This week has been a bit crazy with work, meals out and baseball games. Which means I haven’t done as much cooking as I would’ve liked. Instead, I figured I’ll share a fairly simple snack recipe for sweet and salty spiced nuts. These are great for parties, gifts or just regular snacking. I made them for a dinner party last weekend, and we’ve enjoyed snacking on the leftovers throughout the week. I might make a big batch of these spiced nuts for the holidays and wrap up in mason jars to give to friends.
I used a mixture of almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts. You can use any variety of mixed nuts, but make sure they are unroasted (raw) and unsalted. Pecans, peanuts and cashews all work well.
This recipe yields a nice crunchy crust on the nuts, with a lightly spiced sweetness, to make for a great snack. And the secret to the nice crispy exterior is simple: a single beaten egg white. There’s definitely some science involved to this but I do know whipped egg whites and sugar yield lovely crunchy meringues. Regardless, it works. NPR speaks about the miracle of egg whites.
To get started
Beat an egg white and water until frothy. Then add the sugar, salt, and spices to the beaten egg white. You can adjust the level of pepper/chili as desired but even my friends who are afraid of spice don’t find these nuts too spicy.
Mix in the nuts and bake
Add the nuts into the mixture and toss to coat until all of the nuts have a nice shiny gloss to them. Then spread out in an even layer on a foil-lined baking pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
Bake for about 30 minutes, stirring once. As you let the nuts cool on the counter, it’s important to stir the nuts every so often to prevent them from sticking to each other. Then you can serve up these spiced nuts and enjoy!
Sweet and Salty Spiced Nuts
Print RecipeEquipment Required
- Baking pan or tray (9"x13" or similar size)
- Aluminum foil
- Mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 egg white
- 2 teaspoons water
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp chile powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 cup mixed nuts, raw and unsalted
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a baking pan with foil; lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat egg white and water until frothy.
Add sugar, cinnamon, salt, chili powder and cayenne pepper to the egg white. Beat until well mixed.
Add nuts to the bowl. Toss to coat.
Spread nut mixture in a single even layer onto the foil-lined pan.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until nuts appear dry, stirring once.
Remove from oven. Let cool, stirring nuts regularly to prevent sticking. Once cool, separate any remaining clumps and serve.
Notes
- If you like your nuts to be more sweet, you can add up to 1/4 cup brown sugar in addition to the 3/4 cup granulated sugar.
- Nuts can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
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