What you need:

• 1 lb. walnuts
• 1 lb. almonds
• 1 lb. pecans
• 1 cup maple syrup
• Scant 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and stir to coat nuts as evenly as possible.
2. Spread on a lined, heavy baking sheet and even out. If there is any leftover syrup in the bowl, scrape it and spread it on the nuts.
3. Bake at 350* for 15 minutes.
4. Then stir the nuts and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for about 2 minutes.
6. Break up the nuts with a spatula and store in an airtight container.

Recipe slightly adapted from The Viet Vegan

------------------------------

don't miss a thing. follow fantastical on:
facebook | pinterest | bloglovin | instagram