Nutty Snacks for the Holidays

Roasted nuts with seasoning and spice are welcome party snacks or gifts. This is my dee-liciously easy Rosemary Roasted Cashews. I borrowed the recipe from a colleague Mary Margaret a while back, then found out from a reader that the recipe was originally shared by Ina Garten on a post by Leite’s Culinaria. (I’ve since adjusted the seasoning amounts). Now I keep a pound of raw cashews on hand to roast at a moment’s notice.

Another favorite nutty snack is Rita’s crunchy Sweet Salty Bitter Glazed Nuts. A third recipe is my Spiced Nuts (recipe below) from my Peaches & Cheese Salad. Each recipe uses a slightly different method to prepare the nuts. All three are easy — the way I like it!

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Rosemary Roasted Cashews

These are my two favorite roasted nut recipes.  The Rosemary Roasted Cashews are sweet-hot; the Spiced Candied Nuts are sweet. I like to add to salads with balsamic dressing, crumbled gorgonzola, and dried cherries or golden raisins.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

cool30 mins

Total Time1 hr

Author: Rosie and Rita

Ingredients

• 1 pound raw cashews
• 4 tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary several large stems
• 2 Tbsp Butter
• 2 tsp. packed dark or light brown sugar
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or more if you like more heat

Instructions

• Heat oven to 350°F.

  Spread 1 pound raw whole cashews (about 3-3/4 cups) on a baking sheet. (Rosie lines the baking sheet with parchment paper for easy transfer of the hot nuts off the pan). Roast for 15-20 minutes, turning several times until golden brown.
• While the nuts are roasting, chop the rosemary very very finely.
  
• Melt the butter in a large bowl and stir in the rosemary, brown sugar, salt, and cayenne.
  
• The rosemary mixture will look a little dry; that's ok. Add hot cashews to the bowl as soon as they are toasted. Stir and stir until cashews are cool and coated with the herb mixture. The trick is to stir while the nuts are still hot so the rosemary sticks to them.
  
• Let cool completely in the bowl. Store in airtight container. Keeps well several weeks, but you probably won’t have that long!

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Spiced Candied Nuts

The boiling water method for sugar-coating these nuts works like magic! See the quick instructions below.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Author: Rosemary Mark

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. table salt or 3/4 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp. allspice
• 1/8-1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 3 cups combination of pecan and walnut halves
• 3/4 cup raw shelled pistachios

Instructions

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or foil coated with cooking spray.
• Stir together the sugar, salt, allspice, and cayenne in a small bowl
• Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from heat and immediately add the nuts. Let nuts stand in the water for 30 seconds; drain in a colander.
• Return nuts to the saucepan. Quickly stir the sugar spice mixture into the hot wet nuts.
• Spread nuts on prepared pan. Bake 15-20 minutes or until nuts are toasted and glazed, stirring every 5-6 minutes. Cool completely on pan then store in an airtight container.