Spiced Nuts for New Year Celebrations

Deliberating over the phone on what to cook for our final recipe of 2014, Meg cited our friend Dina at Bodyworks Fitness & Spa who was improvising with our Sweet and Spicy blend. “Dina is making spiced nuts in her slow cooker. They might be good for a New Years drinks party.”

As a spice and nut lover, that sounded like a great plan and Meg got to work testing the first batch before we had even ended the conversation, ready for me to sample the following day. The sweet and spicy nuts had a crunch and the seasonal spices made them especially festive.

Why stop there? We switched out the Sweet and Spicy for our Indian Dal curry blend, added a splash of lime juice for a more savory and tangy candied nut. These are delicious as a snack alongside a medium Mexican beer or crumbled into salads for a crunch.

Ingredients

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup soft brown sugar (lightly packed)
2 tbsp Sweet and Spicy or cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg white, whisked to frothy
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups mixed nuts – pecans, walnuts, cashews
2 tbsp water

Spray the insert of your slow cooker with non stick spray and turn it to LOW while you prepare the nuts.

In a large bowl mix together the sugars, Sweet & Spicy blend or cinnamon and salt.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg white and vanilla until frothy. Add the nuts and stir so that the nuts are thoroughly coated.

Pour the sugar mixture onto the nut and egg white mixture. Stir until the nuts are thoroughly coated with the sugar.

Spoon the nuts into your slow cooker, cover and set on LOW for 3 hours. Set a timer at 30 minute intervals and at each interval stir the nuts. After 2 of the 3 hours, add the water, stir and cover again for the final hour remembering to stir at the last 30 minute interval.

Once they are cooked, spoon the nuts onto a piece of parchment paper and spread them out to cool.

Alternative recipe for curried and tangy lime spiced nuts:

Ingredients

1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup soft brown sugar (lightly packed)
2 tbsp Indian Dal or curry powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 egg white, whisked to frothy
3 cups mixed nuts – pecans, walnuts, cashews
2 tbsp lime juice

Follow the method as above.

Zen Moment

“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”

– Oprah Winfrey